Metal Hydroxide Sludge from Metal Removed
Also known as hydroxide sludge production · metal sludge mass · sludge from metal precipitation · dry solids from metal removal
Worked example: Zinc 20 to 0.44 mg/L in 5000 m3/d → 148.7 kg/d dry Zn(OH)2 — press Try an example to run it live, then adjust anything.
Enter your known values, leave one input blank, and solves for the missing one. Tap a variable’s symbol to see what it means, with a typical value. Change any unit and the answer follows.
Metal Hydroxide Sludge from Metal Removed explained
When a metal comes out of solution as its hydroxide, the sludge weighs more than the metal, because every ion takes its hydroxide down with it. Zinc comes down as Zn(OH)₂, so each 65.38 g of zinc makes 65.38 + 2 × 17.007 = 99.39 g of dry solids, about 1.52 times the metal. Iron(III) as Fe(OH)₃ makes 1.91 times its own weight, and aluminium as Al(OH)₃ 2.89 times. A plant taking zinc from 20 mg/L down to 0.44 mg/L in 5000 m³/d removes 97.8 kg of zinc a day and makes 148.7 kg of dry sludge.
That is the floor, not the forecast. Real hydroxide sludge carries more: gypsum where lime meets sulphate, calcium carbonate, iron added as a coagulant, and the water held in the floc, which is why the dry solids are only the first number. The next is the volume, which depends on how far the sludge thickens. For lead the solver counts the sludge as Pb(OH)₂, while real lead sludge is a mix of oxide and carbonate.
Metal Hydroxide Sludge from Metal Removed formula
- = Dry hydroxide sludge (kg/d)
- = Flow rate (L/min)
- = Metal in (mg/L)
- = Metal left (mg/L)
- = Molar mass of the metal (g/mol)
- = Charge on the metal ion
Worked from first principles: a definition, a balance or unit arithmetic, so it needs no outside source.
Missing one of these? Work it out first, then come back
- Dry hydroxide sludge — Chemical Feed Rate from Dose, Chemical Mass Consumed Over a Period
- Flow rate — Weir Loading Rate (Weir Overflow Rate), Pump System Curve
- Molar mass of the metal — Moles from Mass (n = m/M), Mass-to-Mass Stoichiometry
- Charge on the metal ion — Faraday's Law of Electrolysis (m = QM/nF), Particles from Moles (Avogadro's Number)
Cite this page
formula.expert. (2026, October 16). Metal Hydroxide Sludge from Metal Removed Calculator. https://formula.expert/solvers/metal-hydroxide-sludge