The purpose of this work was development of an appropriate procedure for the neutralization/purification of electroplating wastewater (EWW) with alkaline solid residue (ASR) by-product of the alkaline extraction of zinc and lead from electric arc furnace dust (EAFD). Removal efficiency of ASR at optimum purification conditions (pH 8 and mixing time; 20 minutes) for the elements Pb, Cr (VI), Cr (III), Fe, Ni, Cu and Zn were 94.92%, 97.58%, 99.59%, 99.48%, 97.25% and 99.97%, respectively. The concentrations of all elements in the purified wastewater were significantly lower in relation to the upper permissible limit for wastewaters suitable for discharge into the environment. The remaining waste mud was regenerated in the strong alkaline medium and successfully applied once again for the neutralization/purification of EWW. Removal efficiencies of heavy metals accomplished with regenerated waste mud were comparable to these achieved by original ASR. Elemental concentrations in the leachates of the waste mud were in accordance with regulated values.

Toxicological safety of new procedure for the neutralisation/purification of wastewater originated from zinc plating facility was investigated. Wastewater was treated with alkaline solid residue-by-product of zinc recovery from electric arc furnace dust. For determination of cytotoxic potential of untreated and purified wastewater MTT test on HEp2 (human laryngeal carcinoma) and HeLa (human cervical carcinoma) cells lines and alkaline comet assay on human leukocytes were used. Then 100% of the sample as well as different dilutions were tested. Compared to negative control 100, 75 and 50% of the sample of untreated wastewater significantly decreased survival of both HEp2 and HeLa cell lines. In the presence of undiluted sample survival percentage of HeLa and HEp2 cells were only 2.3 and 0.3% respectively. Only undiluted purified wastewater showed slight but insignificant decrease of the survival of both cell lines. Even 0.5% of the sample of original electroplating wastewater exhibited significantly higher value of all comet assay parameters compared to negative control. There was no significant difference between negative control and purified wastewater for any of comet assay parameters. Significantly lower level of primary DNA damage recorded after treatment with purified water, even comparable with negative control, confirmed effectiveness of the purification process.

This study was carried out to determine the appropriate treatment of electric arc furnace (EAF) dust prior to permanent disposal. The total heavy metal content as well as heavy metal leaching from EAF dust was investigated in five composite samples obtained from three Croatian and Slovenian steelworks. In order to recover zinc and reduce its leaching from the dust, all five samples were submitted to alkaline extraction with 10 M NaOH. Reduction of Cr (VI) to Cr(III) was conducted using FeSO4 x 7H2O solution. The elements Mn, Fe, Cu, Ni, and notably Zn and Pb, exhibited highest mobility during toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP). Comparing to TCLP extracts of initial EAF dust, zinc was found to be over 15 times lower and lead over 200 times lower in TCLP extracts of EAF dust processed by the alkaline leaching method. Since Cr (VI) exceeded its permissible level in the DIN 38414-S4 extracts of both initial and alkaline digested dust, its reduction to Cr (III) prior to permanent disposal is necessary. The recovery of zinc from EAF dust treated with alkaline agent ranged from 50.3% to 73.2%. According to phase analysis, recovery yield showed dependence on zincite/franklinite ratio. The results of the study indicate that permanent disposal of EAF dust require the following procedure: alkaline digestion (followed by leachate purification and alkaline zinc electrolyses), chromate reduction (if necessary), solidification of leaching residue and its testing using the leaching analyses.

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