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In recent years, wastes generated during copper smelting have attracted growing attention not only as an environmental issue but also as a potential secondary source of economically and strategically valuable elements. Lead-bismuth sludge formed during wet gas cleaning is a chemically complex polymetallic material. Its composition is determined by the mineralogical characteristics of the processed feedstock as well as by the physicochemical conditions of high-temperature smelting and subsequent gas purification. Selenium and tellurium are of particular interest because they are classified as critical raw materials and their primary natural sources are limited. According to material balance considerations, part of these elements is expected to redistribute into technogenic products formed during smelting. However, available published data on their actual concentrations in lead-bismuth sludge remain scarce and sometimes contradictory. Although selenium and tellurium belong to the same group of chalcogen elements, their behavior under high-temperature oxidative conditions differs markedly. These differences affect their volatility, oxidation states, and their tendency to partition between solid and gaseous phases. Consequently, the enrichment of these elements in specific waste streams cannot be reliably predicted solely from ore composition and therefore requires experimental verification. The aim of the present study is to perform a quantitative assessment of the elemental composition of lead-bismuth sludge formed during wet gas cleaning and to analyze the contrasting distribution behavior of selenium and tellurium in this technogenic material.
Keywords: Copper smelting, Secondary tellurium source, Critical raw materials, Technogenic waste, Wet gas cleaning, Elemental composition, ICP-OES© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.