Processing of Sb-Pb-Sn-Containing Materials
During the processing of lead containing products and polymetallic alloys the recovery of tin and antimony from technology of lead production is carried out by oxidation refining of decopperized lead with rich oxides (Sn, Sb ≥ 20%).Tin oxides are melted in a short-drum furnaces to lead bullion (> 96% Pb) and tin-rich (> 20% Sn) slag. The slag is melted in an ore-smelting furnace to obtain a Sn-Pb alloy of next composition, %: 56.1 Sn, 18.2 Pb, 14.6 Sb, 6.9 As, which is refined by vacuum distillation with production of rough tin (Sn ≥ 90%). The additional profit of rough tin obtainment (∼310 tons/year), compared with sales of tin slag, is about ∼1.3 million $/year.
Keywords: lead, tin, antimony, melting, vacuum distillation
 Berman, A. (1985). Total Pressure Measurements in Vacuum Technology. New York: Academic Press, p. 380.
 Winkler, O. and Bakish, R. (1971). Vacuum Metallurgy. Amsterdam: Elsevier, p. 237.
 Jia, G. B., Yang, B. and Liu, D. C. (2013). Deeply Removing Lead from Pb-Sn Alloy with Vacuum Distillation. Transactions of Nonferrous Metals Society of China, vol. 23, issue 6, pp. 1822–1831.
 Wang, A., et al. (2014). Process Optimization for Vacuum Distillation of Sn-Sb Alloy by Response Surface Methodology. Vacuum, vol. 109, pp. 127–134.
 Dai, Y. N. (2009). Vacuum Metallurgy of Nonferrous Metals. Beijing: Metallurgical Industry Press, p. 72.
 Yang, B., et al. (2015). Recycling of Metals from Waste Sn-based Alloys by Vacuum Separation. Transactions of Nonferrous Metals Society of China, vol. 25, issue 4, pp. 1315–1324.
 Liu, D. C., et al. (2012). Research on the Removal of Impurities from Crude Nickel by Vacuum Distillation. Physics Procedia, vol. 32, pp. 363–371.
 Dai, Y. N. and Yang, B. (2000). Non-ferrous Metals and Vacuum Metallurgy. Beijing: Metallurgical Industry Press, p. 40.