Abstract
Wastewater treatment and removal of hazardous metals is imperative for the well-being of living things and the environment. Different methods for the removal of hazardous metals have been proposed and practiced with varying success. In this study, dust slag generated by electric arc furnace is utilized for the removal of aluminium, barium and magnesium from industrial effluent. Slag which is a waste generated during the process of steel production is alkaline by nature. It was able to raise the pH of the acidic effluent to 8.7 removing most of the metals and reducing the amount of commercial alkali required to raise the pH to the target pH of 12.5. EAFDS in conjunction with lime removed 98% of Al, 95.8% of Ba and 99.7% of Mg. The method was simple, efficient and cost-effective since it utilizes a material considered hazardous waste for the treatment.
Highlights
Rapid industrialization accompanied by urbanization specially in developing countries has increased pollution by hazardous metals, which is a concern for human well-being and the environment at large
After the mixture of the effluent and electric arc furnace dust slag (EAFDS) was agitated at 380 rpm for 30 min, the pH rose to 3.1 and the concentration of Al in the solution dropped to 22.3 mg/l achieving more than 75% removal
The treatment method investigated in this study was chemical precipitation technique, which is one of the most common treatment methods to neutralize and remove hazardous metals from wastewater
Summary
Rapid industrialization accompanied by urbanization specially in developing countries has increased pollution by hazardous metals, which is a concern for human well-being and the environment at large (van Neuss 2015; Aljerf 2018; Al-Makhadmeh et al 2018; Rodriguez and Mandalunis 2018a, b). Many industries discharge organic and inorganic wastes containing hazardous metals into the environment including the water bodies (Islam et al 2018). Industrial and mining wastes containing metals and there derivatives and compounds are hazardous to the environment and living things due to their toxicity and non-biodegradability, even when they are present at trace concentrations (Goher et al 2015).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
