Industrial applications of a mathematical model for the zinc electrowinning process

A dynamic mathematical model for a full-size zinc electrowinning cell, operating with high purity feed, has previously been presented. Several possible industrial applications of the model are demonstrated in this paper. The examples considered were (i) the optimization of cell operating conditions, for both maximum zinc production and minimum energy consumption cases, (ii) a preliminary investigation of the benefits of a dual circuit configuration and (iii) the dynamic simulation of a (feedback) controlled cell. In each case, by providing information on energy consumption, current efficiency and zinc production rate, use of the model permitted the economic potential of these options to be readily determined.