Project Description:
Zinc refinement plays a crucial role in advancing next-generation battery technologies with a focus on sustainability and safety. Compared to traditional lithium-based systems, zinc-based batteries offer significantly lower carbon dioxide emissions and reduced water consumption during material production. Additionally, their inherently non-flammable chemistry makes them a safer alternative for widespread energy storage applications. The objective of our process is to design a refining process for purifying sphalerite, incorporating a profitable sulfur dioxide recycling offshoot, and optimizing zinc-air battery storage for solar energy systems. Overall, our simulation of this facility produces roughly 100,000 tons per year of 99% pure zinc and 150,000 tons per year of 98% pure sulfuric acid while only using 280 liters of water per ton of zinc produced. By optimizing reactor conditions and sulfur dioxide absorption, our process was able to minimize sulfur oxide pollution, remove metal impurities, and maximize zinc yield. Based on our economic simulation, the facility is projected to generate an annual profit of approximately 35 million, with a payback period of 1.19 years, and a profit margin of 12.8 % when factoring in capital, utility, and raw material costs as well as estimated revenue generated. This simulated process offers both a sustainable and economically viable pathway to meet the growing demand for safe, grid-scale energy storage solutions.
