The management of arsenic wastes: problems and prospects

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Leist, Michael, Casey, John and Caridi, Domenico (2000) The management of arsenic wastes: problems and prospects. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 76 (1). pp. 125-138. ISSN 0304-3894

Abstract

Arsenic has found widespread use in agriculture and industry to control a variety of insect and fungicidal pests. Most of these uses have been discontinued, but residues from such activities, together with the ongoing generation of arsenic wastes from the smelting of various ores, have left a legacy of a large number of arsenic-contaminated sites. The treatment and/or removal of arsenic is hindered by the fact that arsenic has a variety of valence states. Arsenic is most effectively removed or stabilized when it is present in the pentavalent arsenate form. For the removal of arsenic from wastewater, coagulation, normally using iron, is the preferred option. The solidification/stabilization of arsenic is not such a clear-cut process. Factors such as the waste's interaction with the additives (e.g. iron or lime), as well as any effect on the cement matrix, all impact on the efficacy of the fixation. Currently, differentiation between available solidification/stabilization processes i speculative, partly due to the large number of differing leaching tests that have been utilized. Differences in the leaching fluid, liquid-to-ratio, and agitation time and method all impact significantly on the arsenic leachate concentrations. This paper reviews options available for dealing with arsenic wastes, both solid and aqueous through an investigation of the methods available for the removal of arsenic from wastewater as well as possible solidification/stabilization options for a variety of waste streams.

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Item type Article
URI https://vuir.vu.edu.au/id/eprint/1919
DOI 10.1016/S0304-3894(00)00188-6
Official URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S...
Subjects Historical > RFCD Classification > 300000 Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences
Historical > RFCD Classification > 290000 Engineering and Technology
Historical > Faculty/School/Research Centre/Department > School of Engineering and Science
Keywords arsenic, toxicity, solidification/stabilization, recovery, removal
Citations in Scopus 254 - View on Scopus
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