Physicochemical and environmental properties of arsenic sulfide sludge from copper and lead-zinc smelter

Physicochemical properties of arsenic sulfide sludge(ASS) from copper smelter(ASS-I) and lead-zinc smelter(ASS-II) were examined by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, SEM-EDS, TG-DTA, XPS and chemical phase analysis method. The toxicity characteristic leaching procedure(TCLP), Chinese standard leaching tests(CSLT), three-stage sequential extraction procedure(BCR) and batch leaching experiments(BLE) were used to investigate the environmental stability. The ASSs from different smelters had obviously different physicochemical and environmental properties. The phase composition and micrograph analysis indicate that ASS-I mainly consists of super refined flocculent particles including amorphous arsenic sulfide adhered with amorphous sulfur and that ASS-II mainly consists of amorphous arsenic sulfide. The valence state of arsenic in both sludges is trivalent, but the valence composition of sulfur is quite different. The ASSs have thermal instability properties. The results of TCLP and CSLT indicate that the concentrations of As and Pd in the leaching solution exceed the standard limits. More than 5% and 90% of arsenic are in the form of acid soluble and oxidizable fractions, respectively, which explains the high arsenic leaching toxicity and environmental activity of ASS. This research provides comprehensive information for the disposal of ASS from copper and lead-zinc smelter.

Process and mechanism of hydrothermal stabilization for arsenic sulfide sludge containing elemental sulfur

An optimized hydrothermal treatment was employed to stabilize the arsenic sulfide sludge(ASS). Under the optimal conditions(160 ℃, 2 h, liquid-to-solid(L/S) ratio of 1:1, and initial pH of 2), the leaching concentrations of As and Cd decreased from 504.0 and 12.0 mg/L to 1.23 and 0.03 mg/L of the treated ASS, respectively. The results indicate that the stabilization of the ASS was achieved through structure transformation from the particles into a bulk and the speciation transformation of As and Cd. Besides, sulfur in the ASS could significantly improve the stabilization property due to its melting and polymerization.

Stabilization of ferric arsenate sludge with mechanochemically prepared FeS2/Fe composites

FeS2/Fe composites were mechanochemically prepared with iron powder and pyrite for the stabilization of ferrite arsenate sludge(FAS).The effects of preparation parameters on stabilization performance were investigated.The results show that the optimum conditions are FeS2/Fe molar ratio of 5:5,milling time of 2 h,ball-to-material mass ratio of 15:1 and milling with stainless steel ball.Then,the composites were characterized by XRD,SEM,FTIR,etc.The physicochemical properties of FeS2/Fe mixture change dramatically,which is responsible for its excellent performance.Finally,the stabilization process of FAS was optimized.When the FAS is mixed with composites at mass ratio of 4:1 and milled for 30 min,the As leaching concentration of FAS can be reduced from 639.15 to 4.74 mg/L with the stabilization ratio of 99.2%.

Impact of roxarsone on the UASB reactor performance and its degradation

Roxarsone （3-nitro-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid, ROX） has been widely used for decades as an organoarsenic feed additive to control intestinal parasites and improve feed efficiency in animal production. However, most of the ROX is excreted into the manure, causing arsenic contamination in wastewater. The arsenic compounds are toxic to microorganisms, but the influence of continuous ROX loading on upflow anaerobic sludge blanket （UASB） reactor is still unknown. In this study, the impact of ROX and its degradation products on the performance of the UASB reactor and the degradation and speciation of ROX in the reactor were investigated. The UASB reactor （hydraulic retention time： 1.75 d） was operated using synthetic wastewater supplemented with ROX for a period of 260 days. With continuous ROX addition at 25.0 mg.L-1, severe inhibition to methanogenic activity occurred after 87 days operation accompanied with an accumulation of volatile fatty acids （VFAs） and a decline in pH. The decrease of added ROX concentration to 13.2 mg.L-1 did not mediate the inhibition. As（III）, As （V）, MMA（V）, DMA（V）, HAPA and an unknown arsenic compound were detected in the reactor, and a possible biotransformation pathway of ROX was proposed. Mass balance analysis of arsenic indicated that 60%-70% of the arsenic was discharged into the effluent, and 30%-40% was precipitated in the reactor. The results from this study suggest that we need to pay attention to the stability in the UASB reactors treating organoarsenic-contaminated manure and wastewater, and the effluent and sludge from the reactor tO avoid diffusion of arsenic contamination.