Zinc dust (fine powdered zinc metal) has several industrial and chemical uses:
1. Chemical manufacturing
* Used as a reducing agent in chemical reactions.
* Used to produce various zinc compounds and intermediates.
2. Gold and precious-metal recovery
* Used in the Merrill–Crowe process to precipitate gold and silver from cyanide solutions.
3. Paints and coatings
* Used in zinc-rich primers for steel to provide corrosion protection.
* Zinc acts sacrificially, protecting the underlying metal.
4. Pharmaceutical manufacturing
* Used as a reducing agent/intermediate in certain pharmaceutical chemical processes. It is generally not the same as pharmaceutical-grade zinc used as a nutrient.
5. Battery production
* Zinc powder/dust can be used as an active material in certain zinc-based batteries.