Acidic leaching both of zinc and iron from basic oxygen furnace sludge

► The amount of leached zinc was the highest (70%) using 1 M concentration of sulphuric acid with the leaching time up to 15 min and at temperature of 80 °C. ► Choosing the right leaching conditions it is possible to leach zinc into the solution. ► By suitable adjusting of pH value it is possible to remove iron from the solution. ► Selected leaching conditions are valid only for the particular BOF sludge because the chemical and mineralogical composition of each steelmaking dust is individual.