Recovery of aluminum-zinc alloy from 55%Al-Zn dross by supergravity separation

Rev Sci Instrum. 2022 Jan 1;93(1):014502. doi: 10.1063/5.0065671.

Abstract

As a by-product of hot-dip 55%Al-Zn coating processing, the dross contains high levels of Al and Zn. However, no cost-effective recycling methods have been reported to date. Therefore, this work aims at developing a novel method for Al-Zn alloy recovery from an industrial 55%Al-Zn dross using supergravity separation. The separation efficiency was analyzed as a function of separation time and temperature as well as the gravity coefficient (G). Al-Zn alloy was recovered at G values above 70. Separation at higher temperatures benefited the recovery of Al-Zn alloy but decreased the removal rate of Fe impurities due to the increased Fe solubility. With the optimal conditions at 590 °C and G > 500, over 86 wt. % of Al-Zn alloy, containing only 0.4 wt. % of Fe, was recovered. According to the FactSage software calculation, the solubility of Fe increases from 0.06 to 1.11 wt. % when the temperature rises from 550 to 650 °C. This is consistent with the experimental results. The purified alloy could then be further used in the hot-dip 55%Al-Zn bath for production. This study demonstrates the feasibility of supergravity separation as a promising process efficient for recovering Al-Zn alloy from 55%Al-Zn dross.