In this paper, ultrasonic-enhanced replacement of lead by zinc in lead leaching solution was studied. The effects of reaction time, rotational speed, temperature, concentration of leaching solution and the ratio of the surface area of the zinc plate immersed in the leaching solution to the volume of leaching solution (S : V) were studied under both conventional and ultrasonic conditions. The optimum ultrasonic-assisted replacement conditions were as follows: the S : V of 0.04 (4 cm2 100 ml-1), reaction temperature of 30°C, replacement time of 30 min and the concentration of leaching solution is 5 g l-1, leading to a lead replacement rate of 94.84%. Compared with the conventional replacement process, the reaction time of ultrasonic-enhanced substitution could be reduced to one half, and the demand of reaction temperature, leaching solution concentration and other conditions were decreased accordingly. Introducing ultrasonic into the replacement reaction is promising to reduce the energy consumption in the hydrometallurgical industry also caters to the demands of environment protection.
Keywords: enhancement; lead hydrometallurgy; replacement reaction; ultrasonic.