An Investigation into Removing Zinc from the Zinc-Bearing Dusts Using the Cold Briquetting-Direct Reduction Process

This study developed a composite binder cold briquetting-direct reduction process for zinc removal and resource recovery from zinc-containing dust. Through systematic briquetting and reduction experiments, the optimal briquette parameters were identified, and the mechanisms of zinc migration and removal during reduction were discussed. The results showed that under optimized reduction conditions at 1275 °C for 25 min and with 4% carbon content in the briquettes, the process achieved a zinc removal rate of 98.25% and an iron metallization rate of 90.54%, indicating high Zn removal performance under the tested conditions. Notably, compared with briquettes prepared with conventional organic binders (OB1), the composite binder (CB1) briquettes exhibited higher compressive strength while maintaining comparable Zn removal and metallization performance. The CB1 offers both economic advantages and improved mechanical strength, being successfully applied in industrial lines. Moreover, this process offers an industrially applicable route for the efficient treatment and resource utilization of zinc-bearing dust in the steel industry.