Transport and enrichment of thallium in metallurgical processes

Thallium is a typical rare and dispersed element with much higher toxicity than Hg, Cd, Cu, Pb, As, etc. Although it is very low in the earth's crust, it is enriched by metallurgical processes, and the thallium content in metallurgical by-products is much higher than the crustal abundance. The main production sources of thallium in the world are the flue dust of zinc, lead and copper, so the non-ferrous metallurgy part of this paper takes zinc, lead and copper smelting processes as examples. In ferrous metallurgy, although there are fewer studies on thallium, this paper reviews the elemental content, related chemical reactions and enrichment trends of thallium in various processes of iron and steel metallurgy. This paper introduces the migration and enrichment of thallium in metallurgical processes, and provides relevant research support for thallium element opening and solid waste resource utilization, to achieve the goal of green metallurgy and to serve the national ecological civilization strategy.