Lixiviación de metales pesados de residuos industriales pellgrosos por medio de columnas termostatizadas y diseño de una planta piloto

The purpose of this paper was to measure the heavy metals leaching efficiency from dangerous solid wastes using thermostatted columns; wastes which, due to their volume and toxicity are a serious problem to be solved. This work includes a diagram of a pilot plant to leach heavy metals, cost estimation is included. Process and device were patented in the U.S.A. and Mexico. For this study four coupled thermostatted columns were used The wastes were finely ground and suspended in water until a pulp was obtained. 10 to 40 g of mineral acid or sodium hydroxide were added to reach pH values of 2, 5, 7 and 10. 4 to 10 g L^-1 of sodium bisulphite and 0 3 to 0.5 g of sodium dodecyl sulfate were also added to the pulp. In some cases this method can remove 100% of the heavy metals content To study the heavy metals removal efficiency, coupled plasma atomic emission spectroinetry (ICF-AES) was utilized. The metallic alloys in the samples were studied by X-ray diffraction.