Metals and their chemical and mineralogical forms in industrial pollutants of the atmosphere

Abstract The contents and chemical forms of heavy metals in different types of industrial dusts have been examined and mineralogical composition of dusts characterized. Dusts emitted by the metallurgical plants contain iron minerals: magnetite and hematite, carbonates: calcite and dolomite, sulphates: gypsum and anhydrite and silicates: quartz and mullite. Dusts emitted by the chemical plants contain fluoroapatite and calcite. Sylvite, quartz and calcite are the main components of dusts from cement plants. Mullite and quartz are the main phases of dusts from power plants. In dusts emitted by metallurgical plants, rich in iron oxides a high content of Mn, Zn, Pb and Cu has been stated. Dusts originating from chemical plants are rich in Cd and Cr. In the examined dusts two groups of metals can be distinguished: metals such as Cd, Zn, Mn and Ni, which have a relatively large potentially mobilizable portion, and metals such as Cr, Pb, Fe and Cu that are more stably bound to dust particles.