Immobilization of industrial waste in cement-bentonite clay matrix

Results of a series of experimental tests performed to determine the influence of matrix characteristics on the leaching mechanism of copper aluminum oxychloride immobilized into cement matrices are presented. The objective of this work was to investigate the leaching mechanism of copper as a constituent of copper aluminum oxychloride (‘CAOX’). Transport phenomena involved in the leaching of a waste material from a composite matrix into surrounding water were investigated using three methods based on theoretical equations: (i) diffusion equation derived for a plane source model, (ii) rate equation for diffusion coupled with a first-order reaction and (iii) the leaching data were also analysed by an empirical method employing a polynomial equation. These three methods are compared with respect to their applicability to the leaching data.