The process optimization of microwave assisted leaching of manganese from electrolytic manganese residue (EMR) was conducted. The Box-Behnken design (BBD) was utilized to determine the number of experiments as well as to assess the effect of the main leaching parameters, including the reaction temperature, reaction time, concentration of sulfuric acid and dosage of citric acid. A quadratic model was found to best fit the experimental data and was utilized to optimize the process parameters to maximize the percentage manganese recovery. 3-D response surface plots and contour plots were generated utilizing mathematical models to understand the effect of variables as well as to identify the optimal conditions. The optimum conditions of microwave assisted leaching were: temperature of 76°C, time of 55 min, H ₂ SO ₄ concentration of 0.76 mol·L ^-1 , dosage of citric acid of 3.51 mg/g. Under these conditions, the percentage manganese recovery higher than 90% could be achieved.

Zinc oxide dust (ZOD) is an industrial solid waste produced in the production process of wet smelting Zn, with large output and great pollution to the environment. The recycling of metallurgical solid waste such as zinc oxide dust is very important to achieve the sustainable development of the circular economy. An experimental study of zinc (Zn) leaching from zinc oxide dust using an ultrasound-enhanced ammonia–ammonium chloride system was performed. The effects of ultrasonic power, leaching time, total ammonia concentration, and other factors on the leaching rate of zinc from zinc oxide dust were investigated. The results revealed that the leaching rate of Zn reached up to 80.70% under the condition of ultrasound power of 1000 W, reaction time of 15 min, total ammonia concentration of 6 mol/L, [NH₃]:[NH₄⁺] of 1:1, L/S of 5:1, temperature of 45 °C, and stirring speed of 100 r/min. The conventional leaching was conducted under similar conditions, except that the time was controlled to 40 min and the zinc leaching rate was 71.15%. The leaching rate of Zn in the ultrasound condition was improved by 9.55% compared with that in the conventional leaching process. XRD, laser particle size, and SEM-EDS analyses were conducted to study the leaching residues of ZOD. The analysis results showed that in the ultrasound condition, the largest leaching rate of soluble ZnO phases was achieved after 15 min of leaching. Under the ammoniacal system, it was difficult to leach ZnFe₂O₄, Zn₂SiO₄, and ZnS phases, which partly accounted for the low zinc leaching rate. Additionally, through ultrasound-enhanced treatment, the ZnO particles encapsulated in ZOD particles were broken into smaller sizes and exposed to the leaching solution. Thus, the leaching rate of Zn was improved. The experimental results show that ultrasound can tremendously improve the effect of Zn extraction from ZOD, shorten reaction time, and help reduce energy consumption and environmental pollution, making it a promising application in the treatment of secondary Zn resources.