Demonstration Plant Equipment Design and Scale-Up from Pilot Plant of a Leaching and Solvent Extraction Process

Germanium recovery from coal fly ash by hydrometallurgical procedures was studied at the pilot scale (5 kg of fly ash/h). Results were used to design the equipment of a demonstration-sized plant (200 kg of fly ash/h). The process is based on hydrometallurgical operations: firstly a germanium extraction from fly ash by leaching and a consequent Ge separation from the other elements present in the solution by solvent extraction procedures. Based on the experimental results, mass balances and McCabe-Thiele diagrams were applied to determine the number of steps of the solvent extraction stage. Different arrangements have been studied and a countercurrent process with three steps in extraction and six steps in elution was defined. A residence time of 5 min was fixed in both the extraction and elution stages. Volumetric ratios in extraction and stripping were: aqueous phase/organic phase = 5 and organic phase/stripping phase = 5, so a concentration factor of 25 is achieved. Mixers and decanters were completely defined. The maximum extracted and eluted germanium was estimated and a global efficiency of 94% was achieved. The cost-effectiveness of the equipment was estimated using the Lang factors

Coal Combustion and Gasification Products

The valorization of a coal gasification fly ash was studied by leaching the fly ash using different aqueous solutions followed by the subsequent precipitation of the germanium solubilized from the ash. Experimental investigations were focused on the precipitation of a germanium2catechol (CAT) complex with cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB). The influences of pH and amounts of CTAB and CAT on the precipitation yield were investigated. To this aim, a central composite rotatable design and ANOVA Design Expert 7.0.3 Wiley software were employed for experimental design and analysis of the results. Thus, the independent and combined effects of pH, CAT/Ge and CTAB/Ge molar ratios were investigated and optimized using a quadratic mathematical model. The optimum values of these factors were found to be 10, 12, and 4, respectively (in this case, the germanium precipitation yield was 98.8% for water leachates). The precipitation of germanium as a complex compound with CAT and CTAB was found to be selective towards germanium and this element can be effectively separated from As, Mo, Sb, V, or Zn. Total organic carbon in solution was measured to estimate the amounts of CAT and CTAB precipitated with germanium and with the interferences present in aqueous leachates. In addition, thermogravimetric analyses have been performed on the germanium-complex solids as a result of which 600uC was determined as the minimum temperature to completely remove the organic content of the precipitate.Unión Europea ECSC 7220-PR14

Characterisation of compounds formed and added on surface of outdoor Seville City Hall

The study of the stone surface was helpful before the restoration of the Sevilla City Hall façade. This study supplied information of the environmental factors affecting the stone and the restoration treatments used in previous interventions. The stone was thin grained carbonate constituted essentially by fragments of bioclasts and fine sand. The stone was covered by an acrylic resin. Black crust was found. Gypsum and mortars has been added to cover losses of pieces or to fix fragments of stones. A layer of lime on the surface was also detected.Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología BIA2009-12618Junta de Andalucía TEP-655

Characterization of Compounds Formed and Added on Surface of Outdoor Seville City Hall

The study of the stone surface was helpful before the restoration of the Sevilla City Hall façade. This study supplied information of the environmental factors affecting the stone and the restoration treatments used in previous interventions. The stone was thin grained carbonate constituted essentially by fragments of bioclasts and fine sand. The stone was covered by an acrylic resin. Black crust was found. Gypsum and mortars has been added to cover losses of pieces or to fix fragments of stones. A layer of lime on the surface was also detectedMinisterio de Ciencia y Tecnología BIA2009-12618Junta de Andalucía EP-655

Bioenergy production side-streams availability assessment as decision making driver for sustainable valorisation technologies development. Case study: Bioethanol and biodiesel industries

Recently, biorefineries have emerged globally as an attractive alternative to conventional fuel production, but costs still need to be competitive. Latest policy actions such as the Green Deal or the Circular Economy Action Plan encourage maximising the biomass-to-products value chain through the use of all valuable compounds available in side-streams to the full extent. Side-streams from corn and rapeseed-based biofuels industries represent excellent sources of bioactive compounds and proteins, mainly under-utilised as animal feed without uncovering their full potential at industrial sectors such as food supplement, speciality chemicals, cosmetics, and household products. The main objective of the research conducted is to pave the way for side-streams valorisation technologies upgrading and market penetration by assessing current availability and future production rates of corn oil, thin stillage, rapeseed meal and other biodiesel and bioethanol production side-streams. Through a bibliographic analysis of peer-reviewed articles and grey literature, key information and valuable data are presented. It is possible to conclude that trends in biofuel markets (supported by regional regulations) lead to increased biofuel production, as well as increased availability of the specified side-streams. Corn oil is produced at a rate of 60 million L/year on average in Europe, a total of 1.6 billion L of thin stillage is produced each year, and rapeseed meal is generated at a global rate of 68 million tons per year. Future research to trigger further developments and investments could dive into the types and regional availability of relevant active compounds found in the selected side-streams

Potential for water and metal recovery from acid mine drainage by combining hybrid membrane processes with selective metal precipitation

Acid mining drainage has a serious impact on the environment. Forward osmosis allows the concentration of acid mine waters to favor the formation of enrichment sludges and subsequent selective metal precipitation. In this work, a methodology was proposed to treat mining effluents from the Iberian Pyrite Belt. Forward osmosis experiments were performed using different osmotic pressures from 0.5M to 2.5M NaCl to evaluate water fluxes and recovery. The water recovery obtained was in the range of 50-80%, and the flux remained above 5 (L•m−2•h−1). Four combined processes were modelled to determine the feasibility of eliminating water and precipitating metals. Furthermore, a new hybrid membrane process was proposed to recover at least 75% of water with recovery yields of Al, Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn of greater than 70%. A water production cost of 2.01 $/m3 and a specific energy consumption of 8.03 kWhe/m3 were estimated for the hybrid process

Influencia del diámetro y color de plantillas reductoras de la superficie de proyección de los colorímetros en la medida del color de una superficie

En los colorímetros que existen en el mercado, la luz se recoge mediante un tubo de cierto diámetro y los valores de las coordenadas cromáticas que da el medidor son una media de las obtenidas en dicha superficie. Cuando la superficie a medir no tiene un color uniforme, como ocurre en el caso de los materiales pétreos, la medida de color es más representativa cuanto mayor es la apertura del tubo de medida ya que la superficie medida es mayor. Este hecho, que en ocasiones supone una ventaja, presenta el inconveniente de que cuando la superficie objeto de estudio es inferior a la apertura del tubo de proyección del colorímetro utilizado, los valores obtenidos integran zonas no deseadas. Una posible solución a este inconveniente es la utilización de plantillas que reduzcan el área de medida. En este trabajo se ensayan plantillas adaptadoras del tubo de medida de un colorímetro Minolta CR-210, y se llega a la conclusión de que su uso, además de fácil, permite obtener el color original de la superficie medida, es decir, el valor que tendría si no se hubieran utilizado las plantillas.The colour coordinate values measured with the colorimeters presently on the market are the mean of the readings obtained for the surface area covered by the light projection tube. When the colour of the surface measured is not uniform, such as in the case of stone, the larger the tube aperture the more representative is the colour measurement, for a larger area is involved. While this is often an advantage, when the area studied is smaller than the aperture of the colorimeter used, the values obtained include unwanted information. One possible way to deal with this drawback is by using templates to reduce the measurement area. Templates adapted to a Minolta CR-210 colorimeter were tested in the present study. The conclusion drawn was that in addition to being convenient to use, they ensured that the readings matched the original colour of the surface, i.e., the value that would have been obtained without the templates

Valorization of Bayer Red Mud in a Circular Economy Process: Valuable Metals Recovery and Further Brick Manufacture

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).In this work, the recovery of valuable metals from Bayer red mud using hydrometallurgical techniques and the subsequent use of the solid remaining after leaching as the principal component of the fired bricks were analyzed. Water, sulfuric acid, and sodium hydroxide were used as leaching agents. Different L/S ratios and contact times were also tested. According to technical, economic, and environmental considerations, the optimal conditions to recover valuable elements from red mud were 2 M H2SO4, in contact for 24 h, with an L/S ratio = 5. Under these conditions, high leaching yields of valuable elements such as La (47.6%) or V (11%) were achieved. After the leaching process, the remaining solid was mixed with clay and water to produce bricks. Two doses of red mud (50 and 80% w) and two different sintering temperatures (900 and 1100 °C) were tested. When the proportion of treated RM in the mix was increased, the compressive strength of the bricks was reduced, but it was increased as the sintering temperature was increased. The environmental safety of the bricks manufactured (leaching of heavy metals and radionuclides) was also studied, and it was found that it was more favorable when red mud was treated instead of fresh red mud being used

A Review of the Carbon Footprint of Cu and Zn Production from Primary and Secondary Sources

Copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) with their unique properties are central for economic growth, quality of life, and the creation of new jobs. The base-metal producing sector is, however, under growing public pressure in respect to energy and water requirements and needs to meet several challenges, including increased demand and lower ore grades, which are generally associated with larger resource use. The development of technologies for metal production from secondary sources is often motivated by increased sustainability, and this paper aims to provide further insights about one specific aspect of sustainability—namely, climate change. The paper presents a review of carbon footprints (CF) for Cu and Zn produced from primary and secondary raw materials by analyzing data taken from scientific literature and the Ecoinvent database. Comparisons are carried out based on the source of data selected as a reference case. The data available in the literature indicate that secondary production of Cu and Zn has the potential to be more beneficial compared to primary production regarding the impact on climate change. However, the technologies used today for the production of both metals from secondary sources are still immature, and more research on this topic is needed. The general variation of data suggests that the standardization of a comparison is needed when assessing the environmental benefits of production in line with the principles of waste valorization, the zero waste approach, and circular econom

Environmental risks and mechanical evaluation of recycling red mud in bricks

More and more by-products are being used in certain materials, especially in the construction industry. Natural construction materials contain amounts of heavy metals and radionuclides, but when by-products are used in these kinds of materials, this could lead to a growth in their concentrations and have a negative impact on public health.In this paper, red mud was used as a raw material (as a clay substitute) to manufacture fired bricks. Physical, mechanical, radiological and heavy metal leaching properties of fired bricks with a replacement ratio of up to 80 wt% of clay to red mud are discussed. In addition, the effect of different sintering temperatures (1173K and 1373K) was analyzed, and results showed that the higher the temperature produced, the higher the mechanical strength.To environmentally characterize materials, they were subjected to two different leaching tests: a batch test for raw materials and a monolithic test for the bricks, respectively. The results obtained were compared with the limits stated for several heavy metals by the European Landfill Directive. Results showed that red mud gives leachate concentration values for Cr higher than the limits stated for non-hazardous by-products. Bricks do not exhibit the same problem in the samples containing a high RM proportion and manufactured at a low sintering temperature (1173K), although in the case of V, a high concentration is observed.The contents of radionuclides such as Ra-220, Th-232 and K-40 of the final construction materials were analyzed and compared with different indexes. This paper indicates the maximum amounts of RM that can be used to replace clay for the manufacture of fired bricks without environmental risk