Adsorption of zinc and Iron from acidic industrial effluent using basic oxygen furnace slag

Basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slags was used as an adsorbent to remove heavy metals from steel processing plant effluent. The effluent had above legal limits content of Fe and Zn. A 0.75% solid loading of BOF slag was found to remove over 97% of Fe and 99%v of Zn. BOF slag was also able to raise the pH of the effluent from 2.5 to 6.8 after 30 mins. The adsorption of Fe and Zn followed Langmuir isotherm and first order kinetics. The metal loaded BOF slag could be used in three cycles of adsorption experiments and was stable against further leaching. This research therefore provides opportunity for the utilisation of the slag as an adsorbent for acidic industrial effluents containing heavy metals. © 2017 IEEE.