TY - GEN
T1 - Arsenic management in the metallurgical industry
T2 - 2006 TMS Fall Extraction and Processing Division: Sohn International Symposium
AU - Valenzuela, Armando
AU - Balladares, Eduardo
AU - Cordero, Domingo
AU - Sánchez, Mario
PY - 2006
Y1 - 2006
N2 - Arsenic has been a common impurity in copper sulfide concentrates treated pyrometallurgically in Chile, which inevitably during the smelting-converting process reports in the final copper product affecting its properties, but also affecting environment as a very toxic occupational hazard. The enforcement of air quality standards, which regulate pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and arsenic, has resulted in the implementation of pollution abatement plans and emission reduction schedules mainly by state-owned copper concentrate smelters. Investments associated with these plans incorporated gas-handling systems in order to capture polluting emissions. Electrostatic precipitators recover dusts containing mainly Cu and As which are leached to recover copper, while arsenic is disposed currently in the form of ferric arsenate. Gases containing high sulfur dioxide content are treated in plants to produce sulfuric acid, which is used in various classical and new hydrometallurgical processes. Additionally, smelters have effluents treatment plants for arsenic disposal either as ferric arsenate or calcium arsenate/arsenite. This paper reviews the environmental situation of the Chilean metallurgical industry, and the present trends for arsenic management are particularly emphasized since Chile is the world's largest copper producer.
AB - Arsenic has been a common impurity in copper sulfide concentrates treated pyrometallurgically in Chile, which inevitably during the smelting-converting process reports in the final copper product affecting its properties, but also affecting environment as a very toxic occupational hazard. The enforcement of air quality standards, which regulate pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and arsenic, has resulted in the implementation of pollution abatement plans and emission reduction schedules mainly by state-owned copper concentrate smelters. Investments associated with these plans incorporated gas-handling systems in order to capture polluting emissions. Electrostatic precipitators recover dusts containing mainly Cu and As which are leached to recover copper, while arsenic is disposed currently in the form of ferric arsenate. Gases containing high sulfur dioxide content are treated in plants to produce sulfuric acid, which is used in various classical and new hydrometallurgical processes. Additionally, smelters have effluents treatment plants for arsenic disposal either as ferric arsenate or calcium arsenate/arsenite. This paper reviews the environmental situation of the Chilean metallurgical industry, and the present trends for arsenic management are particularly emphasized since Chile is the world's largest copper producer.
KW - Arsenic management
KW - Environmental regulations
KW - High temperature processes
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/33846099537
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:33846099537
SN - 0873396332
SN - 9780873396332
T3 - 2006 TMS Fall Extraction and Processing Division: Sohn International Symposium
SP - 407
EP - 422
BT - Sohn International Symposium
Y2 - 27 August 2006 through 31 August 2006
ER -