The Potential of Remedial Techniques for Hazard Reduction of Steel Process by Products: Impact on Steel Processing, Waste Management, the Environment and Risk to Human Health.

The negative impact from industrial pollution of the environment is still a global occurrence, and as a consequence legislation and subsequent regulation is becoming increasingly stringent in response, in particular, to minimising potential impact on human health. These changes have generated growing pressures for the steel industry to innovate to meet new regulations driving a change to the approach to waste management across the industrial landscape, with increasing focus on the principles of a circular economy. With a knowledge of the compositional profiles of process by-products, we have assessed chemical cleaning to improve environmental performance and minimise disruption to manufacturing processes, demonstrating re-use and recycling capacity.

Enhanced characterisation for the management of industrial steel processing by products: potential of sequential chemical extraction.

There is a pressing need for innovative waste management approaches as environmental regulations become more stringent worldwide alongside increasing demand for a more circular economy. Sequential chemical extraction (SE) analysis, which has previously been applied to environmental media such as soils and sediments, offers the potential to provide an understanding of the composition of solid steel processing by products, aiding the waste classification process and improving environmental protection. The definition of seven-phase associations through a SE method evaluated in this study were for (1) water soluble, (2) ion exchangeable, (3) carbonate, (4) amorphous Fe-Mn oxides, (5) crystalline Fe-Mn oxides, (6) sulphides and (7) silicate residues.

The Potential of Sequential Extraction in the Characterisation and Management of Wastes from Steel Processing: A Prospective Review.

As waste management regulations become more stringent, yet demand for resources continues to increase, there is a pressing need for innovative management techniques and more sophisticated supporting analysis techniques. Sequential extraction (SE) analysis, a technique previously applied to soils and sediments, offers the potential to gain a better understanding of the composition of solid wastes. SE attempts to classify potentially toxic elements (PTEs) by their associations with phases or fractions in waste, with the aim of improving resource use and reducing negative environmental impacts.

Bioavailability of arsenic and antimony in soils from an abandoned mining area, Glendinning (SW Scotland).

The mobility and bioavailability of As and Sb in relation to soil-biota transfer were evaluated at a former Sb mining and smelting site (Glendinning, SW Scotland, UK). The study specifically assessed the accumulation of As and Sb in different environmental components (soil, plants and earthworms) across mining area to estimate risk factors for the biota. Total concentrations and fractions of As and Sb in soils were determined.