Immobilizing arsenic in contaminated anoxic aquifer sediment using sulfidated and uncoated zero-valent iron (ZVI)

Thiago Augusto Formentini; Geert Cornelis; Jon Petter Gustafsson; Kathrin Leicht; Charlotta Tiberg; Britta Planer-Friedrich; Neal Durant; Dimin Fan; Dan B Kleja

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132743

Immobilizing arsenic in contaminated anoxic aquifer sediment using sulfidated and uncoated zero-valent iron (ZVI)

J Hazard Mater. 2024 Jan 15:462:132743. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132743. Epub 2023 Oct 13.

Authors

Thiago Augusto Formentini¹, Geert Cornelis², Jon Petter Gustafsson², Kathrin Leicht², Charlotta Tiberg³, Britta Planer-Friedrich⁴, Neal Durant⁵, Dimin Fan⁵, Dan B Kleja²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P. O. Box 7014, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden. Electronic address: thiago.formentini@slu.se.
² Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P. O. Box 7014, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden.
³ Swedish Geotechnical Institute (SGI), SE-581 93 Linköping, Sweden.
⁴ Environmental Geochemistry Group, Bayreuth Center for Ecology and Environmental Research (BAYCEER), Bayreuth University, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
⁵ Geosyntec Consultants, Inc, 10211 Wincopin Circle, 4th Floor, Columbia, MD 21044, USA.

PMID: 37837779
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132743

Abstract

Arsenic (As) is carcinogenic and of major concern in groundwater. We collected sediment material from a contaminated anoxic aquifer in Sweden and investigated the immobilization of As by four commercial zero-valent iron (ZVI) particles. Solid-phase As and Fe speciation was assessed using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and solution-phase As speciation using chromatographic separation. Without ZVI addition, arsenite dominated in solution and As(V) species in the solid phase. Adding ZVI caused a sharp increase in solution pH (9.3-9.8), favoring As oxidation despite a lowered redox potential. ZVI greatly improved As retention by complex binding of arsenate to the Fe(III) (hydr)oxides formed by ZVI corrosion. Uncoated ZVI, both in nano- and microscale, performed better than their sulfidated counterparts, partly due to occlusion of As by the Fe(III) (hydr)oxides formed. The effect of particle size (micro vs. nano ZVI) on As immobilization was small, likely because immobilization was related to the corrosion products formed, rather than the initial size of the particles. Our results provide a strong geochemical background for the application of ZVI particles to remove As in contaminated aquifers under anoxic conditions and illustrate that immobilization mechanisms can differ between ZVI in As spiked solutions and sediment suspensions. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATION: Arsenic ranks first on the list by the US ATSDR of substances posing a threat to human health and the WHO considers groundwater the riskiest source for human intake of As. However, dealing with As contamination remains a scientific challenge. We studied the immobilization of groundwater As by commercially available ZVI particles at field-realistic conditions. Arsenic immobilization was highly efficient in most cases, and the results suggest this is a promising in situ strategy with long-term performance. Our results provide a strong geochemical background for using ZVI to remove As in contaminated anoxic aquifers.

Keywords: Arsenic oxidation; Field conditions; Groundwater; Iron corrosion; Nanoparticles.