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Immobilization of hexavalent chromium in cement mortar: leaching properties and microstructures

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Stabilization and solidification (s/s) of heavy metals by cementitious materials are one of the effective methods in hazardous waste management. In cement alkaline environment, Cr(VI) compounds appear in the form of chromate anion (CrO4−2), which is highly soluble; it makes the implication of the s/s method challenging. Therefore, it is important to study the amount of chromium leaching from cementitious materials. The effects of Cr(VI) concentration and water-to-cement (w/c) ratio on the level of leaching of chromium from cement mortar (CM) were investigated in this study. Results indicated w/c not significantly affect the leaching of chromium in the age of 28-day but in the 90-day-old samples indicated a reduction in leaching of chromium from mortar with increasing w/c. Results from toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) tests indicated that the efficiency of Cr(VI) stabilization was reduced with greater chromium content but was enhanced with increased w/c. In detail, results showed that only about 0.21% and 0.26% cement weight in TCLP and tank test of Cr(VI) was stabilized in CM, respectively. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM/EDS) tests indicated that increasing the Cr(VI) content leads to changes in the formation of the cement main phases and microstructure of CM.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the MPRC for their help to coduct some of the tests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mineral Industries Research Center, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, P.O. Box: 76175-133, Kerman, Iran

    Nematollah Bakhshi & Amir Sarrafi

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, P.O. Box: 76175-133, Kerman, Iran

    Amir Sarrafi

  3. Department of Civil and Environment Engineering, Concrete Technology and Durability Research Center, Amirkabir University of Technology, P.O. Box 15875-4413, Tehran, Iran

    Ali Akbar Ramezanianpour

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  1. Nematollah Bakhshi
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Correspondence to Nematollah Bakhshi.

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Bakhshi, N., Sarrafi, A. & Ramezanianpour, A.A. Immobilization of hexavalent chromium in cement mortar: leaching properties and microstructures. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 20829–20838 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05301-z

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