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. 2022 Aug 12;15(16):5540.
doi: 10.3390/ma15165540.

Inerting Waste Al Alloy Dust with Natural High Polymers: Sustainability of Industrial Waste

Bo Liu  1 , Wenjing Yin  2 , Kaili Xu  1 , Yuyuan Zhang  1
Affiliations

Inerting Waste Al Alloy Dust with Natural High Polymers: Sustainability of Industrial Waste

Bo Liu et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

A large amount of waste dust will be produced in the process of metal grinding, resulting in a waste of resources and environmental pollution. Therefore, we present a new method of inerting waste aluminum (Al) alloy dust for recycling purposes. Three natural high polymers-starch, pectin, and hydroxypropyl cellulose-were selected to inert waste metal dust in order to prevent the alloy from hydrolyzing and keep the dust pure enough for reuse. The particles of the Al base alloy before and after dust reaction were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR), and the relevant reaction mechanism was clarified. The hydrogen evolution test indicated that, across the temperature interval of 313-333 K, 0.75 wt% pectin inerted hydrogen evolution most efficiently (90.125%). XRD analysis indicated that the inerted product is composed of Al monomer and Al3Mg2, with no detectable content of Al hydroxide. The purity of the Al alloy dust was preserved. SEM and FTIR analyses indicated that the -OH, -COOH, and -COOCH3 functional groups in the high polymer participated in the coordination reaction by adsorbing on the surface of the waste Al alloy particles to produce a protective film, which conforms to Langmuir's adsorption model. Verification of the inerted Al alloy dust in industrial production confirmed the possibility of reusing waste Al alloy dust. This study provides a simple and effective method for recycling waste Al alloy dust.

Keywords: Al alloy dust; dust explosion; metal inerting; natural high polymers; waste reuse.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Particle size distribution of waste Al alloy dust.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Automated hydrogen tester.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Hydrogen evolution curves and comparison curve (d) of Al alloy dust in (a) PS, (b) PE, (c) HC inerting agent solutions.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Hydrogen evolution curves of Al alloy dust in (a) PS, (b) PE, (c) HC inerting agent solutions under different temperatures.
Figure 5
Figure 5
SEM micrographs and EDS of Al alloy dust before (a) and after (b) reaction in blank solution and those containing various inhibitor concentrations: 0.25 wt% PS (c), 0.75 wt% PE (d), 0.75 wt% HC (e).
Figure 6
Figure 6
XRD curves of Al alloy before and after dust reaction and after inerting agent.
Figure 7
Figure 7
FTIR curves of inerting agent (a) PS, (b) PE, and (c) HC and its reaction products.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Chemical structures of the amylose (a), amylopectin (b), Pectin (c), and hydroxypropyl cellulose (d).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Inhibition mechanism of PS, PE, and HC.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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