• Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.164-169
• /
• 2009

A powder form of aluminum (hydr)oxides is not suitable in wastewater treatment/filtration systems because of low hydraulic conductivity and large sludge production. In this study, aluminum (hydr)oxide-coated sand (AOCS) was used to remove phosphate from aqueous solution. The properties of AOCS were analyzed using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) combined with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) and an X-ray diffractometer (XRD). Kinetic batch, equilibrium batch, and closed-loop column experiments were performed to examine the adsorption of phosphate to AOCS. The XRD pattern indicated that the powder form of aluminum (hydr)oxides coated on AOCS was similar to a low crystalline boehmite. Kinetic batch experiments demonstrated that P adsorption to AOCS reached equilibrium after 24 h of reaction time. The kinetic sorption data were described well by the pseudo second-order kinetic sorption model, which determined the amount of P adsorbed at equilibrium ($q_e$ = 0.118 mg/g) and the pseudo second-order velocity constant (k = 0.0036 g/mg/h) at initial P concentration of 25 mg/L. The equilibrium batch data were fitted well to the Freundlich isotherm model, which quantified the distribution coefficient ($K_F$ = 0.083 L/g), and the Freundlich constant (1/n = 0.339). The closed-loop column experiments showed that the phosphate removal percent decreased from 89.1 to 41.9% with increasing initial pH from 4.82 to 9.53. The adsorption capacity determined from the closed-loop experiment was 0.239 mg/g at initial pH 7.0, which is about two times greater than that ($q_e$ = 0.118 mg/g) from the kinetic batch experiment at the same condition.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.121-131
• /
• 2021

Magnesium (Mg) present in carbonate minerals as impurities has been used as a geochemical proxy to infer the environmental conditions where the minerals precipitated. The reliability of Mg geochemical proxies requires fundamental understanding of Mg incorporation into minerals based on accurate speciation of Mg ²⁺ in the crystal structure, which is determined mainly by application of X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). However, high uncertainties are involved in interpreting the XAS spectra of minerals containing trace amount of Mg ²⁺. Because density function theory (DFT) can predict an XAS spectrum for a crystal structure, DFT calculations can reduce the uncertainties in the interpretation of the XAS spectrum. In this study, we calculated ab initio Mg K-edge absorption spectra of Mg silicates and (hydr)oxides based on DFT and analyzed the correlation between the calculated spectra and Mg structural parameters. Our ab initio Mg K-edge absorption spectra well reproduced the key features of the experimental spectra. The absorption-edge positions of the calculated spectra showed the weak positive correlation with the average Mg-O bond distance or Mg effective coordination number. The current study shows that DFT-based core-level spectroscopy method is a powerful tool in providing standard Mg K-edge spectra of diverse Mg minerals and determining the Mg chemical species within carbonate minerals.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.16-24
• /
• 2014

To test the potential effects of extracellular electron shuttles (EES) on the rate and extent of heavy metal release from contaminated soils during microbial iron reduction, we created anaerobic batch systems with anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS) as a surrogate of EES, and with contaminated soils as mixed iron (hydr)oxides and microbial sources. Two types of soils were tested: Zn-contaminated soil A and As/Pb-contaminated soil B. In soil A, the rate of iron reduction was fastest in the presence of AQDS and > 3500 mg/L of total Fe(II) was produced within 2 d. This suggests that indigenous microorganisms can utilize AQDS as EES to stimulate iron reduction. In the incubations with soil B, the rate and extent of iron reduction did not increase in the presence of AQDS likely because of the low pH (< 5.5). In addition, less than 2000 mg/L of total Fe(II) was produced in soil B within 52 d suggesting that iron reduction by subsurface microorganisms in soil B was not as effective as that in soil A. Relatively high amount of As (~500 mg/L) was released to the aqueous phase during microbial iron reduction in soil B. The release of As might be due to the reduction of As-associated iron (hydr)oxides and/or direct enzymatic reduction of As(V) to As(III) by As-reducing microorganisms. However, given that Pb in liquid phase was < 0.3 mg/L for the entire experiment, the microbial reduction As(V) to As(III) by As-reducing microorganisms has most likely occurred in this system. This study suggests that heavy metal release from contaminated soils can be strongly controlled by subsurface microorganisms, soil pH, presence of EES, and/or nature of heavy metals.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.64 no.4
• /
• pp.439-446
• /
• 2021

A field-scale study was conducted to evaluate the effect of organic matter amendments on the solubility of arsenic (As) in paddy soil and uptake by rice. Six organic matter (rice bran, rice straw, pig/cattle/fowls manure compost and swine liquid manure) were added to two polluted soils with high As (53 mg kg^-1) and low As concentration (28 mg kg^-1), and changes in soil solution constituents was monitored. The mean As concentrations in soil solution from the high As soil with rice bran, pig manure compost and swine liquid manure addition were significantly higher (0.61-1.15 mg L^-1) than that of the control (0.42-0.66 mg L^-1). Regression between As and Fe in soil solution indicated that As was attributable to reductive dissolution of Fe (hydr)oxides and it was driven by organic matter addition. Mean As concentrations in brown rice from the high As soil were 0.35-0.46 mg kg^-1, above the maximum safety level of inorganic As (0.35 mg kg^-1), and tended to be higher in organic matter amended soils than that of the control. The significant correlation between grain As and soil solution As was not observed and it was probably attributable to As tolerance of rice causing the reduction of As uptake and/or translocation to grain. However, considering the significant As release in soil solution from the high As soil and the tendency of grain As elevation after organic matter addition, it is needed to be cautious for food safety when amending organic matter to paddy soil with high As concentration.