Destruction of Iron-Complexed Cyanide by Alkaline Hydrolysis

Abstract

Iron-complexed cyanide compounds are found in various industrial wastes, and are resistant to destruction by conventional technologies used to treat cyanide-bearing wastes. This study evaluated hydrolytic destruction of iron-complexed cyanide in leachates from land disposal of spent carbonanceous material used to line aluminum reduction cells. The investigation showed that iron-cyanide complexes may be hydrolyzed under alkaline conditions at elevated temperatures and pressures, e.g. in the range of 165-180 °C and 100-150 psig. The hydrolysis reaction is apparently first-order with respect to total cyanide. The reaction yields stoichiometric amounts of ammonia and formate, and Fe3O4(s). The rate of the reaction is especially temperature dependent, and for the case of spent potlining leachate, the hydrolysis rate may be estimated by an Arrhenius kinetic expression for hydrolysis of simple cyanide. The rate of the hydrolysis reaction for iron-complexed cyanide is compared to that for other metal-cyanide complexes. It is shown that waste composition may affect the hydrolysis rate, and that the instability of certain metal-cyanide complexes with respect to alkaline chlorination does not correlate with instability with respect to alkaline hydrolysis. Alkaline hydrolysis is an appropriate technology for destruction of iron- and other metal-cyanide compounds in wastes at high concentrations.