Assessment of arsenic and heavy metal concentrations in water and sediments of the Rio Grande at El Paso-Juarez metroplex region

The Rio Grande located along the US-Mexico border is affected by anthropogenic activities along its geographical course. Runoff and wind deposition of smelting residues may contribute to the pollution of the Rio Grande in the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez area. Few studies have addressed the presence or impacts of heavy metals or arsenic in this ecosystem. This study reports a survey of heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Cd, Ni, Pb, and Zn) and arsenic (As) in water and sediments of the Rio Grande collected from seven sites in the El Paso-Juarez region. Since water quality influences metal content in water, physical (temperature, flow and conductivity), and chemical (pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrates, alkalinity, and water hardness) parameters were measured at each site. Arsenic and heavy metal levels were determined using Inductively Couple Plasma (ICP) emission spectroscopy following EPA procedures. Zinc and lead were found as both total and dissolved metals in most of the samples, with concentrations of total recoverable metals reaching up to 105 and 70 microg/l, respectively. Most metals were found in sediment samples collected from four of seven sites. The highest Cu concentration (35 mg/l) was found at the American Dam site. Concentrations of metals found through this survey will be used as a reference for future studies in monitoring arsenic, heavy metals, and their impacts in the Rio Grande.

Use of silica-immobilized humin for heavy metal removal from aqueous solution under flow conditions

Humin extracted from Sphagnum peat moss was immobilized in a silica matrix and column experiments were performed in order to evaluate the removal and recovery of metal ions from aqueous solution under flow conditions. These experiments also allowed testing the recycling capacity of the column. Single-element solutions of Cu(II) and Pb(II), and a multi-metal solution containing Cd(II), Cu(II), Pb(II), Ni(II), and Cr(III) were passed through the columns at a flow rate of 2 ml/min. A 0.5 M sodium citrate solution was used as the stripping agent in the metal-ion recovery process. Humin immobilized in the silica matrix exhibited a similar, and in some cases, even a higher capacity than other biosorbents for the removal of metal ions from aqueous solutions under flow conditions. The sodium citrate was effective in removing Cu(II), Pb(II), Cd(II), and Ni(II) from the metal saturated column. The selectivity of the immobilized biomass was as follows: Cr(III)>Pb(II)>Cu(II)>Cd(II)>Ni(II). This investigation provides a new, environmentally friendly and cost-effective possibility to clean up heavy-metal contaminated wastewaters by using the new silica-immobilized humin material.

Uptake and reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) by mesquite (Prosopis spp.): chromate-plant interaction in hydroponics and solid media studied using XAS

Chromium (Cr) is a well-established carcinogen that is a contaminant at half of the EPA Superfund sites in the United States. Two separate studies were performed to investigate the possibility that mesquite (Prosopis spp.), which is an indigenous desert plant species, can remove Cr from the environment via active transport systems to the aerial portions of the plant. The first study was performed by growing mesquite on solid media (agar) at Cr(VI) concentrations of 75 and 125 ppm. The accumulation found in the leaves under the present conditions indicated that mesquite could be classified as a hyperaccumulator of chromium. The second study was conducted to investigate the differences between the type of Cr ligand involved in Cr uptake with agar and hydroponic cultures. We used X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to determine the mechanisms involved in the uptake and binding of Cr(VI) in live mesquite tissue. The XAS results for this study showed that some of the supplied Cr(VI) was uptaken by the mesquite roots; however, the data analyses of the plant tissues demonstrated that it was fully reduced to Cr(III) in the leaf tissues. Experiments are currently being performed to evaluate the behavior of the Mesquite plant using lower Cr concentrations.

Utilization of ICP/OES for the determination of trace metal binding to different humic fractions

In this study, the use of inductively coupled plasma/optical emission spectrometry (ICP/OES) to determine multi-metal binding to three biomasses, Sphagnum peat moss, humin and humic acids is reported. All the investigations were performed under part per billion (ppb) concentrations. Batch pH profile experiments were performed using multi-metal solutions of Cd(II), Cu(II), Pb(II), Ni(II), Cr(III) and Cr(VI). The results showed that at pH 2 and 3, the metal affinity of the three biomasses exposed to the multi-metal solution that included Cr(III) presented the following order: Cu(II), Pb(II)>Ni(II)>Cr(III)>Cd(II). On the other hand, when Cr(VI) was in the heavy metal mixture, Sphagnum peat moss and humin showed the following affinity: Cu(II), Pb(II)>Ni(II)>Cr(VI)>Cd(II); however, the affinity of the humic acids was: Cu(II)>Pb(II), Cr(VI)>Ni(II)>Cd(II). The results demonstrated that pH values of 4 and 5 were the most favorable for the heavy metal binding process. At pH 5, all the metals, except for Cr(VI), were bound between 90 and 100% to the three biomasses. However, the binding capacity of humic acids decreased at pH 6 in the presence of Cr(VI). The results showed that the ICP/OES permits the determination of heavy metal binding to organic matter at ppb concentration. These results will be very useful in understanding the role of humic substances in the fate and transport of heavy metals, and thus could provide information to develop new methodologies for the removal of low concentrations of toxic heavy metals from contaminated waters.

Effect of mixed cadmium, copper, nickel and zinc at different pHs upon alfalfa growth and heavy metal uptake

Alfalfa plants were grown in soil-pots contaminated with a mixture of Cd(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II), (at 50 mg/kg each) at pHs of 4.5, 5.8, and 7.1. The plants were fertilized using a nutrient solution, which was adjusted appropriately to the same pH. Plants in the control treatment were grown in the absence of the heavy metals mixture. The growth of the control plants was the same at the three pHs studied and the heavy metal stressed plants also showed similar behavior at each pHs. There were statistically significant differences (P<0.05) between the shoot length of the control treatment plants and the length of plants grown in the presence of the heavy metal mixture. Under the effects of the heavy metal mixture, nickel was the most accumulated element in the shoot tissue, with 437, 333, and 308 ppm at pH 7.1, 5.8, and 4.5, respectively. Cadmium was found to be second in accumulated concentrations with 202 ppm, 124 ppm, and 132 ppm at pH 7.1, 5.8, and 4.5, respectively, while zinc was third, followed by copper. The maximum relative uptakes (element in plant/element in soil-water-solution) were found to be 26 times for nickel, 23 times for cadmium, 12 times for zinc. and 6 times for copper. We considered these relations as indicative of the ability of alfalfa plants to take up elements from a soil matrix contaminated with a mixture of cadmium, copper, nickel, and zinc.

Absorption of copper(II) by creosote bush (Larrea tridentata): use of atomic and x-ray absorption spectroscopy

Larrea tridentata (creosote bush), a common North American native desert shrub, exhibits the ability to take up copper(II) ions rapidly from solution. Following hydroponic studies, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency method 200.3 was used to digest the plant samples, and flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS) was used to determine the amount of copper taken up in different parts of the plant. The amount of copper(II) found within the roots, stems, and leaves was 13.8, 1.1, and 0.6 mg/g, respectively, after the creosote bush was exposed to a 63.5-ppm copper(II) solution for 48 h. When the plant was exposed to a 635-ppm copper(II) solution, the roots, stems, and leaves contained 35.0, 10.5, and 3.8 mg/g, respectively. In addition to FAAS analysis, x-ray microfluorescence (XRMF) analysis of the plant samples provided further confirmation of copper absorption by the various plant parts. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) elucidated the oxidation state of the copper absorbed by the plants. The copper(II) absorbed from solution remained as copper(II) bound to oxygen-containing ligands within the plant samples. The results of this study indicate that creosote bush may provide a useful and novel method of removing copper(II) from contaminated soils in an environmentally friendly manner.

Characterization of Cr(VI) binding and reduction to Cr(III) by the agricultural byproducts of Avena monida (oat) biomass

Chromium contamination of the environment has become an important issue due to the potential health threat it poses. Conventional technologies to clean up heavy metal ions from contaminated waters have been utilized, but these technologies are not cost-effective. However, the use of agricultural waste byproducts for the removal of Cr(VI) from contaminated waters may be a new cost-effective alternative. Oat byproducts from the Juarez Valley in Mexico were studied for the ability to bind Cr(VI) under different temperature and time conditions. The metal binding ability of oat byproducts was calculated from experimental data collected at temperatures of 8, 26, and 54 degrees C, and time exposures of 1, 6, 24, 48, and 72 h at each temperature. These results showed that the binding of Cr(VI) to oat biomass increased as time and temperature increased. The bound chromium was recovered from the oat biomass by treatment with 0.2M HCl. Through the use of X-ray absorption spectroscopy, the reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) was determined to occur by the oat byproducts. These results indicate that the use of agricultural waste byproducts could be a better alternative for the removal and subsequent reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) from contaminated waters.

Effects of chemical competition for multi-metal binding by Medicago sativa (alfalfa)

Alfalfa shoot biomass has demonstrated the ability to bind an appreciable amount of cadmium(II), chromium(III), copper(II), lead(II), nickel(II), and zinc(II) separately from aqueous solutions. Since most heavy metal contaminated waters contain more than one heavy metal ion, it was necessary to determine the binding abilities of the alfalfa biomass with multi-metal solutions. Batch laboratory experiments were performed with a solution containing 0.1 mM of each of the following metal ions: cadmium(II), chromium(III), copper(II), lead(II), nickel(II), and zinc(II). We determined the pH profile, time dependency, and binding capacity by the alfalfa biomass of each metal ion under multi-elemental conditions. For all the metal ions studied, the alfalfa biomass showed to have a high affinity for metal binding around pH 5.0 within a time period of approximately 5 min. The binding capacity experiments showed that there was a preferential binding of the metal ions from the multi-elemental solution with the following amounts of metal ion bound per gram of biomass: 368.5 micromol/g for copper(II), 215.4 micromol/g for chromium(III), 168.0 micromol/g for lead(II), 56.9 micromol/g for zinc(II), 49.2 micromol/g for nickel(II), and 40.3 micromol/g for cadmium(II). Reacting the biomass from the capacity experiments with 0.1 M HCl resulted in 90% or greater recovery of bound cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc. However, only 44% of the bound chromium was recovered. These experiments show the ability of Medicago sativa (alfalfa) to bind several metal ions under multi-contaminant conditions. Similar results were obtained when the experiments were performed under flow conditions using silica-immobilized alfalfa biomass. Chromium bound on the silica-immobilized biomass was also difficult to be desorbed with 0. 1 M HCl. The information obtained will be useful for the future development of an innovative technology to remove heavy metal contaminants from polluted ground waters.