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Simultaneous Immobilization of Zn(II) and Cr(III) in Spinel Crystals from Beneficial Utilization of Waste Brownfield-Site Soils

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Clays and Clay Minerals

Abstract

Waste brownfield-site soils contaminated with heavy metals such as Zn and Cr are of critical environmental concern because of the rapid urbanization and industrialization that is occurring in China. Thermal treatment can fix heavy metals in specific mineral structures, which might be a promising technology for remediation and reutilization of the metal-contaminated soils. The objective of the present study was to elucidate the stabilization mechanisms of Zn and Cr through thermal treatment of mixtures of ZnO + Cr2O3 to form ZnCr2O4 and to confirm that Zn and Cr were incorporated simultaneously into the spinel structure. The incorporation efficiency for Zn was quantified, with the value ranging from 70.6 to 100% over the temperature range 700–1300°C. Leaching results further confirmed that ZnCr2O4 spinel was a superior product for Zn and Cr immobilization. Then, by artificially sintering Zn- and Cr-enriched soils, both Zn and Cr were immobilized effectively (with three orders of magnitude reduction in Zn leachability) in the ZnCr2O4 spinel as the predominant product phase. In addition, multiple heavy metals such as Zn, Cu, and Cr in the actual brownfield-site soils were well immobilized after sintering, which confirmed the potential for practical application of the thermal treatment technology utilized in this study.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFC1801402), the Science and Technology Foundation of Guangdong, China (2016B020242006 and 2016TX03Z086), the Science and Technology Foundation of Guangzhou, China (201704020200 and 201804010197), the National Natural Science Foundations of China (U1701241, U1612442, and 21707063), and the Frontier Science Research Programme of CAS (QYZDB-SSW-DQC046).

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Author notes

  1. Fei Wu and Yuanyuan Tang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, 550081, China

    Fei Wu, Chengshuai Liu & Zengping Ning

  2. Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Agro-Environmental Pollution Control and Management, Guangdong Institute of Eco-Environmental Sciences & Technology, Guangzhou, 510650, China

    Fei Wu, Chengshuai Liu, Yahui Lv, Hui Tong, Changzhong Liao & Fangbai Li

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

    Fei Wu

  4. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China

    Yuanyuan Tang

  5. Research Centre for Environmental Health and Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Xingwen Lu

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  1. Fei Wu
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Correspondence to Chengshuai Liu.

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This paper was originally presented during the World Forum on Industrial Minerals, held in Qing Yang, China, October 2018

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Figure S1. TEM-EDX pattern of ZnCr2O4 for a sample calcined at 1350°C. (PNG 80 kb)

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Figure S2. pH values of leachates after leaching by an extraction liquid with initial pH value of 2.9and a leaching period of 0.75 to 21 d. Samples for leaching experiments included (a) ZnO, ZnCr2O4, and (b) the mixtures after sintering at 700~1300°C. (PNG 313 kb)

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Wu, F., Tang, Y., Lu, X. et al. Simultaneous Immobilization of Zn(II) and Cr(III) in Spinel Crystals from Beneficial Utilization of Waste Brownfield-Site Soils. Clays Clay Miner. 67, 315–324 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42860-019-00053-w

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