Lead release kinetics and film transformation of Pb-MnO2 pre-coated anode in long-term zinc electrowinning.

Abstract Lead pollution precaution caused by lead-based anode corrosion is a hot and challenging issue for zinc electrowinning. A novel functional lead-based anode (MnO2 pre-coated anode-MPA) was precisely fabricated and its long-term performances were studied compared with typical Pb−1%Ag anode (TPA). Results indicated that MPA posed excellent effects on synergistic inhibiting lead dissolution and reducing hazardous pollutants generation, and decreasing the lead content of zinc products by 81%. Further, the underlying mechanism of film growth and transformation in structure, composition and crystal phase, the migration and distribution of lead and anode slime during electrolytic, were clarified in-depth. Dynamic material flow analysis confirmed that MPA reduced the entire lead migration amount by over 92% compared with TPA. The compact multilayer structure of the MPA film and self-reparation effects of local structure provided better and persistent protection for the lead matrix, which greatly retarded the high-speed corrosion of lead anode. Compared with α-MnO2 in TPA, the formation and maintenance of γ-MnO2 in MPA accelerated the oxygen evolution reaction and inhibited the anode slime generation. This finding provides new insights in pollution precaution and control by designing and tuning new functional anode in hydrometallurgy process.