Abstract
Spent cathode carbon (SCC) is a hazardous waste containing fluorides and cyanides from aluminum electrolysis. Many literatures have focused on SCC leaching; however, SCC hazard-free treatment remains understudied. This article used 10.0 g raw SCC sample to explore the vitric/kaolin solidification and calcium stabilization of SCC, and analyze their hazard-free mechanisms by the methods of XRD and SEM. The leached fluorides were all below the Chinese identification standard for hazardous wastes (GB5085.3-2007), whether at 750/950 °C for 60 min above 8.0 g vitric, or at 1200 °C for 120 min with above 8.0 g kaolin, or above 700 °C for more than 30 min with above 0.5 g CaCO3. Kaolin/vitric solidification relied on the massive addition of vitric and kaolin to produce glassy or glass-like material (K2O·Al2O3·6SiO2) which may retain fluoride. Calcium stabilization converted soluble fluoride NaF in raw SCC sample into insoluble CaF2. Heating 60 min at 500–1200 °C at oxygen atmosphere decomposed almost of cyanides, with leached cyanides meeting Chinese standard GB5085.3-2007. Mass-loss rates of kaolin addition came from a large amount of adsorbed water and structural water in kaolinite and illite wai lost, and that of CaCO3/CaSO4 addition was attributed to their decomposition into volatile CO2/SO2, while that of CaO was a little negative due to its absorption of water vapor and CO2. In brief, as the effective hazard-free manner of SCC, both kaolin/vitric solidification and calcium stabilization successfully have achieved fluoride immobilization and cyanide decomposition.
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This research was supported by the R&D Project on Hazard-Free Treatment and Recycling of Hazardous Waste from Aluminum Electrolysis (H15-075).
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YS: resources, methodology, original draft writing, writing—review and editing, funding acquisition, project administration, supervision. ZL: experiment, original draft writing. CL, TL: experiment. LZ, YS: writing—review and editing. QG: methodology, writing—review and editing.
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Sang, Y., Liang, Z., Li, C. et al. Solidification/stabilization of spent cathode carbon from aluminum electrolysis by vitric, kaolin and calcification agent: fluorides immobilization and cyanides decomposition. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 85537–85546 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21803-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21803-9