Register      Login
Environmental Chemistry Environmental Chemistry Society
Environmental problems - Chemical approaches
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Pyromorphite formation and stability after quick lime neutralisation in the presence of soil and clay sorbents

Mark A. Chappell A C and Kirk G. Scheckel B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Environmental Laboratory, US Army Corps of Engineers – ERDC, Vicksburg, MS 39180, USA.

B National Risk Management Laboratory, US Environmental Protection Agency – ORD, Cincinnati, OH 45224, USA.

C Corresponding author. E-mail: mark.a.chappell@erdc.usace.army.mil

Environmental Chemistry 4(2) 109-113 https://doi.org/10.1071/EN06081
Submitted: 20 December 2006  Accepted: 20 March 2007   Published: 17 April 2007

Environmental context. Questions remain regarding the potential risk of human Pb exposure from metal-contaminated soils. Studies show that the risk of human exposure is more accurately linked to the toxicity of the Pb species in soil than the total quantity of Pb. This work explores the practicality of converting Pb to a less toxic, less bioavailable species called pyromorphite in the presence of soil.

Abstract. Soluble Pb is immobilised in pure systems as pyromorphite by adding sources of P, but doubts remain about the effectiveness of this approach in natural soil systems, particularly given the ability of soil humic substances to interfere with Pb-mineral formation. In addition, recent thermodynamic modelling predicts that pyromorphite formed by the addition of phosphoric acid to Pb-contaminated soils, followed by neutralisation with quick lime (Ca(OH)2) will destabilise the mineral, reverting the Pb back to more soluble species such as cerussite or anglesite. In this paper, we describe experiments to form pyromorphite in the presence of two different sorbents: a reference smectite called Panther Creek Bentonite, and a commercially available, organically rich potting mixture. We present X-ray diffraction (XRD) evidence suggestive of pyromorphite formation, yet, like similar studies, the evidence is less than conclusive. Linear combination fits of Pb X-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy (XAFS) data collected at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory show that pyromorphite is the major Pb species formed after the addition of phosphoric acid. Furthermore, XAFS data shows that neutralising with quick lime enhances (as opposed to reducing) pyromorphite content in these systems. These results call into question relying solely on XRD data to confirm or deny the existence of minerals like pyromorphite, whose complex morphology give less intense and more complicated diffraction patterns than some of the simpler Pb minerals.

Additional keywords: methods to decrease bioavailability, soil chemistry, solid-phase chemistry.


References


[1]   E. Mavropoulos , A. M. Rossi , A. M. Costa , C. A. C. Perez , J. C. Moriera , M. Saldanha , Studies on the mechanisms of lead immobilization by hydroxyapatite. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2002 , 36,  1625.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |  open url image1

[2]   P. Zhang , J. A. Ryan , Formation of pyromorphite in anglesite-hydroxyapatite suspensions under varying pH conditions. Environ. Sci. Technol. 1998 , 32,  3318.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |  open url image1

[3]   P. Zhang , J. A. Ryan , Formation of chloropyromorphite from galena (PbS) in the presence of hydroxyapatite. Environ. Sci. Technol. 1999 , 33,  618.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |  open url image1

[4]   P. Zhang , J. A. Ryan , Transformation of Pb(II) from cerrusite to chloropyromorphite in the presence of hydroxyapatite under varying conditions of pH. Environ. Sci. Technol. 1999 , 33,  625.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |  open url image1

[5]   P. Zhang , J. A. Ryan , J. Yang , In vitro soil Pb solubility in the presence of hydroxyapatite. Environ. Sci. Technol. 1998 , 32,  2763.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |  open url image1

[6]   P. Zhang , J. A. Ryan , L. T. Bryndzia , Pyromorphite formation from geothite adsorbed lead. Environ. Sci. Technol. 1997 , 31,  2673.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |  open url image1

[7]   K. G. Scheckel , J. A. Ryan , Effects of aging and pH on dissolution kinetics and stability of chloropyromorphite. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2002 , 36,  2198.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |  open url image1

[8]   A. G. Stack , R. Erni , N. D. Browning , W. H. Casey , Pyromorphite growth on lead-sulfide surfaces. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2004 , 38,  5529.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |  open url image1

[9]   J. Yang , D. E. Mosby , S. W. Casteel , R. W. Blanchar , Lead immobilization using phosphoric acid in a smelter-contaminated urban soil. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2001 , 35,  3553.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |  open url image1

[10]   S. Sauvé , M. McBride , W. Hendershot , Lead phosphate solubility in water and soil suspensions. Environ. Sci. Technol. 1998 , 32,  388.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |  open url image1

[11]   R. Stanforth , J. Qui , Effect of phosphate treatment on the solubility of lead in contaminated soil. Environ. Geol. 2001 , 41,  1.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |  open url image1

[12]   F. Lang , M. Kaupenjohann , Effect of dissolved organic matter on the precipiation and molbility of the lead compound chloropyromorphite in solution. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 2003 , 54,  139.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |  open url image1

[13]   B. K. Schroth , G. Sposito , Effect of landfill leachate organic acids on trace metal adsorption by kaolinite. Environ. Sci. Technol. 1998 , 32,  1404.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |  open url image1

[14]   V. P. Evangelou , M. Marsi , M. A. Chappell , Potentiometric-spectroscopic evaluation of metal-ion complexes by humic fractions extracted from corn tissure. Spectrochim. Acta A 2002 , 58,  2159.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |  open url image1

[15]   C. E. Martínez , A. R. Jacobson , M. B. McBride , Lead phosphate minerals: Solubility and dissolution by model and natural ligands. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2004 , 38,  5584.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |  open url image1

[16]   S. K. Porter , K. G. Scheckel , C. A. Impelliteri , J. A. Ryan , Toxic metals in the environment: thermodynamic considerations for possible immobilization strategies for Pb, Cd, As, and Hg. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2004 , 34,  495.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |  open url image1

[17]   A. L. Ryser , D. G. Strawn , M. A. Marcus , S. Fakra , J. L. Johnson-Maynard , G. Möller , Microscopically focused synchrotron x-ray investigation of selenium speciation in soils developing on reclaimed mine lands. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2006 , 40,  462.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |  open url image1

[18]   K. G. Scheckel , J. A. Ryan , Spectroscopic speciation and quantification of lead in phosphate-amended soils. J. Environ. Qual. 2004 , 33,  1288.
        | PubMed |  open url image1

[19]   D. Vantelon , A. Lanzirotti , A. C. Scheinost , R. Kretzschmar , Spatial distribution and speciation of lead around corroding bullets in a shooting range soil studied by micro-s-ray fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2005 , 39,  4808.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |  open url image1

[20]   J. D. Ostergren , G. E. J. Brown , G. A. Parks , T. N. Tingle , Quantitative speciation of lead in selected mine tailings from Leadville, CO. Environ. Sci. Technol. 1999 , 33,  1627.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |  open url image1

[21]   M. A. Chappell , D. A. Laird , M. L. Thompson , H. Li , V. Aggarwal , B. J. Teppen , C. T. Johnston , S. A. Boyd , Influence of smectite hydration and swelling on atrazine sorption behavior. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2005 , 39,  3150.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |  open url image1

[22]   M. Newville , IFEFFIT: Interactive EXAFS analysis and FEFF fitting. J. Synchotron Radiat. 2001 , 8,  322.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |  open url image1