Evaluation of leaching behavior and immobilization of zinc in cement-based solidified products

This study has examined leaching behavior of monolithic stabilized/solidified products contaminated with zinc by performing modified dynamic leaching test. The effectiveness of cement-based stabilization/solidification treatment was evaluated by determining the cumulative release of Zn and diffusion coefficients, De. The experimental results indicated that the cumulative release of Zn decreases as the addition of binder increases. The values of the Zn diffusion coefficients for all samples ranged from 1.210-8 to 1.1610-12 cm2 s-1. The samples with higher amounts of binder had lower De values. The test results showed that cement-based stabilization/solidification treatment was effective in immobilization of electroplating sludge and waste zeolite. A model developed by de Groot and van der Sloot was used to clarify the controlling mechanisms. The controlling leaching mechanism was found to be diffusion for samples with small amounts of waste material, and dissolution for higher waste contents.