A kinetic study of Mn(II) precipitation of leached aqueous solution from electrolytic manganese residues

Electrolytic manganese residue (EMR) is a type of solid waste discharged from the process that converts solid manganese carbonate of rhodochrosite into soluble Mn(II) and generates anode mud under electrolysis. The experimental material was a filtrate created by using distilled water as a dispersal agent for the EMR, followed by simple filtration. A calculated amount of sodium carbonate was added to recover the soluble Mn(II) via precipitation into manganese carbonate. Data showed that Mn concentration may be markedly decreased from 2069 to 36 mg/L, thereby reaching a recovery rate as high as 98%. Analysis demonstrated that precipitation of Mn(II) from a leached aqueous solution followed first-order kinetics. The findings indicate that the reaction rate constant decreased as temperature gradually rose and that its apparent activation energy Ea was −10.48 kJ/mol.