Protection of ecosystem and human health via silica micro encapsulation of heavy metals

摘要

This paper briefly reviews the need for new technologies to address metal contamination and pollution and overviews some of the pathways linking contaminant sources and ecosystem and human targets. The principal focus of the paper is "inertisation" technologies in particular KEECO's Silica Micro Encapsulation (SME) process. This technology has been designed for the cost-effective remediation of metal, organic and radioactive contamination in solid and liquid phases. Through the silica encapsulation of metals and radioactive elements and oxidation of organic contaminants, SME produces clean water and an easily separable sludge that is chemically stable and leach-resistant. Similarly, soils, sediments and other wastes can be treated to destroy organic contaminants and render metals inert and non-leachable, usually in a single-pass treatment. Both liquid and solid media can be typically treated at a significantly lower total project cost when compared to standard technologies. Through the "inertisation" of metal-contaminated wastes, SME offers the prospect of breaking the pathways between contaminants sources and ecosystem and human targets, and this is explored in more detail using case studies describing SME treatment of acid rock drainage - an ongoing and major environmental and financial burden to the base, precious and coal mining sectors.