The issue of arsenic stabilization at base metal smelters is pressing and challenging. As the demand for copper increases and “clean copper” deposits become both depleted and scarcer, base metal concentrates are expected to contain higher grades of arsenic. At the same time, arsenic waste management regulations continue to tighten globally. The vast majority of arsenic that is imported from mines into smelting operations ends up reporting to weak acid solution blowdown from gas scrubbers which contains high sulphate levels and a host of metals and metalloids. The status quo method of blowdown treatment is addition of lime and/or ferric salts to precipitate arsenic along with most other metals, metalloids, and gypsum into a waste sludge. The two main issues with this arsenic management method are that the tonnage and volume of the waste sludge are high, and the stability of arsenic and other metals in the sludge is low. Recently, the Glasslock process that involves vitrification of arsenic-rich solids has been commercialized. However, Glasslock is not suitable for vitrification of solids produced by the status quo treatment of weak acid blowdown. Arsenic “deficient” smelters have practiced arsenic trisulphide precipitation for decades. Although the production of As2S3 offers many advantages, the often-quoted disadvantage of using A2S3 is the lack of As stability in the solids which the smelters avoided by recycling As2S3 solids back to the furnace. This paper examines several options for enhanced arsenic stabilization using As2S3 production including encapsulation of As2S3 in a gel matrix and a combination of As2S3 production with Glasslock.

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Overview of Arsenic Stabilization at Base Metal Smelters Using Arsenic Trisulphide

  • Kresimir Ljubetic,
  • Maryam Mohammadi,
  • David Kratochvil,
  • Jean-Philippe Mai

摘要

The issue of arsenic stabilization at base metal smelters is pressing and challenging. As the demand for copper increases and “clean copper” deposits become both depleted and scarcer, base metal concentrates are expected to contain higher grades of arsenic. At the same time, arsenic waste management regulations continue to tighten globally. The vast majority of arsenic that is imported from mines into smelting operations ends up reporting to weak acid solution blowdown from gas scrubbers which contains high sulphate levels and a host of metals and metalloids. The status quo method of blowdown treatment is addition of lime and/or ferric salts to precipitate arsenic along with most other metals, metalloids, and gypsum into a waste sludge. The two main issues with this arsenic management method are that the tonnage and volume of the waste sludge are high, and the stability of arsenic and other metals in the sludge is low. Recently, the Glasslock process that involves vitrification of arsenic-rich solids has been commercialized. However, Glasslock is not suitable for vitrification of solids produced by the status quo treatment of weak acid blowdown. Arsenic “deficient” smelters have practiced arsenic trisulphide precipitation for decades. Although the production of As2S3 offers many advantages, the often-quoted disadvantage of using A2S3 is the lack of As stability in the solids which the smelters avoided by recycling As2S3 solids back to the furnace. This paper examines several options for enhanced arsenic stabilization using As2S3 production including encapsulation of As2S3 in a gel matrix and a combination of As2S3 production with Glasslock.