Evaluation of Newly Developed Aluminum, Lime, and Fly Ash Technology for Solidifaction/Stabilization of Mine Tailings
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 19, Issue 1
Abstract
In this study, samples treated with aluminum, lime, and fly ash technology were subjected to different leaching tests per the toxicity characteristics leaching procedures (TCLP). The leachants were simulated groundwater, acid rain, sulfuric acid solution (modified TCLP), and 0.1 molar acetic acid solution (TCLP). The leachate solutions were analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopy for the metal concentrations. The success of the treatment was evaluated based on results of leachability combined with X-ray diffraction analysis. The results of the experiments indicate that upon availability of aluminum for reaction, ettringite, and ettringitelike minerals are formed and precipitated as stable minerals. Moreover, the high hydrogen ion concentration environment of the samples, produced by lime and fly ash addition, and the stabilization effect of ettringite had contributed significantly to the reduction of the solubility of heavy metals. The X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that ettringite remained stable during the testing period of 660 days.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada.
References
Environment Canada. (1990). “Compendium of waste leaching tests.” EPS 3/HA/7, Environmental Protection Series, Wastewater Technology Center.
Gougar, M. L. D., Scheetz, B. E., and Roy, D. M. (1996). “Ettringite and C-S-H Portland cement phases for waste ion immobilization: A review.” Waste Manage., 16(4), 295–303.
Hossein, M. (2000). “The role of ettringite formation in stabilization/solidification of sulphide-bearing tailings.” Ph.D. thesis, McGill Univ., Montreal.
Hossein, M., Mohamed, A. M. O., Hassani, F. P., and Elbadri, H. A. (1999). “Ettringite formation in lime-remediated mine tailings. II: Experimental study.” CIM Bull., 92(1029), 75–80.
Kuyucak, N., Payant, S., and Sheremata, T. (1995). “Improved lime neutralization process; mining and the environment.” Conf. Proc., An Integrated Approach to Planning and Rehabilitation for the 21st Century, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, 129–138.
Kuyucak, N., Sheremata, T., and Wheeland, K. G. (1991). “Evaluation of improved lime neutralization processes. Part I: Lime sludge generation and stability.” Proc., 2nd Int. Conf. on the Abatement of Acidic Drainage, 2, 1–13.
Means, J. L., Smith, L. A., Nehring, K. W., Brauning, S. E., Gavaskar, A. R., Sass, B. M., Wiles, C. C., and Mashni, C. T. (1995). “The application of solidification/stabilization to waste materials.” U.S. EPA., Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory, Lewis Publishers, Cincinnati, 137–146.
Merritt, S. D., Batchelor, B., Little, D. N., and Still, M. (1992). “Applications of soil and cement chemistry to stabilization/solidification.” Transportation Research Record. 1424.
Mohamed, A. M. O. (2003). “Geoenvironmental aspects of chemically based ground improvement techniques for pyritic mine tailings.” Ground Improvement J., 7(2), 73–85.
Mohamed, A. M. O., and Antia, H. E. (1998). Geoenvironmental engineering, Elsevier, Amsterdam.
Mohamed, A. M. O., Boily, J. F., Hossein, M., and Hassani, F. P. (1995). “Ettringite formation in lime-remediated mine tailings. I: Thermodynamic modeling.” CIM Bull., 88(995), 69–75.
Mohamed, A. M. O., Hossein, M., and Hassani, F. P. (2002). “Hydro-mechanical evaluation of stabilized mine tailings.” Environ. Geol., 41(7) 749–759.
Mohamed, A. M. O., Hossein, M., and Hassani, F. P. (2003). “Role of fly ash and aluminum addition on ettringite formation in lime-remediated mine tailings.” J. Cem., Concr., Aggregates (ASTM), 25(2), 49–58.
Mohamed, A. M. O., Hossein, M., and Hassani, F. P. (2004). “Keynote paper: Evaluation of the newly developed ALFA technology for the treatment of high sulphide content mine tailings.” 5th Int. Conf. on Ground Improvement Techniques, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 1–14.
Poon, C. S. (1989). “A critical review of evaluation procedures for stabilization/solidification processes.” Environmental aspects of stabilization and solidification of hazardous and radioactive wastes, ASTM STP 1033, P. L. Cote and T. M. Gilliams, eds., ASTM, Philadelphia, 114–124.
Thompson, D. W., Malone, P. G., and Jones, L. W. (1979). “Survey of available stabilization technology.” Toxic and hazardous waste disposal, Vol. 1, Process for stabilization/solidification, Robert B. Pojasek, ed., 9–22.
U.S. EPA. (1986). “Test method for evaluating solid wastes.” U.S. EPA SW-846, Method 3050, Vol. 1A-1C, Laboratory Manual, Physical Chemical Methods.
U.S. EPA. Method 1311. (1990). “Toxicity characteristic leaching procedure.” U.S. EPA 530/SW-846.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2007 ASCE.
History
Received: Jul 27, 2005
Accepted: Jul 29, 2005
Published online: Jan 1, 2007
Published in print: Jan 2007
Notes
Note. Associate Editor: Hilary I. Inyang
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.