Effect of Electroplating Sludge on the Iron Ore Sintering: Mineralization, Yield and Gaseous Emission

Electroplating sludge (ES), the inevitable by-product of electroplating wastewater treatment processes, has been conventionally managed via solidification landfilling or thermal processing; these methods may engender secondary environmental pollutants. This study proposes an innovative approach using iron ore sintering for effective ES treatment. The study reveals that incorporating 1.0% ES reduces the yield quality of the sintered ore, yet it remains within acceptable thresholds. It is noteworthy that when the addition of ES is 0.5%, it not only increases the sinter yield from 68.57% to 69.23% but also enhances the productivity from 1.19 to 1.32 t (m² h)⁻¹. Furthermore, the consumption of solid fuel decreases to 48.01 kg t⁻¹. Additionally, the treatment method significantly reduced the emissions of CO and NO_x in the sintering flue gas, with the average concentrations decreasing from 12681.32 to 9744.51 ppm for CO and from 244.81 to 161.11 ppm for NO_x. This study investigates the migration and transformation mechanisms of nickel and chlorine elements in ES by conducting inductively coupled plasma analysis on the sintered raw materials and their products, as well as scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis on the sinter ash.