Addition of sulphuric acid to high organic carbon lake water: Effects on macro-chemistry, aluminium, and iron

Abstract

A humic lake of pH 5.6 was acidified with H₂SO₄ to pH 4.1. Measurements of total and hollow-fiber ultrafiltered samples were made after three different times of storage, before and after the acid treatment. The nominal molecular weight cutoff of the hollow-fiber membrane was 10 kDalton. Assuming a linear molecular weight distribution of the organic complexes present in solution, the average organic molecule had an average molecular weight of 12.8−08 kDalton (n=6). Not only Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺, but also detectable amounts of Na⁺ and K⁺ was found to be present on high molecular weight forms. No significant change in the molecular weight distribution of these elements were observed after the pH decrease. Changes in the molecular weight distribution after the acid treatment were only observed for Fe and Al. Significant amounts of SO₄ ²⁻ were present on high molecular weight forms. A small, but significant increase in the relative amounts of SO₄ ²⁻ present on high molecular weight forms was observed after the pH lowering. Kinetic constraints were demonstrated for dissolution of Al and Fe. To some extent, kinetic constraints in the equilibrium distribution of cation/anion exchange reactions of Al, Fe, and SO₄ ²⁻ were also observed. After the acid treatment, the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the organic pool present was estimated to be at least 18.2±1.4 (n=3) μeq of positive charges per mg C, probably because the negative sites on the organic pool are either not totally protonated or occupied by other cations at pH 4.09. This CEC is of the same order as industrially made cation exchange resins.