Data on the diagnosis of the management of the primary waste from electrical and electronic equipment in health care institutions in Barranquilla, Colombia.

Economic and technological development advances exponentially, and the implementation of new technologies in the health sector has become a source of waste for electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Electrical and electronic equipment must be replaced periodically, either due to a technological update or to improve medical treatments, which ultimately leads to the generation of this type of waste. This work aimed to conduct exploratory research on the current situation of the handling of this type of waste in Barranquilla, Colombia, considering the limited information related to the management of biomedical WEEE in the city. Sixty health care institutions (HCIs), including hospitals and clinics, odontological centres and ophthalmological centres, participated favourably in the surveys concerning the management of WEEE. Through this work, it was possible to establish a working staff level of knowledge on WEEE disposal and the framework for the management and temporary collection of this waste. Therefore, the data are useful for proposing strategies for the integral management of electrical and electronic waste in both small and large populations.

Dataset of the efficiency of the ultraviolet light activation of persulfate ion for the degradation of cobalt cyanocomplexes in synthetic mining wastewater.

In recent years, the extraction of gold has become important for the development of nations. However, mining wastewater represents an environmental problem due to its high content of free cyanide-based compounds and weak and strong cyanocomplexes for the use of sodium cyanide to obtain gold from minerals. The experimental data presented show the performance of the elimination of one of the strongest cyanocomplex that can appear in mining wastewater ( [ Co ( CN ) 6 ] 3 - ) by the ultraviolet C activation of persulfate (PS). The removal of total cobalt in solution was used as an indicator of the elimination of the cobalt cyanocomplexes that appear as transformation products from the degradation of [ Co ( CN ) 6 ] 3 - . The data evidence that strong cyanocomplexes can be eliminated from mining wastewater. The experimental runs were divided into two parts: as a first step, the influence of the UVC light was elucidated. Afterward, five initial concentrations of persulfate ion (0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9 g/L of PS), two pH values (11 and 13) and two additional initial concentrations of contaminant (25 mg/L and 75 mg/L of [ Co ( CN ) 6 ] 3 - ) were examined to find the optimal parameter where the highest Co removal is obtained.

Ultraviolet light-mediated activation of persulfate for the degradation of cobalt cyanocomplexes.

The ultraviolet light activation of persulfate (PS) was evaluated for the degradation of cobalt cyanocomplexes, which are considered as some of the most recalcitrant compounds present in mining wastewater. The influence of the solution pH (11 and 13), initial concentration of PS (0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9 g/L), dissolved oxygen and initial concentration of contaminant were evaluated. Photolysis results showed that [Formula: see text] is photosensitive to UVC radiation, while the activation of PS by alkaline pH does not contribute to the degradation of the cyanocomplex. There was no presence of CN- at both solution pH values using UVC/PS. But at pH 13, the degradation of cobalt cyanocomplexes and the pseudo-first-order rate constant increased. This was attributed to the effective conversion of SO4•- to HO• and to the increase in the oxidative photolysis of PS at high pH. Additional tests demonstrated better performance of UVC/PS in the absence of oxygen which may be caused by the quenching effect of O2 to the higher energy excited state of the cyanocomplex that must be reached to initiate degradation reactions. Increasing the initial concentration of [Formula: see text] will increase the amount of Co removed but it represents the higher specific energy consumption.