Abstract:
Limestone (CaCO3), is a lower cost alternative to lime (CaO) for the neutralisation of acid water, but the limestone neutralisation reaction is impaired by iron(II), iron(III) and aluminium in solution. This paper describes the kinetics of limestone neutralisation in the presence of these metals. The reaction rate is affected by the type of metal cation, by the concentration of the cation and by pH. At pH levels below 2.0 the limestone dissolution reaction rate decreases sharply with increasing pH. In the pH range 4.0 to 5.5 the reaction rate decreases linearly with increasing pH. The pH range 2.0 to 4.0 is a transition range, from the non-linear to linear dissolution rate characteristics. Metal concentrations below 80 mg l(-1): At pH levels less than 4, iron(II) had the strongest suppressing effect followed by aluminium, while the presence of iron(III) increased the reaction rate. In the pH range 4.0 to 5.5 aluminium had the strongest suppressing effect followed by iron(III) and iron(II). Metal concentrations above 80 mg l(-1): Iron(II) and aluminium suppress the reaction rate at all pH levels. At pH levels less than 4 iron(II) had the strongest suppressing effect, followed by aluminium. In the pH range 4.0 to 5.5 aluminium had the strongest suppressing effect followed by iron(II). With iron(III) the rate is suppressed at pH levels below 2, however the rate is speeded up in the pH range 25 to 3.5. At higher pH levels, the iron(III) concentration is limited to less than 80 mg l(-1) because of precipitation of iron(III) at pH levels higher than 2.5. The extent to which the overall neutralisation reaction proceeds was modelled to assist in reactor design. The overall reaction is impaired most by aluminium, followed by iron(II) and iron(III)