Modeling of Atmospheric Dispersion of Jarosite Particles from Tailing Waste in Mitrovica, Kosovo

Abstract

Most of the zinc producers in the world use the jarosite process to improve zinc recovery and to remove iron as an undesirable constituent of zinc ores. Jarosite waste released from the zinc extraction process in Mitrovica, Kosovo has led to severe environmental problems due to toxic heavy metals. This industrial waste from the Zn hydrometallurgy process was abandoned on an open field, being exposed to meteorological conditions and aging. The chemical composition and grain size distribution of the jarosite waste deposit was determined. Microwave digestion procedures were used on whole jarosite samples for use in inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry trace metal analysis (ICP-OES). In addition, different weathering conditions were considered for testing the emission rate of the particles in the laboratory, including relative humidity, wind speed, and temperature. Terrain properties, urban infrastructure, source formation, and location were used for modeling with the AERMOD View-Gaussian air dispersion model. The modeling results showed a range of pollution exceeding the maximum limits in an area of 3 km in the conditions of southeast wind direction and wind speed exceeding 10 m s−1, heavily polluting the city of Mitrovica.