Plasma Technology for Phosphogypsum Treatment

Imed Ghiloufi, Miqad S. Albishi, Ahmed A. Alharbi and Ibrahim A. AlShunaifi
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Imed Ghiloufi: Department of Physics, College of Sciences, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh 11623, Saudi Arabia
Miqad S. Albishi: Energy and Water Research Institute, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia
Ahmed A. Alharbi: Energy and Water Research Institute, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia
Ibrahim A. AlShunaifi: Energy and Water Research Institute, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 18, 1-11

Abstract: The phosphate industry generates a large amount of waste called phosphogypsum (PG). Generally, this waste is discharged without any treatment, and it causes considerable environmental problems. Hence, the objective of this study is the treatment of phosphate waste using thermal plasma technology. First, the waste is characterized using different techniques, such as X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and inductively coupled plasma (ICP). Such characterization shows that the waste contains different toxic elements, such as heavy metals, fluorine, chlorine, sulfur, and phosphorus. For this reason, a plasma reactor is used to separate toxic elements from metals, such as silicon, aluminum, and magnesium, with a pyrolysis/combustion plasma system. In this work, the influence of different parameters, such as time of treatment and plasma current, on the volatility of toxic elements is studied. The obtained results show that after 40 min of treatment and at a plasma current of 160 A, the phosphogypsum completely melts, and the most toxic elements, namely Pb, Cd, V, Cr, and As, are completely vaporized.

Keywords: thermal plasma; characterization techniques; waste treatment; phosphogypsum (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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