Estudio de Impacto Ambiental de projecto VNRP. Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment for a plant for the recovery of vanadium and nickel from Flexicoke (VNRP) at Refineria de Amuay, Venezuela

Abstract

This preliminary EIA is a preconseption of the Vanadium and Nickel Recovery Processes, which will eventually be realized to extract 7.2tV as vanadium pentoxide and 1.3t Ni as nickelsulfide per day from fly ash, produced in a rate of 25 t/d in the CFAY plant. The daily effluent flow rate from the Vanadium recovery process is estimated to 240 m3, containing <200 mg TSP/l, <1 mg V/l and 16.2 g N/l, if untreated. The N- and V-content in the effluent may be recycling processes and diffenrent waste water treatment methods. the flue gas is estimated to contain 1500 ppm SOx (4290 mg/m³, emission rate 33 g/s), and 500 mg TSP/Nm3 (emission rate 2.3 g/s), provided baghouse treatment for particle reduction. The amounts of solid waste (sludge) from the vanadium recovery has not been quoted. The solid waste production of the nickel recovery process is estimated to 5, or alternatively 1.2 t/d, dependent on choice of additives. A landfill will have to be constructed to take care of the solid waste. Different mitigating actions are recommended to reduce gas emissions, effluent discharges, in particular the Nitrogen content, and the production rates and contaminant contents of solid waste, to ensure that legal and environmental acceptable limits are kept.