Recovery of heavy metals from electroplating sludge and stainless steel pickle waste liquid by ammonia leaching method

A coordinative disposal process for treatment of electroplating sludge and stainless steel pickle waste liquid containing Cu, Ni, Zn, Cr and Fe etc., has been developed to recover valuable metals and to eliminate pollution. The recovery of Cu, Ni, Zn and Cr is 94%, 91%, 90% and 95%, respectively. The ammonia was recycled by the simplified process of CaO caustic distillation. The precipitated product of Cu, Ni and Zn obtained from caustic distillation of ammonia was separated by extraction or high\|pressure hydrogen reduction in an autoclave. The qualified metal salt products were obtained through extraction. The rich chromium residue from coordinative disposal was subjected to recover Cr by hydrothermal oxidation in NaOH medium and Fe\-3O\-4 was synthesized by wet methods from the residue produced by extracting Cr. Cr was a stable chemical fixed in Fe\-3O\-4 and harmless. The recovery process has been used in a pilot plant with sludge production capacity of 2000 t/a.