Recovery of iron from lead-zinc metallurgical slags by bath smelting

The recovery of iron from iron sinking slag and lead smelter slag was investigated by desulfurization-reduction bath smelting. The effects of lead smelter slag(LSS) to iron sinking slag(ISS) mass ratio and temperature were investigated in desulfurization experiments. The X-ray diffraction(XRD) and X-ray fluorescence(XRF) analyses show that the optimum conditions are LSS:ISS of 3:7 and temperature of 1350°C. The composition of desulfurization products is mainly Zn Fe2O4, and the desulfurization rate of 99.66% is obtained under optimum conditions. The thermogravimetric(TG) and differential scanning calorimeter(DSC) analyses demonstrate that reductant is necessary for decomposition and reduction of zinc ferrite in desulfurization product. The effects of reductant, temperature and feeding modes on iron enrichment were investigated in reduction experiments. The scanning electron microscope(SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer(EDS) determination show that the iron content of reduction product is up to 99.36% under optimum conditions of coke as reductant, reduction temperature of 1450°C and the feeding mode of premixing.

Phytotoxicity and groundwater impacts of leaching from thermal treatment residues in roadways

The use of coal fly ash（CFA）, municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash（MSWIBA） and flue gas desulfurization residue（FGDR） in road construction has become very common owing to its economical advantages. However, these residues may contain toxic constituents that pose an environmental risk if they leach out and flow through the soil, surface water and groundwater.Therefore, it is necessary to assess the ecotoxicity and groundwater impact of these residues before decisions can be made regarding their utilization for road construction. In this study,the physico-chemical characteristics, leaching and phytotoxicity of these residues were investigated. Specifically, multivariate analyses were used to evaluate the contributions of the leaching constituents of the CFA, MSWIBA and FGDR leachates to the germination index of wheat seeds. B, Ba, Cr, Cu, Fe and Pb were found to be more toxic to the wheat seeds than the other heavy metals. Furthermore, the leached concentrations of the constituents from the CFA, MSWIBA and FGDR were below the regulatory threshold limits of the Chinese identification standard for hazardous wastes. Analyses conducted using a numerical groundwater model（Wisc LEACH） indicated that the predicted field concentrations of metals from the CFA, MSWIBA and FGDR increased with time up to about 30 years at the point of compliance, then decreased with time and distance. Overall, this study demonstrated that the risks resulting from MSWIBA, CFA and FGDR leaching could be assessed before its utilization for road construction, providing crucial information for the adoption of these alternative materials.