The Effect of Wood Ash as a Partial Cement Replacement Material for Making Wood-Cement Panels.

The aim of this study was to consider the use of biomass wood ash as a partial replacement for cement material in wood-cement particleboards. Wood-cement-ash particleboards (WCAP) were made with 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% of wood ash as a partial replacement for cement with wood particles and tested for bending strength, stiffness, water absorption, and thermal properties. Test results indicate that water demand increases as the ash content increases, and the mechanical properties decrease slightly with an increase of the ash content until 30% of replacement. On the other hand, the heat capacity increases with the wood ash content. The WCAP can contribute to reducing the heat loss rate of building walls given their relatively low thermal conductivity compared to gypsum boards. The replacement of cement to the extent of approximately 30% by weight was found to give the optimum results.

Atmospheric Carbon Mineralization in an Industrial-Scale Chrysotile Mining Waste Pile.

Magnesium-rich minerals that are abundant in ultramafic mining waste have the potential to be used as a safe and permanent sequestration solution for carbon dioxide (CO2). Our understanding of thermo-hydro-chemical regimes that govern this reaction at an industrial scale, however, has remained an important challenge to its widespread implementation. Through a year-long monitoring experiment performed at a 110 Mt chrysotile waste pile, we have documented the existence of two distinct thermo-hydro-chemical regimes that control the ingress of CO2 and the subsequent mineral carbonation of the waste. The experimental results are supported by a coupled free-air/porous media numerical flow and transport model that provides insights into optimization strategies to increase the efficiency of mineral sequestration at an industrial scale. Although functioning passively under less-than-optimal conditions compared to laboratory-scale experiments, the 110 Mt Thetford Mines pile is nevertheless estimated to be sequestering up to 100 tonnes of CO2 per year, with a potential total carbon capture capacity under optimal conditions of 3 Mt. Annually, more than 100 Mt of ultramafic mine waste suitable for mineral carbonation is generated by the global mining industry. Our results show that this waste material could become a safe and permanent carbon sink for diffuse sources of CO2.

Carbon sequestration kinetic and storage capacity of ultramafic mining waste.

Mineral carbonation of ultramafic rocks provides an environmentally safe and permanent solution for CO(2) sequestration. In order to assess the carbonation potential of ultramafic waste material produced by industrial processing, we designed a laboratory-scale method, using a modified eudiometer, to measure continuous CO(2) consumption in samples at atmospheric pressure and near ambient temperature. The eudiometer allows monitoring the CO(2) partial pressure during mineral carbonation reactions. The maximum amount of carbonation and the reaction rate of different samples were measured in a range of experimental conditions: humidity from dry to submerged, temperatures of 21 and 33 °C, and the proportion of CO(2) in the air from 4.4 to 33.6 mol %. The most reactive samples contained ca. 8 wt % CO(2) after carbonation. The modal proportion of brucite in the mining residue is the main parameter determining maximum storage capacity of CO(2). The reaction rate depends primarily on the proportion of CO(2) in the gas mixture and secondarily on parameters controlling the diffusion of CO(2) in the sample, such as relative saturation of water in pore space. Nesquehonite was the dominant carbonate for reactions at 21 °C, whereas dypingite was most common at 33 °C.

Characterization and leachability of electric arc furnace dust made from remelting of stainless steel.

Electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) is a toxic waste product made in the remelting of scrap steel. The results of a Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) conducted on a sample of EAFD originating from the remelting of stainless steel scrap showed that the total Cr and Cr (VI) liquor concentrations (9.7 and 6.1 mg/L, respectively) exceeded the Toxicity Characteristic Regulatory Level (TCRL). The EAFD showed a complex heterogeneous mineralogy with spinel minerals group predominance. A sequential extractions method has permitted the determination of the amount of available metals (potentially mobile component) from the EAFD as follows: Cr (3%), Ni (6%), Pb (49%) and Zn (40%). Solubility controls on Cr, Pb, Zn and Ni were identified in the EAFD. This means that the Cr, Pb, Zn and Ni concentrations in solution were controlled by the solubility of some phases from EAFD. The concentrations of Ni and Zn, which are metals not regulated by TCRL were below 0.41 and 1.3 mg/L, respectively. The solubility control on Pb was sufficient to decrease its concentration (<0.24 mg/L) to a level below the TCRL. However, the control on Cr was not sufficient to decrease its concentration (between 117 and 331 mg/L) to below the TCRL.

A simple and fast screening test to detect soils polluted by lead.

Lead pollution is an environmental priority. The evaluation of contaminated soils was often based on the results of the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) or the synthetic precipitation leaching procedure (SPLP). This paper presents a simple and fast screening test to detect soil contaminated by lead. The test is based on the chemistry of the stomach (Cl- concentration, pH 2, T = 37 degrees C) and simulates the incidental oral ingestion of soil by young children. The gastric juice simulation test (GJST) and the TCLP were applied to six size fractions from five soils. The GJST solubilized more Pb (up to 169 mg/l) than the TCLP especially for the smallest size fraction. Particle size had less effect on the TCLP. The percentage of lead released with the GJST, was most significant for the <63 microm size fraction and varied from 18 to 74% of the total lead content. Lead leached during the TCLP as a function of the total lead content showed poor linear regression coefficient (R) values for soils <250 microm. R values were significant for all size fractions with the GJST. The pH of approximately 5 in the TCLP limits the solubilization of lead in the small size fractions. The five soils exceeded the toxicity threshold of 10 microgPb/dl of blood for a significant fraction of children between 0 and 36 months using the EPA's IEUBK model (Integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic). But the TCLP did not detect lead contamination in two of these five soils. The GJST proved to be a better estimator of lead bioaccessibility in the gastrointestinal tract.