Facile synthesis of zinc ferrite as adsorbent from high-zinc electric arc furnace dust

A facile route was proposed to prepare zinc ferrite as a heavy-metal adsorption material from high-zinc electric arc furnace (EAF) dust by roasting it directly with the addition of low-cost Fe2O3, followed by purification via dilute acid leaching. The effect of the addition of Fe2O3, revealed by the Fe/Zn molar ratio, on the formation of zinc ferrite was investigated. The results showed that adding Fe2O3 could increase the percentage of acidinsoluble zinc in the form of zinc ferrite to 94.13% after roasting at 1000 degrees C for 2 h with the Fe/Zn molar ratio of 1.8. After removing Ca2ZnSi2O7 impurity and nano bead milling, the product could be used as a good adsorbent due to its superior adsorption capacities of 198.26 mg/g, 24.95 mg/g, and 151.45 mg/g for Pb (II), Cr (VI), and Cd (II), respectively. This study offered a novel method for overall and value-added utilization of EAF dust.

Automated summary

A facile route for preparing zinc ferrite as a heavy-metal adsorption material from high-zinc EAF dust was proposed in this study. The addition of Fe2O3 was found to increase the formation of zinc ferrite to 94.13%. The purified product showed superior adsorption capacities for Pb (II), Cr (VI), and Cd (II).