Effect of ferrous sulfate and nitrohumic acid neutralization on the leaching of metals from a combined bauxite residue.

Bauxite residue neutralization is intended to open opportunities for revegetation and reuse of the residue. Ferrous sulfate (FS) and nitrohumic acid (NA) were two kinds of materials studied for pH reduction of the residue from 10.6 to 8.3 and 8.1, respectively. The effects of FS and NA on the leaching of metals from a combined bauxite residue were investigated by using sequential and multiple extraction procedures. Neutralization with FS and NA restricted the leaching of Al, V, and Pb from the residue but promoted the leaching of Fe, Cu, Mn, and Ni, consistent with the changes in the potentially mobile fractions. With the exceptions of Pb and Ni, leaching of metals increased during a 10-day extraction period. However, the maximum leaching of Al, V, Pb, Fe, Cu, Mn, and Ni from neutralized bauxite residue were 0.46 mg/L, 59.3, 12.9, 167, 95.3, 15.5, and 14.5 μg/L, respectively, which were under the corresponding limits in the National Standard (GB/T 14848-93). Although it is necessary to consider the continued leaching of metals during neutralization, both maximum and accumulation leaching concentrations of metals from a combined bauxite residue were too low to pose a potential environmental risk.