Optical and Chemical Methods of Metal Ash Analysis and Tin Recovery

‘Metal ash’ presents a waste disposal problem in most of the developing countries as the industries employ obsolete technologies. In this paper we describe analysis of tin ash, zinc ash and aluminium ash by means of optical methods, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), electron probe micro analysis (EPMA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and chemical methods. The results of tin ash obtained by XRD method matched well with the cassiterite, a naturally occurring mineral of tin. ICP-MS studies reveal the presence of a large number of tracer metals, which may cause pollution by tertiary dispersion and this aspect is discussed. Conversely, the data generated by chemical methods are limited. However, the methods are simple and cost-effective. Then, they can easily be adopted by low-budget industries. Simple and cost-effective process to recover tin from tin ash is described. It is based on heating tin ash with sodium cyanide to about 900°C to separate tin component from the metal ash. The process recovers good quality tin and offers a very high yield. The process can be scaled up to small pilot plant.  

一种新型光路设计在重金属分析仪中的应用

针对在线重金属分析仪中电源波动、水体浊度等干扰问题,提出一种新型的光路设计方案。实验表明,采用该设计的在线水质分析仪PhotoTek 6000的抗干扰能力大大提高,电源稳定性达到0.6%;同时当试样中浊度变化4个数量级时,测量结果与实际值的相对偏差小于2%。