IJESD 2012 Vol.3(5): 470-474
doi: 10.7763/IJESD.2012.V3.269

Characterization and Leaching Assessment of Ferronickel Slag from a Smelting Plant in Iligan City, Philippines

Juvelyn Demotica1 , Ruben F. Amparado Jr2 , Roberto Malaluan3 , Cesar G. Demayo2

  • 1the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics, MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan City taking up Master of Science in Environmental Science, Philippines
  • 2the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics, MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan City, Philippines
  • 3Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan City, Philippines

Abstract

Iligan City ferronickel smelting plant is producing more than 500,000 metric tons (MT) of ferronickel slag annually which are deposited in the plant’s premises since it has no economic value. Considering the ferronickel slag as a waste, there is a possibility that pollutant component of the slag will leach to the environment .This prompted the study on the physico-chemical and leaching characteristic of the ferronickel slag. Using United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA’s) Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) and USEPA’s Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure(SPLP). The concentrations of the regulated heavy metals leached from the material at different pH levels were significantly lower than the maximum concentrations for their toxicity limits set forth by EPA, DAO-34 and DAO 35 respectively. With the result of leaching test, ferronickel slag can be classified as non-hazardous. Although ferronickel slag is non-hazardous, preventive measures must be incorporated into the design of reclamation like stabilization and solidification with the use of appropriate binders and geomaterials to avoid future constraints.

Keywords

  • Ferronickel
  • slag
  • leaching
  • smelting
269-CD0083

How to Cite

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Juvelyn Demotica, Ruben F. Amparado Jr, Roberto Malaluan, and Cesar G. Demayo, "Characterization and Leaching Assessment of Ferronickel Slag from a Smelting Plant in Iligan City, Philippines," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, vol. 3, no. 5, pp. 470-474, 2012. https://doi.org/10.7763/IJESD.2012.V3.269

Copyright & License

Copyright © 2012 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).

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