Pyrometallurgical method and device for separating zinc and/or cadmium from leadin metallurgical residues

The invention relates to a method and a device for separating zinc and/or cadmium from lead in a byproduct contaminated with said elements and/or compounds or in a residue arising during the production of metal. According to the invention, one of the steps of the method consists in creating conditions for reduction in a processing tank, introducing the byproduct in said tank and heating it to a temperature of no less than 700 DEG C. The compounds of the contamination metals contained in the byproduct are then metallized, evaporated and filtered so as to form a concentrate. The residual metal of the residue is subsequently subjected to a metal melting process. The residue, especially the dust and/or the dehydrated sludge, can be mixed with a reducing agent, especially with a reductant containing carbon, to create conditions for reduction to separate the metals and optionally compacted, for instance briquetting or pelletizing. It is then introduced into a processing tank, especially an oxygen steel converter.