Behavior of antimony(V) during the transformation of ferrihydrite and its environmental implications

Iron and sulfur cycling in acid sulfate soil wetlands under dynamic redox conditions: A review

Acid sulfate soils (ASS) contain substantial quantities of iron sulfide minerals or the oxidation reaction products of these sulfidic minerals. Transformation of iron (Fe) and sulfur (S) bearing minerals is an important process in ASS wetlands with fluctuating redox conditions. A range of potentially toxic metals and metalloids can either be adsorbed on or incorporated into the structure of Fe and S bearing minerals. Therefore, transformation of these minerals as affected by dynamic redox conditions may regulate the mobility and bioavailability of associated metals/metalloids. Better understanding of the interaction between Fe/S biogeochemistry and trace metal/metalloid mobility under fluctuating redox conditions is important for assessing contaminant risk to the environment. This review paper provides an overview of current knowledge regarding cycling of Fe, S and selected trace metal/metalloids in ASS wetlands under fluctuating redox conditions and outlines future research challenges and directions on this subject.

Antimony and arsenic partitioning during Fe2+-induced transformation of jarosite under acidic conditions

Jarosite [KFe₃(SO₄)₂(OH)₆] is considered a potent scavenger for arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb) under oxidizing conditions. Fluctuations in water levels in re-flooded acid sulfate soils (ASS) can lead to high Fe²⁺_(aq) concentrations (∼10-20 mM) in the soil solution under acidic to circumneutral pH conditions. This may create favorable conditions for the Fe²⁺-induced transformation of jarosite. In this study, synthetic arsenate [As(V)]/antimonate [Sb(V)]-bearing jarosite was subjected to Fe²⁺_(aq) (20 mM) at pH 4.0 and 5.5 for 24 h to simulate the pH and Fe²⁺_(aq) conditions of re-flooded freshwater ASS/acid mine drainage (AMD)-affected environments at early and mid-stages of remediation, respectively. The addition of Fe²⁺ at pH 5.5 resulted in the formation of a metastable green rust sulfate (GR- SO₄) phase within ∼60 min, which was replaced by goethite within 24 h. In contrast, at pH 4.0, jarosite underwent no significant mineralogical transformation. Although the addition of Fe²⁺_(aq) induced the dissolution/transformation of jarosite at pH 5.5 and increased the mobility of Sb during the initial stages of the experiment (Sb_(aq) = ∼0.05 μmol L^-1), formation of metastable green rust (GR-SO₄) and subsequent transformation to goethite effectively sequestered dissolved Sb. Aqueous concentrations of As remained negligible in both pH treatments, with As being mostly repartitioned to the labile (∼10%) and poorly crystalline Fe(III)-associated phases (∼10-30%). The results imply that, under moderately acidic conditions (i.e. pH 5.5), reaction of Fe²⁺_(aq) with jarosite can drive the dissolution of jarosite and increase Sb mobility prior to the formation of GR-SO₄ and goethite. In addition, repartitioning of As to the labile fractions at pH 5.5 may enhance the risk of its mobilisation during future mineral transformation processes in Fe²⁺-rich systems.

Interaction of polyhydroxy fullerenes with ferrihydrite: adsorption and aggregation

The rapid development of nanoscience and nanotechnology, with thousands types of nanomaterials being produced, will lead to various environmental impacts. Thus, understanding the behaviors and fate of these nanomaterials is essential. This study focused on the interaction between polyhydroxy fullerenes (PHF) and ferrihydrite (Fh), a widespread iron (oxyhydr)oxide nanomineral and geosorbent. Our results showed that PHF were effectively adsorbed by Fh. The adsorption isotherm fitted the D-R model well, with an adsorption capacity of 67.1mg/g. The adsorption mean free energy of 10.72kJ/mol suggested that PHF were chemisorbed on Fh. An increase in the solution pH and a decrease of the Fh surface zeta potential were observed after the adsorption of PHF on Fh; moreover, increasing initial solution pH led to a reduction of adsorption. The Fourier transform infrared spectra detected a red shift of C-O stretching from 1075 to 1062cm^-1 and a decrease of Fe-O bending, implying the interaction between PHF oxygenic functional groups and Fh surface hydroxyls. On the other hand, PHF affected the aggregation and reactivity of Fh by changing its surface physicochemical properties. Aggregation of PHF and Fh with individual particle sizes increasing from 2nm to larger than 5nm was measured by atomic force microscopy. The uniform distribution of C and Fe suggested that the aggregates of Fh were possibly bridged by PHF. Our results indicated that the interaction between PHF and Fh could evidently influence the migration of PHF, as well as the aggregation and reactivity of Fh.

Antimony and Arsenic Behavior during Fe(II)-Induced Transformation of Jarosite

Jarosite can be an important scavenger for arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb) in acid mine drainage (AMD) and acid sulfate soil (ASS) environments. When subjected to reducing conditions, jarosite may undergo reductive dissolution, thereby releasing As, Sb, and Fe²⁺ coincident with a rise in pH. These conditions can also trigger the Fe²⁺-induced transformation of jarosite to more stable Fe(III) minerals, such as goethite. However, the consequences of this transformation process for As and Sb are yet to be methodically examined. We explore the effects of abiotic Fe²⁺-induced transformation of jarosite on the mobility, speciation, and partitioning of associated As(V) and Sb(V) under anoxic conditions at pH 7. High concentrations of Fe²⁺ (10 and 20 mM) rapidly (<10 min) transformed jarosite to a green rust intermediary, prior to the subsequent precipitation of goethite within 24 h. In contrast, lower concentrations of Fe²⁺ (1 and 5 mM) led to the formation of lepidocrocite. As K-edge XANES spectroscopy revealed some reduction of As(V) to As(III) at higher concentrations of Fe²⁺, while Sb L₁-edge XANES spectroscopy indicated no reduction of Sb(V). The transformation processes enhanced Sb mobilization into the aqueous phase, while As was instead repartitioned to a surface-bound exchangeable phase. The results imply that Fe²⁺-induced transformation of As/Sb-jarosite can increase Sb mobility and exert major influences on As partitioning and speciation.

Coprecipitated arsenate inhibits thermal transformation of 2-line ferrihydrite: implications for long-term stability of ferrihydrite

2-line ferrihydrite, a ubiquitous iron oxy-hydroxide found in natural and engineered systems, is an efficient sink for the toxic metalloids such as arsenic. While much is known of the excellent capacity of ferrihydrite to coprecipitate arsenate, there is little information concerning the long-term stability of arsenate-accumulated ferrihydrite. By thermal treatment methodology, the expedited transformation of ferrihydrite in the presence of coprecipitated arsenate was studied at varying As/Fe ratios (0-0.5) and different heating temperature (40, 300, 450, 600°C). Pure and transformed minerals were characterized by thermogravimetry (TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Electron Spin Resonance (ESR), Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Arsenate was found to retard the thermal transformation of ferrihydrite. The extents of ferrihydrite transformation to hematite decreased with increasing As/Fe ratios, but increased at a higher heating temperature. It is predicted that the coprecipitated arsenate can stabilize the amorphous iron oxides against the transformation to more crystalline solids. Arsenate concentration appears to play an important role in this predicted long-term stability.

Efficient removal of trace antimony(III) through adsorption by hematite modified magnetic nanoparticles

Hematite coated magnetic nanoparticle (MNP@hematite) was fabricated through heterogeneous nucleation technique and used to remove trace Sb(III) from water. Powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and alternating gradient magnetometry were utilized to characterize the prepared adsorbent. TEM image showed that MNP@hematite particles were spherical with size of 10-30nm. With saturation magnetization of 27.0emu/g, MNP@hematite particles could be easily separated from water with a simple magnetic process in short time (5min). At initial concentration of 110μg/L, Sb(III) was rapidly decreased to below 5μg/L by MNP@hematite in 10min. Sb(III) adsorption capacity of MNP@hematite was 36.7mg/g, which was almost twice that of commercial Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The removal of trace Sb(III) was not obviously affected by solution pH (over a wide range from 3 to 11), ionic strength (up to 100mM), coexisting anions (chloride, nitrate, sulfate, carbonate, silicate, and phosphate, up to 10mM) and natural organic matters (humic acid and alginate, up to 8mg/L as TOC). Moreover, MNP@hematite particles were able to remove Sb(III) and As(III) simultaneously. Trace Sb(III) could also be effectively removed from real tap water by MNP@hematite. The magnetic adsorbent could be recycled and used repeatedly.