PM12 Metals in the Environment
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Monday
(PM209) Chemical characterization of stack particulates from base metal smelters.
Skeaff, J1, Wilson, J1, Paktunc, D1, Hardy, D1, 1 CANMET/MMSL, Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, Ont., Canada
ABSTRACT- Chemical characterization of substances released from point sources can establish speciation, model behaviour in the atmosphere and predict fate. However, atmospheric releases of particulates from point source facilities such as smelters generally have been considered simply in terms of the total quantities of the elements involved, which are of limited use in predicting potential environmental effects. Therefore, to develop speciation and chemical characterizations, we have applied techniques such as x-ray diffraction and SEM analysis, aqueous extractions and wet chemical analysis to samples of particulates from selected base metal smelters. The smelter particulates contained compounds such as kroehnkite (Na2SO4.CuSO4.2H2O), anglesite (PbSO4), tenorite (CuO), chalcocyanite (CuSO4), nickel oxide (NiO) and arsenolite (As2O3). The extent to which the various particulate samples dissolved in aqueous media depended upon the nature of the sample constituents as well as the composition of the medium. While such samples may not be generally representative of particulate emissions from smelters, the characterizations provide some insight into new approaches and research directions.
Key words: emissions, smelters, metals, speciation