Abstract: To separate zinc out of a hot gas containing zinc vapour, a flow of lead is circulated in counterflow to the gas in a condenser. Heat from the lead flow from the condenser is transmitted to a chamber from which lead is transferred to the condenser. The lead flow from the condenser is cooled in known manner to a temperature at which its zinc saturation solubility is lower than its zinc content, thus causing precipitatioin of the zinc. The precipitated zinc is then separated off. The cooled flow of lead, poor in zinc, is transferred to the chamber for heating by the heat transmitted thereto so that the lead flow heated in this way and supplied to the condenser acquires a zinc saturation solubility higher than its zinc content.