Dephosphorisation of Acidic Wastewater : Aimed to allow the recirculation of byproducts as slag builders

Sammanfattning: This study was conducted to evaluate if Polonite® could remove Phosphorus from Sandvik’s wastewater that naturally forms during steelmaking, and hence be proficiently used as a precursor of the neutralization process of said steel plant. Currently lime (CaO) is mixed with the wastewater which creates clean water and sediments, that later need to be landfilled. Due to the high Phosphorus content in the sediments these cannot be recycled back into the production, this result in a loss of important elements. The aim is therefore to remove the Phosphorus to a target level of 1-2 [mg/L]. In fact, the Phosphorus present in the wastewater drifts in the solid particles derived by the neutralization process, impairing their possible recirculation as slag builders. To evaluate the purifying abilities of Polonite® a batch test and a column test were conducted. During the column test measurements of pH and conductivity were made. To analyze the composition, Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) tests were performed. No clear correlation between the pH and the conductivity of the water could be established from the results. Overall the Polonite® removed high amount of Phosphorus from the wastewater. The target level of 1-2 [mg/L] Phosphorus was achieved in the batch test. Although, Polonite® also incidentally absorbed most of the Fluorine present in the wastewater making it a questionable choice for the process, as Fluorine is desirable in large quantities in the sediments if used as slag builders. As no ICP results were received from the column test only pH and conductivity are discussed.