Sequential Precipitation of Iron, Copper, and Zinc from Wastewater for Metal Recovery
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 145, Issue 1
Abstract
Hydroxide precipitation is the most widely used heavy metal wastewater treatment method. However, the metal hydroxide sludge produced must be treated concurrently. In this paper, an integrated treatment procedure, which modifies hydroxide precipitation with oxidation treatment and sulfide precipitation, is proposed to sequentially precipitate Fe, Cu, and Zn from wastewater for metal recovery. An industrial wastewater specimen containing Cu (), Fe (), and Zn () was used. First, hydroxide precipitation using lime was applied to study the precipitation characteristics of Cu, Fe, and Zn, following which oxidation treatment and NaHS sulfide precipitation were conducted and integrated with hydroxide precipitation to selectively precipitate Cu, Fe, and Zn from the wastewater specimen. The Fe, Cu, and Zn were sequentially removed from the wastewater by introducing 0.1% (v/v) , altering the pH of the wastewater to pH 3.5–4.0 using lime, adding NaHS, and subsequently altering the pH to 9.0. The Fe, Cu, and Zn were subsequently separated as individual precipitates with recoveries of , , and , respectively, which can facilitate metal recovery and render sludge disposal unnecessary.
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Acknowledgments
Financial support for this study was provided in part by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of China under Grant MOST 106-2221-E-027-014.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 145 • Issue 1 • January 2019
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©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 17, 2018
Accepted: Jul 12, 2018
Published online: Oct 31, 2018
Published in print: Jan 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Mar 31, 2019
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