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Effects of colloidal particle size on the geochemical characteristics of REE in the water in southern Jiangxi province, China

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Abstract

The small watershed of southern Jiangxi province, embodying much detailed information about the origin and behavior of rare earth elements (REE), is a typical region enriched in REE in China. In this study, the dissolved rare earth elements (DREE) geochemistry affected by colloidal particle size (<0.45 μm, <0.2 μm), was first analyzed in a small watershed with high REE background. The REE geochemical characteristics were studied comparatively in both the regions affected by REE or not. With deceasing pore size (reducing more colloidal particles), the following results were found: (1) the total DREE concentrations of the filtrates decrease from 0.533 to 0.357 μg/l, mainly because the filter membrane with smaller pore size can remove more REE-rich colloidal particles from the water samples. (2) Two types of PAAS-normalized-DREE patterns changed differently. The relatively flat pattern, in the area without REE minerals influence, converted from slight light REE (LREE) enrichment to weak HREE enrichment. This should be due to the decreasing adsorptive ability of REE from La to Lu on the colloidal particles. The HREE enrichment pattern in the area affected by REE minerals had no obvious change, which may be resulted from the preferable complexion of LREE with \({\text{SO}}_{4}^{2 - }\) in the extraction liquids or from anthropogenic factors. (3) Both negative Ce anomalies and negative Eu anomalies were weakened and positive Eu anomalies became stronger. It evidenced that larger colloidal particles (0.2 < d < 0.45 μm) adsorbed less PAAS-normalized Ce relative to its neighboring elements (PAAS-normalized La and Nd). This study will be useful to future-related research in a watershed impacted by multiple factors.

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Notes

  1. Ji et al. (2004) the distribution, fractionation and ecological impact for rare earth elements in its high background regions, Southern Jiangxi Province, China. A postdoctoral report. Institute of geographic sciences and natural resources research, Chinese academy of sciences, Beijing, China.

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Acknowledgments

This work was jointly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41073096 and 40473051), Science and Technology Planning Projects of Hebei Province, China (15273302D) and the Hundred Talents Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The authors are grateful to anonymous reviewers for their invaluable comments that significantly improved the manuscript. The authors also thank Leilei Min, Hongwei Pei, Aizhen Liang, Jing Li, Wei Yang, Tiechou Shi and Libing Gu for their helpful advices.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Hebei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Water-Saving, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang, 050022, China

    Jianmei Luo & Yanjun Shen

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Jianmei Luo

  3. College of Land Resources and Rural–Urban Planning, Shijiazhuang University of Economics, Shijiazhuang, 050031, China

    Jianmei Luo & Jiawen Hu

  4. Hebei Provincial Academy of Land Use and Planning, Shijiazhuang, 050051, China

    Yongwei Huo

  5. College of Resource Environment and Tourism, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100037, China

    Hongbing Ji

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  1. Jianmei Luo
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Correspondence to Hongbing Ji.

Appendix

Appendix

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Table 5 Trace elements contents of sampled river water in south Jiangxi province (μg L−1)
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Luo, J., Huo, Y., Shen, Y. et al. Effects of colloidal particle size on the geochemical characteristics of REE in the water in southern Jiangxi province, China. Environ Earth Sci 75, 81 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-4870-0

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