This paper reviews progress in phytoextraction of soil elements and illustrates the key role of hyperaccumulator plant species in useful phytoextraction technologies. Much research has focused on elements which are not practically phytoextracted (Pb); on addition of chelating agents which cause unacceptable contaminant leaching and are cost prohibitive; and on plant species which offer no usefu...

Process modeling today is an integral part of process development and design, operation optimization, process control, business evaluation and decision-making. This paper reviews the application of process modeling and simulation in copper metallurgy and discusses its further development, i.e. an intelligent system for smelter. A concept of future smart smelter that is an integration of intelli...

There are over 3,000 sites across the United States contaminated wtth lead. Techniques to remediate these sites include standard stabilization/disposal technologies, reclamation of lead using secondary lead smelters, soil washing, and biological removal technologies. Through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Risk Reduction Engineering B secondary Laboratory...

Process modeling today is an integral part of process development and design, operation optimization, process control, business evaluation and decision-making. This paper reviews the application of process modeling and simulation in copper metallurgy and discusses its further development, i.e. an intelligent system for smelter. A concept of future smart smelter that is an integration of intelli...

An increased mortality from lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, haematolymphatic malignancy and cirrhosis of the liver has been reported among smelter workers and others exposed to arsenic. This study uses the case-referent (case-control) technique and is concerned with workers in a copper smelter in a complex work environment, characterised by the presence of trivalent arsenic in combination ...

A prevalence study of cadmium absorption was carried out among 396 children aged 1 to 9 years living at less than 900 m from a primary lead smelter in Santo Amaro City, northeast Brazil. Geometric mean and geometric standard deviation of cadmium concentrations in blood (CdB) were 0.087 and 2.5 mumole/liter, respectively, ranging from 0.004 to 0.511 units. Ninety-six per cent of these children p...

Since reservoirs can act as sinks for potential contaminants, such metal(loid)s, sediment management is a challenge reservoir operators. To exemplify the variability of concentrations arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), vanadium (V) and zinc (Zn), sediments two differently constituted located in Ore Mountains (Saxony, Germany) were compar...

The research presented in this article assessed geochemical factors relating to dust produced during primary lead smelting. Bulk dust samples and size-selective airborne dust samples were collected from four areas of a primary lead smelter and analyzed by X-ray diffraction and sequential chemical extraction. X-ray diffraction showed that the smelter dusts were composed primarily of sulfides, ox...

Lead concentrations and isotopic compositions in blood samples of 34 children (ages 2-17 years) living within a 113 km(2) area of a silver-zinc-lead smelter plant in Torreón, México were compared to those of associated environmental samples (soil, aerosols, and outdoor and indoor dust) to identify the principal source(s) of environmental and human lead contamination in the area. Lead concentrat...

The new Kennecott Utah Copper smelter, started in 1995, was designed to be the cleanest smelter environmentally in the world. The plant is operating at production rates above the original design capacity. Copper concentrate is smelted in an Outokumpu flash smelting furnace. Matte is granulated and processed using Kennecott-Outokumpu flash converting. Copper anodes are processed in a modernized ...