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Turning waste into valuable resource: potential of electric arc furnace dust as photocatalytic material

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Abstract

This paper explores the potential of a hazardous waste of difficult management, electric arc furnace dust (EAFD), as photocatalytic material. Starting from a real waste coming from a Spanish steel factory, chemical, mineralogical, and optical characterizations have been carried out. Direct trials on EAFD and mortar containing this waste have been performed to evaluate its potential as photocatalyst itself and within a cementitious material. The analysis of photocatalytic properties has been done by two different methods: degradation of NO x and degradation of rhodamine (RhB). As a result, it can be said that EAFD exhibited photocatalytic activity for both configurations with UV and visible light, having the mortar enhanced photocatalytic activity for NO x with respect to the EAFD itself. Additionally, in direct trials on the EAFD, it has been able to degrade RhB even in the dark, which has been attributed to transfer of electrons between the adsorbed RhB and the conduction band of some oxides in the dust.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Maria Grande Jara, of technical analysis and control from IETcc-CSIC, for her collaboration in the experimental work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Construction Science “Eduardo Torroja” IETcc, CSIC, C/Serrano Galvache, 4, 28033, Madrid, Spain

    M. Sapiña, E. Jimenez-Relinque & M. Castellote

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  1. M. Sapiña
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  2. E. Jimenez-Relinque
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  3. M. Castellote
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Correspondence to M. Castellote.

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Responsible editor: Bingcai Pan

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Sapiña, M., Jimenez-Relinque, E. & Castellote, M. Turning waste into valuable resource: potential of electric arc furnace dust as photocatalytic material. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 12091–12098 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3167-2

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