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Improving Current Efficiency Through Optimizing Electrolyte Flow in Zinc Electrowinning Cell

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CFD Modeling and Simulation in Materials Processing 2016

Part of the book series: The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series ((MMMS))

Abstract

In zinc electrowinning process, electrolyte flow in the cell has an important influence on current efficiency. In this article, a 3D mathematical model has been developed and solved by ANSYS FLUENT software to study the flow field and residence time distribution (RTD) of the electrolyte in the zinc electrowinning cell. According to the RTD analytical theory, the influence of different feeding schemes on electrolyte flow pattern has been investigated, and the optimum feeding scheme was obtained. Zinc electrolysis experiments show current efficiency was increased significantly at the optimum feeding scheme.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Metallurgy and Material Engineering, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, Chongqing, 401331, China

    Hongdan Wang, Wentang Xia, Wenqiang Yang & Bingzhi Ren

Authors
  1. Hongdan Wang
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  2. Wentang Xia
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  3. Wenqiang Yang
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  4. Bingzhi Ren
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA

    Laurentiu Nastac (Associate Professor of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Key FEF Professor and the Director of the Solidification Laboratory and the UA-COE foundry) (Associate Professor of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Key FEF Professor and the Director of the Solidification Laboratory and the UA-COE foundry)

  2. University of Science and Technology Beijing, China

    Lifeng Zhang (Professor and the Dean of the School of Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering, Distinguished Professor) (Professor and the Dean of the School of Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering, Distinguished Professor)

  3. Yangtze River Scholars, China

    Lifeng Zhang (Professor and the Dean of the School of Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering, Distinguished Professor) (Professor and the Dean of the School of Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering, Distinguished Professor)

  4. University of Illinois, USA

    Brian G. Thomas (Gauthier Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Director of the Continuous Casting Consortium) (Gauthier Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Director of the Continuous Casting Consortium)

  5. Northeastern University (NEU), Shenyang, China

    Miaoyong Zhu (Professor and Dean of Metallurgy School (MS) (Professor and Dean of Metallurgy School (MS)

  6. Metallurgy Department, Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Austria

    Andreas Ludwig (Full Professor) (Full Professor)

  7. Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA

    Adrian S. Sabau (Senior Research Staff Member) (Senior Research Staff Member)

  8. University of Greenwich, London, UK

    Koulis Pericleous (Chair of Computational Fluid Dynamics, Director of the Centre for Numerical Modelling and Process Analysis) (Chair of Computational Fluid Dynamics, Director of the Centre for Numerical Modelling and Process Analysis)

  9. Ecole des Mines de Nancy (Lorraine University), France

    Hervé Combeau (professor) (professor)

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© 2016 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society

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Wang, H., Xia, W., Yang, W., Ren, B. (2016). Improving Current Efficiency Through Optimizing Electrolyte Flow in Zinc Electrowinning Cell. In: Nastac, L., et al. CFD Modeling and Simulation in Materials Processing 2016. The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65133-0_29

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