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Immobilization of trace metals by phosphates in contaminated soil near lead/zinc mine tailings evaluated by sequential extraction and TCLP

  • SOILS, SEC 2 • GLOBAL CHANGE, ENVIRON RISK ASSESS, SUSTAINABLE LAND USE • RESEARCH ARTICLE
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Abstract

Purpose

The combined contamination of Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, and As in the soils near lead/zinc mine waste posed a potential threat to the surrounding environment. Mitigation methods are needed to reduce the environmental risk. The aims of this paper were to evaluate the feasibility and efficiency of different forms of phosphates in remediating combined contamination caused by multi-metals and arsenic near the lead/zinc mining tailings.

Materials and methods

The tested soil was taken from a clayey illitic thermic typic epiaquepts soil (depth of 0–20 cm) near a lead and zinc mine tailing, located in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China. Four pure chemical reagents, K2HPO4, Ca(H2PO4)2.2H2O, Ca3(PO4)2, and Ca5(PO4)3OH, were added to the soil in solution form as the trace metal stabilizing additives at a P application rate equivalent to 2,283 mg P/kg-soil and P/Pb molar ratio of 1. Shifts in trace metal speciation were determined using sequential extraction procedures and relative toxicities were evaluated using the standard EPA toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP).

Results and discussion

The addition of K2HPO4, Ca3(PO4)2, Ca5(PO4)3OH, and Ca(H2PO4)2.2H2O in the contaminated soil at the phosphorus application rate 2,283 mg P/kg-soil reduced Pb concentrations in TCLP extraction solution from 90.47 to 56.05, 83.80, 67.78, and 86.32 mg/kg (38.0, 7.36, 25.1, and 4.59% reduction), respectively. Sequential extraction analysis showed that phosphate treatments caused the transformation of easily available trace metal species to more stable forms. However, TCLP As in the soil increased from its initial value of 0.23 to 2.1, 0.70, 0.67, and 0.77 mg/kg, respectively, for the four treatments. The TCLP leachable As concentration of the K2HPO4-treated soil was about nine times of that from the untreated soil.

Conclusions

The addition of K2HPO4, Ca3(PO4)2, Ca5(PO4)3OH, and Ca(H2PO4)2.2H2O were effective in reducing water soluble and exchangeable Pb, Zn, Cu, and Cd, and minimizing TCLP-extractable Pb, Zn, and Cu. The sequential extraction test and the TCLP indicate that Ca5(PO4)3OH treatment has a higher potential in immobilizing Pb, Zn, Cu, and Cd, though a slight enhancement of As mobility, comparing with other phosphate treatments.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41101213, 41071144, and 40801116), Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (LY12D01010), and the Key SQT Innovation Team of Zhejiang Province for Agro-Products Standards and Testing Technology (2010R50028).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, 310018, China

    Wei-Hong Wu, Zheng-Miao Xie & Rong-Bin Zhou

  2. Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Subtropic Soil and Plant Nutrition, College of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310029, China

    Jian-Ming Xu & Jia-Chun Shi

  3. College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 310036, China

    Fan Wang

  4. College of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310032, China

    Zan-Fang Jin

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  1. Wei-Hong Wu
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Correspondence to Wei-Hong Wu or Zheng-Miao Xie.

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Responsible editor: Jadwiga Gzyl

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Wu, WH., Xie, ZM., Xu, JM. et al. Immobilization of trace metals by phosphates in contaminated soil near lead/zinc mine tailings evaluated by sequential extraction and TCLP. J Soils Sediments 13, 1386–1395 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-013-0751-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-013-0751-x

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