Abstract:
Chromium has widespread use in the electroplating industry, generating much
chromium contaminated wastewater. A common technique for chromium removal is
reduction using various substances. However, the conditions for the use of electric arc
furnace dust as an alternate reductant have not been studied. Electric arc furnace dust
is a scrap metal steel mill waste by-product consisting of various metals, especially
iron and zinc. When this dust is used as a reductant, the iron and zinc are leached into
the water. So conditions must be found under which this leaching is minimized while
the chromium is efficiently removed.
The main objective of this study was to determine the optimum conditions for
the use of electric arc furnace dust as a reductant for removing chromium from
electroplating wastewater. A laboratory-scale experiment with a continuous mode was
used to determine the optimum removal conditions by varying surface overflow rates,
dust concentrations, and pH levels.
When the surface overflow rate is increased, there is not enough time for the
dust to settle, so the dust consisting of zinc and iron moves into the water and the
amounts of zinc and iron in the water increases. When the dust concentration
consisting zinc and iron is increased, zinc and iron are leached into the water resulting
in higher levels of zinc and iron in the water and higher chromium removal efficiency.
But this high level of dust concentration is not desirable. With lower pH levels
chromium removal efficiency increased and amounts of zinc and iron decreased. So a
lower pH level is to be preferred.
The optimum removal conditions were found to consist of a surface overflow
rate of 1.2 m3/m2.d, a dust concentration of 125 g/l, and a pH level of 7. Under these
conditions the chromium removal efficiency was 99.59 % and the chromium
concentration, zinc concentration, iron concentration, and amount of suspended solids
in the water were lower than those of the required water standards stipulated by the
Ministry of Industry of Thailand.