
16 April 2019
Method development for final storage of arsenic
From mines and smelters some waste containing high levels of arsenic will occur. Today, this waste ends up at different landfills, but in a new research project, Luleå Technical University's professor Jurate Kumpiene will develop a method for safe final storage of arsenic.
The possibility of using arsenic in commercial products is very limited and the surplus from, among other things, mines and smelters ends up today at different landfills. Jurate Kumpiene has recently been granted SEK 500 000 to investigate the possibilities of stabilizing the substance arsenic and finding a method for final storage.
- With this project we will try to develop a method for the long-term stabilization of metallurgical waste with a high content of arsenic. Today's methods do not work properly and can cause problems in the future. We want to change this and if we succeed in mineralizing the arsenic, then several new possibilities are opened to store the substance. says Jurate Kumpiene, who works within the research subject Waste Science and Technology.
Under specific conditions, arsenic can react with other substances to form sparingly soluble arsenic minerals. These conditions will be recreated in the lab environment during the project.
- If our results are successful, we will offer the industry a method for safe long-term storage of the toxic substance, says Jurate Kumpiene.
The project Safer Final Storage of Arsenic - SAFSA - is funded by the Center for Advanced Mining Technology and Metallurgy at Luleå University of Technology. Research results are expected to be presented at the turn of the year 2019-2020.
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