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Migration of ammonium nitrogen in ion-absorbed rare earth soils during and post in situ mining: a column study and numerical simulation analysis

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Abstract

Ion-absorbed rare earth mines, leached in situ, retain a large amount of ammonium nitrogen (NH4—N) that continuously releases into the surrounding environments. However, quantitative descriptions and predictions of the transport of NH4—N across mining area with hill slopes are not fully established. Here, laboratory column experiments were designed with an inclined slope (a sand box) to examine the spatial temporal transport of NH4—N in soils collected from the ionic rare earth elements (REE) mining area. An HYDRUS-2D model simulation of the experimental data over time showed that soils had a strong adsorption capacity toward NH4—N. Chemical non-equilibrium model (CNEM) could well simulate the transport of NH4—N through the soil-packed columns. The simulation of the transport-adsorption processes at three flow rates of leaching agents revealed that low flow rate enabled a longer residence time and an increased NH4-N adsorption, but reduced the extraction efficiency for REE. During the subsequent rainwater washing process, the presence of slope resulted in the leaching of NH4—N on the surface of the slope, while the leaching of NH4—N deep inside the column was inhibited. Furthermore, the high-intensity rainfall significantly increased the leaching, highlighting the importance of considering the impact of extreme weather conditions during the leaching process. Overall, our study advances the understanding of the transport of NH4—N in mining area with hills, the impact of flow rates of leaching agents and precipitation intensities, and presents as a feasible modeling method to evaluate the environmental risks of NH4—N pollution during and post REE in situ mining activities.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Financial of National Key Research and Development Project of China (No. 2019YFC1805102). Partial supports are from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 42107228 and 41977266) and Shanghai Pujiang Program (No. 21PJ1401000). Comments from editors and two anonymous reviewers improved the clarify and quality of manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China

    Gaosheng Xi, Xiaojiang Gao, Ming Zhou, Xiangmei Zhai, Xiaoying Yang, Zezhen Pan & Zimeng Wang

  2. School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, Ganzhou, 341000, China

    Ming Chen

  3. CAS Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Xingxiang Wang

  4. National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, Shanghai, 202151, China

    Xiaojiang Gao, Zezhen Pan & Zimeng Wang

  5. Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai, 200001, China

    Zimeng Wang

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  1. Gaosheng Xi
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  2. Xiaojiang Gao
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  3. Ming Zhou
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  4. Xiangmei Zhai
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  5. Ming Chen
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  7. Xiaoying Yang
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  8. Zezhen Pan
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Correspondence to Xiaojiang Gao or Zezhen Pan.

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Highlights

• Column experiments with an inclined slope were applied to simulate NH4—N transport.

• The transport of NH4—N was simulated via HYDRUS-2D.

• The chemical non-equilibrium model well described the transport process.

• The lateral flow led to the preferential loss of surface NH4—N.

• Flow rate and rainfall intensity affected the adsorption and leaching of NH4—N.

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Xi, G., Gao, X., Zhou, M. et al. Migration of ammonium nitrogen in ion-absorbed rare earth soils during and post in situ mining: a column study and numerical simulation analysis. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 17, 102 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-023-1702-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-023-1702-4

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