Hydrometallurgical detoxification and recycling of electric arc furnace dust

Electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) is a hazardous waste but can also be a potential secondary resource for valuable metals, such as Zn and Fe. Given the increased awareness of carbon emission reduction, energy conservation, and environmental protection, hydrometallurgical technologies for the detoxification and resource use of EAFD have been developing rapidly. This work summarizes the generation mechanisms, compositions, and characteristics of EAFD and presents a critical review of various hydrometallurgical treatment methods for EAFD, e.g., acid leaching, alkaline leaching, salt leaching, and pretreatment-enhanced leaching methods. Simultaneously, the phase transformation mechanisms of zinc-containing components in acid and alkali solutions and pretreatment processes are expounded. Finally, two novel combined methods, i.e., oxygen pressure sulfuric acid leaching combined with composite catalyst preparation, and synergistic roasting of EAFD and municipal solid waste incineration fly ash combined with alkaline leaching, are proposed, which can provide future development directions to completely recycling EAFD by recovering valuable metals and using zinc residue.