Contaminant mobility in sandy soils after application of treated wastewater produced in the steel industry

ABSTRACT

This research aimed to carry out a modeling study on the dispersion of contaminants in the soil with wastewater produced and treated in a steel industry. For this purpose, column leaching tests were performed using soil samples collected in areas inside the industry where the reuse of treated wastewater would occur. Based on the tests, elution curves (breakthrough curves) were generated to analyze the mobility of contaminants in the soil, and transport parameters were obtained (dispersion coefficient, delay, and dispersivity). The wastewater produced in the steelworks has low concentrations of heavy metals after the wastewater treatment is carried out, with only iron and zinc posing a risk for wastewater disposal. The analyzed soils, with a high percentage of sand, showed a low retention capacity for the contaminants present, increasing the risks of groundwater contamination. Therefore, the non-potable reuse of treated wastewater is possible in the steel industry, but it must be associated with soil management and conservation techniques that increase the capacity of the soil to adsorb its contaminants or the impermeabilization in the area of plate cooling.

Keywords:
soil disposal; column leaching tests; transport parameters; reuse; contaminants’ transport