Effect of moderately thermophilic bacteria on metal extraction and electrochemical characteristics for zinc smelting slag in bioleaching system

The effects of moderately thermophilic bacteria on the extraction of metals from zinc smelting slag and electrochemical characteristics of zinc smelting slag carbon paste electrode in bioleaching process were studied. The results show that the extraction rates of Fe, Cu and Zn from the slag reach 86.7%, 90.3% and 66.7% after adsorbed bacteria sterilize, while those with adsorbed bacteria are 91.9%, 96.0% and 84.5% in conditions of pulp density 2%, pH 1.0, temperature 65 °C and stirring rate 120 r/min, respectively. Some stretching peaks of functional groups from bacterial secretes on the bioleached residue surface, such as 1007 cm-1 and 1193 cm-1, turn up through FI-IR analysis and indirectly reveal the presence of the adsorbed bacteria on the slag particles surface. Besides, the corrosion of zinc smelting slag is enhanced by bacteria according to the characteristics of cyclic voltametry and Tafel curves in bioleaching system.

Extraction of metals from a zinc smelting slag using two-step procedure combining acid and ethylene diaminetetraacetic acid disodium

A two-step leaching method in combination of acid and ethylene diaminetetraacetic acid disodium （EDTA-Na2） was applied to extract metals such as Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn from a zinc smelting slag. The results show that the extraction rates of Cd, Cu, Fe and Zn in slag reach 88.3%, 54.1%, 69.6% and 54.7%, respectively, while the extraction rate of Pb is only 0.05% leached with 1.25 mol/L sulfuric acid under the conditions of the ratio of slag to liquid of 100 g/L, 65 ℃ and 120 r/min for 2 h. However, Pb extraction rate from 1.25 mol/L sulfuric acid leached residue reaches as high as 66.5% by using 0.1 mol/L EDTA-Na2 solution. The results indicate that two-step sequential extraction procedure combining 1.25 mol/L sulfuric acid and 0.1 mol/L EDTA-Na2 solution can extensively extract Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn from zinc smelting slag.

Life cycle assessment for waste acid treatment in zinc smelting

Lift cycle assessment(LCA)methodology was applied to evaluating and comparing two waste acid disposal processes in zinc smelting.The results indicate that environmental impacts of gas−liquid vulcanization technologies are human toxicity,abiotic depletion potential,and global warming risk,which are mainly caused in neutralizing−evaporating−crystallization unit and electrodialysis unit.As for traditional lime neutralization method,vulcanization unit is the main factor.In this regard,the total environmental impact of traditional lime neutralization method is much higher than that of gas−liquid vulcanization technologies.Furthermore,the sensitive analysis shows that electricity and sodium sulfide(60%)are sensitive factors in two waste acid disposal technologies.In addition,the total cost of disposing a functional unit waste acid in traditional lime neutralization process is nearly 27 times that of the gas−liquid vulcanization waste acid disposal technologies.

Size distribution and source of heavy metals in particulate matter on the lead and zinc smelting affected area

In order to understand the size distribution and the main kind of heavy metals in particulate matter on the lead and zinc smelting affected area, particulate matter （PM） and the source samples were collected in Zhuzhou, Hunan Province from December 2011 to January 2012 and the results were discussed and interpreted. Atmospheric particles were collected with different sizes by a cascade impactor. The concentrations of heavy metals in atmospheric particles of different sizes, collected from the air and from factories, were measured using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry （ICP-MS）. The results indicated that the average concentration of PM, chromium （Cr）, arsenic （As）, cadmium （Cd） and lead （Pb） in PM was 177.3 ± 33.2 μg/m^3, 37.3 ± 8.8 ng/m^3, 17.3 ± 8.1 ng/m^3, 4.8 ± 3.1 ng/m^3 and 141.6 ± 49.1 ng/m^3, respectively. The size distribution of PM displayed a bimodal distribution; the maximum PM size distribution was at 1.1-2.1 μm, followed by 9-10 μm. The size distribution of As, cd and Pb in PM was similar to the distribution of the PM mass, with peaks observed at the range of 1.1-2.1 μm and 9-10 μm ranges while for Cr, only a single-mode at 4.7-5.8 μm was observed. PM （64.7%, As （72.5%）, cd （72.2%） and Pb （75.8%） were associated with the fine mode below 2.1 μm, respectively, while Cr （46.6%） was associated with the coarse mode. The size distribution characteristics, enrichment factor, correlation coefficient values, source information and the analysis of source samples showed that As, Cd and Pb in PM were the typical heavy metal in lead and zinc smelting affected areas, which originated mainly from lead and zinc smelting sources.

Prediction model for permeability index by integrating case-based reasoning with adaptive particle swarm optimization

To effectively predict the permeability index of smelting process in the imperial smelting furnace, an intelligent prediction model is proposed. It integrates the case-based reasoning （CBR） with adaptive par- ticle swarm optimization （PSO）. The nmnber of nearest neighbors and the weighted features vector are optimized online using the adaptive PSO to improve the prediction accuracy of CBR. The adaptive inertia weight and mutation operation are used to overcome the premature convergence of the PSO. The proposed method is validated a compared with the basic weighted CBR. The results show that the proposed model has higher prediction accuracy and better performance than the basic CBR model.

Mine rocky desertification： Another type of rocky desertification coexisting with Karst rocky desertification in Karst region

Mine rocky desertification is another type of rocky desertification which coexists with Karst rocky desertification, suggested firstly by professor SONG Jian-bo, Guizhou University. Mine rocky desertification is a process and result that the earth＇s surface is similar to desert landscapes after rock is exposed gradually, owing to mine wastes discharged at will which consist of waste residue, waste liquid and waste gas. On the basis of introducing Karst rocky desertification simply, we clarify the concept of Mine rocky desertification systemically, analyze its danger and compare the differences between Mine rocky desertification and Karst rocky desertification. Finally, we make preliminary discussion on the study significance of comprehensive treatment of Mine rocky desertification

A practical method for identifying key factors in the distribution and formation of heavy metal pollution at a smelting site

Smelting activities are the main pathway for the anthropogenic release of heavy metals(HMs)into the soil-groundwater environment.It is vital to identify the factors affecting HMs pollution to better prevent and manage soil pollution.The present study conducted a comprehensive investigation of HMs in soil from a large abandoned Zn smelting site.An integrated approach was proposed to classify and quantify the factors affecting HMs pollution in the site.Besides,the quantitative relationship between hydrogeological characteristics,pollution transmission pathways,smelting activities and HMs pollutionwas established.Results showed that the soils were highly contaminated by HMs with a pollution index trend of As>Zn>Cd>Pb>Hg.In identifying the pollution hotspots,we conclude that the pollution hotspots of Pb,As,Cd,and Hg present a concentrated distribution pattern.Geo-detector method results showed that the dominant driving factors for HMs distribution and accumulation were the potential pollution source and soil permeability.Additionally,the main drivers are variable for different HMs,and the interaction among factors also enhanced soil HMs contamination.Our analysis illustrates how the confounding influences from complex environmental factors can be distilled to identify key factors in pollution formation to guide future remediation strategies.