Reaction mechanism of cobalt cementation from high cobalt zinc sulphate solution by zinc dust

Abstract

The experiments in this paper were performed to research the mechanism of cobalt cementation from high cobalt zinc sulphate solution by zinc dust. The reduction potential of zinc during cementation was determined to investigate the morphology of products. Residues after the cementation process from zinc sulphate solution were analyzed by SEM and EPMA to investigate the morphology of products. Different temperature will cause different structure of particles. The reaction mechanism of cobalt removal by zinc dust is thought to be as follows: first, the Co2+ forms Co–Zn alloy with zinc particles, and the reaction reaches equilibrium quickly; second, the Co–Zn alloy continues reacting to Co with Co2+, which is the control process of the whole reaction.