Selective Extraction of Cobalt, Manganese and Zinc from the Filter Cake of the Zinc Processing Plant

In the electrolytic extraction of zinc, the filter cake of the hot filtration process contains zinc, manganese, and cobalt. In this study, the metals were extracted by using two selective leaching steps. The results showed that at pH = 1 and 90 °C, about 88% of zinc was recovered without cobalt and manganese. In the selective leaching stage, cobalt was significantly extracted (91%) by adding hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to the acidic leaching solution at pH <1. By reprecipitation of the extracted cobalt and selective leaching with H2O2, the solution containing cobalt ions with high purity was obtained.