International Journal of Environmental Science and Development

Abstract—Iligan City ferronickel smelting plant is producing more than 500,000 metric tons (MT) of ferronickel slag annually which are deposited in the plant’s premises since it has no economic value. Considering the ferronickel slag as a waste, there is a possibility that pollutant component of the slag will leach to the environment .This prompted the study on the physico-chemical and leaching characteristic of the ferronickel slag. Using United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA’s) Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) and USEPA’s Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure(SPLP). The concentrations of the regulated heavy metals leached from the material at different pH levels were significantly lower than the maximum concentrations for their toxicity limits set forth by EPA, DAO-34 and DAO 35 respectively. With the result of leaching test, ferronickel slag can be classified as non-hazardous. Although ferronickel slag is non-hazardous, preventive measures must be incorporated into the design of reclamation like stabilization and solidification with the use of appropriate binders and geomaterials to avoid future constraints.

Index Terms—Ferronickel, slag, leaching, smelting.

Juvelyn Demotica is with the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics, MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan City taking up Master of Science in Environmental Science, Philippines.
Ruben F. Amparado Jr and Cesar G. Demayo are with the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics, MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan City, Philippines (e-mail: cgdemayo@gmail.com).
Roberto Malaluan is with Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan City, Philippines.

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Cite: Juvelyn S. Demotica, Ruben F. Amparado Jr., Roberto M. Malaluan, and Cesar G. Demayo, "Characterization and Leaching Assessment of Ferronickel Slag from a Smelting Plant in Iligan City, Philippines," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 3, no. 5, pp. 470-474, 2012.