In the wave of digital transformation of the zinc smelting industry, the wet metallurgy process is
experiencing a qualitative change from sloppy operation to intelligent regulation and control.
When the slurry flow in the leaching tank starts to be captured by millimeter-level precision
sensors, and when the chemical reaction in the purification workshop is transformed into a
digital deduction in the algorithmic model, the traditional zinc smelting industry is writing a
new chapter of intelligent upgrading. This technological innovation driven by data and
algorithms is pushing the zinc extraction precision and efficiency to new heights.
Intelligent transformation needs of wet zinc refining process
Traditional zinc smelting faces multiple technical challenges. PH value regulation lag in the leaching
process often leads to metal leaching rate fluctuations of 5% -8%, neutralization and purification
stage of manual sampling and detection of the existence of a 2-hour blind spot, resulting in impurity
ion concentration exceeding the risk of an increase of 30%. Statistics of an enterprise show that
manual operation leads to excessive consumption of zinc powder, resulting in an annual loss of
12 million yuan, and current efficiency fluctuations in the electrolysis process increase electricity
consumption by 200kW-h per ton of zinc.
Intelligent sensing network builds the "digital nerve" of the process. The microwave concentration
meter monitors the zinc ion content of the leaching solution in real time, with an accuracy of ±0.5g/L;
the multispectral analyzer identifies the composition of the physical phase of the slurry online, with a
detection speed 20 times faster than that of the laboratory; and the array-type PH sensor improves
the density of the detection points by 10 times, forming a three-dimensional acidity and alkalinity
field distribution map. After deploying new sensors in a project, the accuracy of leaching endpoint
judgment was increased to 99.3%.
Automated equipment realizes the whole process reengineering. The intelligent charging system
dynamically adjusts the acid-mineral ratio according to the composition of the ore, reducing the
standard deviation of the leaching rate from 3.7% to 0.8%; the automatic zinc powder charging
device in the purification tank reaches a positioning accuracy of ±0.1mm, and the utilization rate
of the zinc powder has been increased by 18%; and the plate and frame filter press is equipped
with the pressure self-adaptation system, which has lowered the water content of the filter cake
by 2 percentage points.
Innovative Application of Intelligent Technology in Key Processes
The leaching process realized a breakthrough in precise control. The leaching kinetic model based on
machine learning shortens the leaching cycle by 1.5 hours by analyzing 12 mineral components and
predicting the reaction process. After the application of digital twin technology in a system, the zinc
leaching rate has stabilized at more than 97.5%, and the fluctuation range of iron ion concentration
has been narrowed by 60%. The intelligent acid adjustment system dynamically adjusts according to
the ORP value, and the unit consumption of sulfuric acid is reduced by 8kg/t ore.
The purification process has entered a new stage of intellectualization. The multi-stage counter-current
purification intelligent control system optimizes the addition amount of zinc powder through fuzzy
algorithm, and reduces the consumption of zinc powder by 14 kg per ton. online polar spectrum
analyzer monitors the cobalt and nickel concentration in real time, and improves the control precision
of impurity ions of purified liquid to 0.1 mg/L. After applying potentiostatic control technology in a
certain project, zinc content of purified slag has been reduced from 2.3% to 0.8%, and the amount
of recovered zinc metal has increased by 800 tons per year.
The electrolysis process opens the intelligent production mode. The adaptive rectifier system adjusts
current density according to the state of the pole plate, and current efficiency has been increased to
92.5%. Intelligent zinc stripping unit recognizes cathode zinc edges through machine vision, and the
stripping completeness reaches 99.9%. After an electrolysis workshop applied the intelligent operation
and maintenance system, the short-circuit rate of the pole plate dropped by 70%, and the DC power
consumption of tons of zinc was reduced to 2,900 kW-h.
Continuous Evolution Path of Intelligent Smelting System
The digital twin platform deepens the cognition of the process. The virtual smelting system constructed
by an enterprise integrates 3,800 data points of 12 processes to realize real-time tracking of the material
flow of the whole process. By simulating 100,000 raw material proportioning schemes, the zinc recovery
rate was increased by 1.2 percentage points. Failure prediction module reduces unplanned equipment
downtime by 60%.
Intelligent algorithms drive continuous process optimization. Deep learning model independently discovered
the non-linear relationship between leaching temperature and cobalt ion concentration by analyzing five
years of production data, developed a new temperature control curve, and increased cobalt removal rate
by 15%. Reinforcement learning algorithm explored a new scheme of purification tank cascade in virtual
environment, and zinc powder consumption was reduced by another 8%.
Green production is deeply integrated with intelligent technology. Intelligent dosing system for wastewater
treatment dynamically adjusts according to the concentration of heavy metal ions, reducing the consumption
of pharmaceuticals by 22%. The Internet of Things platform of waste heat recovery device realizes the gradual
utilization of heat energy, reducing steam consumption by 18%. The intelligent control system for flue gas
treatment stabilizes the capture rate of sulfur dioxide at over 99.95%.
Driven by the “double carbon” target and digital transformation, the intelligent upgrading of the zinc smelting
industry has entered the fast lane. When the chemical reaction in the leaching tank is endowed with a digital
soul, and when the process parameters of the purification process realize autonomous evolution, the
traditional hydrometallurgy is completing a magnificent turn to intelligent metallurgy. The innovative
practice of integrating the process mechanism with digital technology is not only rewriting the efficiency
boundary of zinc smelting, but also redefining the future picture of green metal. This intelligent revolution,
which started in the production line, will ultimately promote the entire non-ferrous industry to accelerate
the leap to high-end, intelligent and green.