Long-Term Leaching Behavior of Chromite Ore Processing Residue as Backfill Material and the Propagation of Chromium in the Surrounding Soil
Publication: Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Volume 25, Issue 3
Abstract
Leaching characteristics of chromium ore processing residue (COPR) for the long term (simulating a 20-year leaching scenario) were investigated using laboratory flow-through column testing with synthetic rainwater and groundwater for 250 pore volumes of flow (PVFs). Four saturated column experiments simulated the long-term leaching of chromium (Cr) from two types of COPR [unweathered, gray-black (GB) and weathered, hard-brown (HB)] via advective groundwater and rainwater flow. The release of total [Cr(T)] and hexavalent Cr [Cr(VI)] from GB and HB COPR showed peak concentration before 5.5 PVFs and decreased significantly thereafter. The concentrations of Cr(T) and Cr(VI) from GB and HB COPR reached a steady state (5–20 mg/L) after 150 PVFs under groundwater and rainwater permeation. A substantial residual (>65%) of Cr(T) in the COPR was found after the column tests and continued releasing for an even more extended period (>250 PVFs). Higher concentrations of Cr(T) and Cr(VI) were released from COPR when permeated with groundwater relative to those with rainwater due to the highly alkaline (pH = 12.0) environment. Amorphous compounds may be a vital sink related to the release of the Cr from COPR, which can explain the higher release of Cr from HB COPR (33.2% and 22.5% cumulative leaching in groundwater and rainwater, respectively) than that from GB COPR (21.3% and 19.8% cumulative leaching in groundwater and rainwater, respectively). The temporal leaching behavior of Cr(T) obtained from the experiment was used as the input of a numerical model to investigate the long-term transport of Cr(T) through different soil substrates (sand or clay) as well as a bentonite cutoff wall. In an area with a sandy substrate of high permeability, a sand–bentonite cutoff wall is shown to control the transportation of Cr in the long term effectively.
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Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Volume 25 • Issue 3 • July 2021
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© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Oct 28, 2020
Accepted: Mar 25, 2021
Published online: Apr 28, 2021
Published in print: Jul 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Sep 28, 2021
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