PHYSIO-CHEMICAL AND HEAVY METAL ANALYSIS OF WASTE FOUNDRY SANDMohan B. Waman, R.K. Nagaraju, Shankar. L. Laware and Kaduru RajuAbstract Foundries in Kolhapur and Pune dumps nearly 700-1000 tons of processed waste foundry sand annually in landfills causing severe land and water contamination. This practice is causing enormous pressure on foundries to look for an alternative option of reusing it in other applications. In this study we analyzed waste foundry samples from landfill and foundries for physical (clay, sand, and silt), moisture content, chemical properties (pH, CEC, and organic carbon) and heavy metals limits with an aim for using it in soil related applications. After analysis we found samples, texture is silt loamy with good moisture content, thus having a pH value ranging from 7.50-8.40 with an abundant organic carbon in the form sea charcoal added during casting process. In addition to this when we analyzed and compared 10 toxic heavy metals we found As, Hg, Be, Cd, Se, Ag, Mo are below detectable limits and mean values of metals Cr (10.45), Cu (19.94), Pb (7.74), Zn (18.35) and Ni (6.79) lower than USDA limits. Based on above studies we concluded that waste foundry samples are non-hazardous in nature with soil like properties, thus making it as an idle blending agent for soil related applications. |