Potencial de alcalinización de escorias siderúrgicas para el tratamiento de drenajes ácidos de minas

Alkalization potential of steel slag for the treatment of acid mine drainage

Daniel Alejandro Glatstein^1,*, Franco Matías Francisca²

¹Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fı́sicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC), Vélez Sarsfield 1611 (X5016CGA), Córdoba, Argentina. Instituto de Estudios Avanzados en Ingenierı́a y Tecnologı́a (IDIT), CONICET—Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina.

²Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fı́sicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC), Vélez Sarsfield 1611 (X5016CGA), Córdoba, Argentina. Instituto de Estudios Avanzados en Ingenierı́a y Tecnologı́a (IDIT), CONICET—Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina.

* Autor para correspondencia: (D Glatstein) This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

How to cite this article:

Glatstein, D. A., Francisca, F. M., 2023, Potencial de alcalinización de escorias siderúrgicas para el tratamiento de drenajes ácidos de minas: Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana, 75 (1), A261122. http://dx.doi.org/10.18268/BSGM2023v75n1a261122

Manuscrito recibido: 19 de Mayo de 2022; Manuscrito corregido: 25 de Noviembre de 2022; Manuscrito aceptado: 30 de Noviembre de 2022.

ABSTRACT

Mining is essential for urban, industrial and technological development, however poorly managed mining projects generate negative impacts of great severity on the environment and human health. Some of these impacts include acid mine drainage. There are a large number of physical and chemical methods for the treatment of acid mine drainage, but current trends show a greater efficiency of passive treatments, in particular those including natural or waste alkaline materials. This paper analyzes the alkalinization potential of two types of steel slag, historically considered a waste material from the metallurgical industry. The slags were analyzed to identify their chemical composition and verify that it had not been altered by environmental exposure, they were observed microscopically and their ability to neutralize acidic solutions was measured. Obtained results show great variability on the chemical composition of the slags. The studies show an alkalinization capacity of 15 H⁺ equiv/kg of basic oxygen converter slag and 5 H⁺ equiv/kg of blast furnace slag. In addition, blast furnace slags present higher hydraulicity and larger size than basic oxygen converter slags. These results demonstrate the high potential of these by-products as acid mine drainage neutralizers.

Keywords: mining wastes, steel slag, reuse, permeable reactive barrier, acid mine drainage, neutralization.