Transformação do pó de aciaria elétrica em materiais com aplicações para remediação ambiental

Abstract

The electric arc furnace dust (EAF) steelmaking is a residue rich in iron (Fe3 +) and is often disposed in industrial landfills due to the lack of alternative technologies for low-cost recycling. In this work the EAF was heat treated (300, 400, 500, 600, 700 and 800ºC) under flowing H2, in order to obtain phase reduced iron (Fe3O4, FeO and Fe0).The EAF and materials were characterized and used in three types of reaction to environmental remediation: (i) heterogeneous Fenton reactions for degradation of textile dye Remazol Black (PR) and H2O2 decomposition, (ii) reduction of Cr (VI) to Cr (III) and (iii) reduction of nitrobenzene in aqueous solution. The results obtained by atomic absorption spectrometry with flame, powder X-ray diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy showed that the EAF has about 21% of iron ions and after thermal treatment above 400ºC The results obtained by atomic absorption spectrometry with flame, powder X-ray diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy showed that the EAF has about 21% of iron ions and after thermal treatment above 400ºC, the phases oxidized in this metal were reduced partially to Fe3O4, FeO and Fe0, coming to get about 79% of metallic iron. The characterization results of the obtained materials also indicate the presence of magnetite replaced with zinc and manganese. The BET surface area results showed that the EAF has its surface area increased significantly when it is heat treated at temperatures above 700ºC.The images obtained by scanning electron microscopy showed that the particles have EAF mostly spherical and after heat treatment showed a significant change in the texture of the material. The catalytic tests performed for the decomposition of H2O2 in the presence of the PR dye showed that the rate of this reaction decreases with increasing dye concentration, suggesting that it occurs by radical mechanism. In the heterogeneous Fenton reactions to degradation of the PR dye, it was possible to observe that the EAF obtained at 400, 500 and 600ºC showed better results, which is related to the presence of magnetite substituted combined with reduced iron phases on the surface. For the materials which remained in contact with the solution of the dye, it was possible to notice the PR discoloration and/or a change in the color of the solution (from blue to pink). This effect was mainly due to the reductive degradation of the dye promoted by reduced iron phases present in the materials. Reductive capacity of these materials was confirmed with the reaction of reduction of nitrobenzene (NB) to aniline (AN) performed with EAF500, which decreased about 86% of the concentration of NB and promoted the formation of 1.81 x10-5 mol L-1 aniline. The tests performed for reducing Cr (VI) using the obtained materials showed that all of them gave good results, while the EAF treated at 600 and 700ºC lowered about 100% of the Cr (VI) in 10 minutes of reaction.