The Separation and Recovery of Barium from Barium Slag by Using Shaking Table Gravity Concentration Method

Barium slag, classified as HW47 hazardous waste, is produced in large quantities and has a high accumulation with heavy metal Ba ions that are significantly above the standard levels, posing a serious threat to the ecological environment and the growth of flora and fauna. Before barium slag can be stored, it must undergo harmless treatment, which is costly, and with the current large volume of accumulated barium slag, storage facilities are strained. There is an urgent need for new technologies to extract barium elements from barium slag while achieving reduction in volume. This study first treats the barium slag to reduce its oxidation state and then utilizes the density differences to separate barium-rich compounds through shaking table concentration. Macro and microanalytical methods such as XRD (X-ray diffraction), XRF (X-ray fluorescence), and SEM&EDS (Scanning Electron Microscopy & Energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy) were employed. The results show that barium in the slag is evenly distributed, and after sufficient crushing, it can be separated by gravity concentration. The barium content can be enriched from 20% to over 80%. This research provides theoretical support for the separation of barium compounds from barium slag.