Project seeks to transform mining waste into high value-added materials
In addition to reducing the environmental impacts of mining activities, it opens new possibilities for technological applications for industrial waste, transforming them into sustainable solutions
The mining and metallurgy industry in Pará, despite its economic relevance, faces significant environmental challenges: the generation of solid waste and the emission of gases from the burning of fossil fuels. To tackle the problem, researchers from the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), with support from the Amazon Foundation for Studies and Research (Fapespa), are developing a project that transforms silico-aluminous waste, especially from kaolin processing, into high value-added materials.
According to the researchers, the initiative aims to reduce the environmental impacts of mining in Pará and open new possibilities for technological applications for industrial waste, transforming them into sustainable solutions.
"This project is a classic example of how science, technology, and innovation can contribute to the conservation of the Amazon and balance this conservation with sustainable business in the region. That is why PlanBio (State Bioeconomy Plan of Pará) has science and technology as one of its fundamental pillars. It is through science and technology that we will be able to drive a new model of economic development for the Amazon region that respects nature and values all our ancestries, knowledge acquired over the centuries, and generates an economy that respects this traditional population and directly involves them in significant gains for their existence and evolution," emphasizes the president of Fapespa, Professor Marcel Botelho.
Potential - Pará occupies a strategic position in the kaolin processing sector for paper coating, with a highlight on the performance of Imerys Rio Capim Caulim S.A. (IRCC). Despite its socioeconomic importance, the process generates tons of waste composed mainly of kaolinite, a material with great potential for reuse in the construction and ceramics sectors. In this context, the research emerged with the proposal to use the waste for the synthesis of zeolites, which are crystalline adsorbents formed by aluminum and silicon.
Zeolites are hydrated crystalline aluminosilicates of alkaline and alkaline earth metals. Their structure consists of cavities occupied by cations and water molecules, both with freedom of movement, allowing for ionic exchange and reversible hydration, respectively.
"One of the proposals of this work aims to use this waste in the synthesis of adsorbents known as zeolites, as it is a source of silicon and aluminum, and is still a material of low commercial value, characterizing this synthesis as an economic process. 'Since it is a material of low commercial value, we can transform an environmental liability into an economically viable product,' explained Professor Diego Cardoso Estumano from the Biotechnology Faculty of UFPA and coordinator of the research.
During the production process, the zeolites will be subjected to adsorption tests in aqueous solutions contaminated with heavy metals. The study will include computational analyses and mathematical models to evaluate adsorption isotherms, providing support for the construction of fixed bed columns in pellet form, with applications in both liquids and gases.
The project also marks the strengthening of scientific cooperation between UFPA and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). The partnership was established between Professor Diego Estumano and Professor Liliana Amaral Féris from the Graduate Program in Chemical Engineering and coordinator of the Separation and Unit Operations Laboratory (Lasop) at UFRGS. As part of this collaboration, the lecture “Mathematical modeling in adsorption: kinetics, isotherm, and breakthrough curve” was given to undergraduate and graduate students and faculty at the gaucho institution on the last 26th.
Funding - The studies of the researchers from Pará are conducted at the Simulation and Computational Biology Laboratory (Simbic), which is part of the High-Performance Computing and Artificial Intelligence Center (CCAD-IA) at UFPA. The expected completion date is next December.
"Fapespa's investment is of vital importance for research in our State, since, unfortunately, we still have little investment from private capital. This research was developed practically 100% with funds from the Foundation. This funding helps both in the evolution of researchers and in the training of undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students. The reality of our students is to have the scholarship they receive to study as their only source of income. Thus, Fapespa's support, in addition to being essential for the development of research, has the social factor of keeping students of different levels in the university, and thus, in the future, this student will have a good job and improve their family's quality of life and be an example for future generations," emphasized coordinator Diego Cardoso Estumano.
