Submission Type

Poster

Start Date

April 2021

Abstract

From 1883 to 1907, magnetite was smelted in Standish, NY. During this time, a large amount of slag, a byproduct of smelting, was created. The slag is now in a pile that covers ~13 acres in the northeastern region of the Adirondacks. The slag at the site has been classified into 6 broad types based on their physical properties. Exemplars of select types were crushed and analyzed by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). Both major elements and trace element data was collected for these samples. The XRF results indicate that all Standish slag is dominated by SiO2, CaO, and Fe2O3(t) regardless of the slag “type”. The trace element compositions of all the slag types are also uniform. This suggests that external parameters are responsible for the variety of slag morphologies rather than chemical differences.

In addition, 4 slag samples were involved with a simple leaching test using 2M nitric acid. The 4 samples represented a range of slag types. Samples involved in the leaching test were chemically analyzed before and after exposure to the acid. The acid impacted slag chemistry-particularly regarding Ba, Sr, and Zr contents. A highly vesicular slag showed the largest chemical changes induced by the leaching experiment.

Comments

Sponsored by Dori Farthing

COinS
 
Apr 26th, 12:00 AM

200— Chemical Analysis of Slag From Standish, NY

From 1883 to 1907, magnetite was smelted in Standish, NY. During this time, a large amount of slag, a byproduct of smelting, was created. The slag is now in a pile that covers ~13 acres in the northeastern region of the Adirondacks. The slag at the site has been classified into 6 broad types based on their physical properties. Exemplars of select types were crushed and analyzed by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). Both major elements and trace element data was collected for these samples. The XRF results indicate that all Standish slag is dominated by SiO2, CaO, and Fe2O3(t) regardless of the slag “type”. The trace element compositions of all the slag types are also uniform. This suggests that external parameters are responsible for the variety of slag morphologies rather than chemical differences.

In addition, 4 slag samples were involved with a simple leaching test using 2M nitric acid. The 4 samples represented a range of slag types. Samples involved in the leaching test were chemically analyzed before and after exposure to the acid. The acid impacted slag chemistry-particularly regarding Ba, Sr, and Zr contents. A highly vesicular slag showed the largest chemical changes induced by the leaching experiment.

 

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