Flotation tailings of copper-anode slime is a high value-added waste. A new, clean and highly efficient vacuum distillation process is presented for the separation of valuable metals that remain in the waste. In this work, the saturated vapor pressure of each metal element in the flotation tailings is theoretically analyzed, with vapor-liquid equilibria (VLE) diagrams used to quantitatively predict the composition of the products. The optimum distillation temperature and time of volatilization behavior of each component are investigated using a two-step, low-temperature and high-temperature vacuum distillation experiment; the system pressure of both steps is 1–5 Pa. The experimental results indicate that the recovery efficiencies of Se and Te are 98.09% and 97.82%, respectively, after the low-temperature distillation (923 K and 120 min); the removal rates of Pb, Sb and Bi are 92.99%, 96.86% and 94.57%, respectively. The recovery efficiencies of Cu, Ag and Au are 95.65%, 99.28% and 99.12%, respectively, after the high-temperature distillation (1173 K and 50 min). Valuable metals in the flotation tailings can be separated and recovered effectively via a two-step vacuum distillation in which no wastewater or gas is released into the environment, meeting the development needs for cleaner production within the metallurgical industry.

中文翻译：

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从高附加值废物中分离和回收有价金属的新型真空蒸馏技术

铜阳极泥浮选尾矿是一种高附加值废物。提出了一种新的、清洁且高效的真空蒸馏工艺，用于分离废物中残留的有价值的金属。本工作从理论上分析了浮选尾矿中各金属元素的饱和蒸气压，并利用气液平衡（VLE）图定量预测了产品的成分。通过低温和高温两步真空蒸馏实验，研究了各组分挥发行为的最佳蒸馏温度和时间；两步系统压力均为1~5 Pa。实验结果表明，低温精馏（923 K、120 min）后Se和Te的回收率分别为98.09%和97.82%。 Pb、Sb、Bi的去除率分别为92.99%、96.86%、94.57%。高温蒸馏（1173 K、50 min）后，Cu、Ag 和 Au 的回收率分别为 95.65%、99.28% 和 99.12%。通过两步真空蒸馏，可以有效分离回收浮选尾矿中的有价金属，不向环境排放废水和气体，满足冶金行业清洁生产的发展需求。