Characterisation of South African Waste Foundry Moulding Sand: Metallic Contaminents

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Waste foundry sands are invariably contaminated to some extent during the manufacturing of cast alloys. As such the sand is regarded as a hazardous material that requires exceptional precautions for its disposal. Therefore, the study is initiated to identify, quantify and to classify metallic contaminants present in these sands. To achieve these objectives in conjunction with the South African Waste Management Act which plays as the guide line for industrial waste disposal, samples were collected from various South African foundries. In the present study, ten waste sand samples were characterised using XRF, XRD, SEM-EDS and Sulphur analyser. It was found after comparison with a virgin sand used as control or reference sand, that the cast alloy and the moulding additives are the main pollutants present in the waste foundry sand. The additional sulphur and acid potential characterisation, showed that the waste foundry sand has a low potential for sulphuric acid and acid sulphate soil formation when submerged in aquatic medium. The leaching behaviour and the total metallic concentration of the waste was similar to the virgin soil thus their similar classification in the same waste class category.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the World Congress on Mechanical, Chemical, and Material Engineering, MCM 2015
EditorsJamal Chaouki, Yuyuan Zhao
PublisherAvestia Publishing
ISBN (Print)9781927877173
Publication statusPublished - 2015
EventWorld Congress on Mechanical, Chemical, and Material Engineering, MCM 2015 - Barcelona, Spain
Duration: 20 Jul 201521 Jul 2015

Publication series

NameProceedings of the World Congress on Mechanical, Chemical, and Material Engineering
ISSN (Electronic)2369-8136

Conference

ConferenceWorld Congress on Mechanical, Chemical, and Material Engineering, MCM 2015
Country/TerritorySpain
CityBarcelona
Period20/07/1521/07/15

Keywords

  • Characterisation
  • Foundry Waste
  • Pollutants
  • Sand
  • Toxicity Leach Procedure

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • General Chemical Engineering

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