Removal of Cu (II) from Industrial Wastewater Using Mechanically Activated Serpentinite

Abstract

We investigate with this study the effectiveness of mechanically activated serpentinite in capturing Cu (II) from the multi-constituent acidic wastewater of the pit lakes of the Agios Philippos mine (Greece), proposing specific areas with serpentinites suitable for such environmental applications. For this purpose ultramafic rock samples that are characterized by variable degrees of serpentinization from ophiolitic outcrops exposed in the regions of Veria-Naousa and Edessa have been examined regarding their capacity to remove the toxic load of Cu (II) from wastewater after having been mechanically activated through a Los Angeles (LA) machine (500, 1000 and 1500 revolutions). The more serpentinized and mechanically activated samples, as they have been characterized after a combination of various mineralogical, petrographic, geochemical analyses as well as after different stresses of abrasion and attrition, seem to be more effective in Cu removal than the less serpentinized ones. Selective removal of Cu (II) in the wroewolfeite phase was obtained by using the mechanically activated highly serpentinized ultramafic rocks. Furthermore, areas with highly serpentinized ultramafic rocks defined after petrographic mapping, using GIS method, which can potentially be used as filters for the effective Cu (II) removal from industrial wastewater are suggested.