Effects of estuarine water mixing on the mobility of trace elements in acid mine drainage leachates
Metadatos
Afficher la notice complèteEditorial
Elsevier
Materia
Mining pollution Tinto and Odiel rivers Estuary of Huelva Seawater mixing Contaminants mobility
Date
2022-12-23Referencia bibliográfica
Rafael Pérez-López... [et al.]. Effects of estuarine water mixing on the mobility of trace elements in acid mine drainage leachates, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 187, 2023, 114491, ISSN 0025-326X, [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114491]
Patrocinador
Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2020-119196RBC21); Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation RYC2019-027949-I, IJCI-2016-27412 and IJC2018-035056-I; Universidad de Huelva/CBUARésumé
This research reports the effects of pH increase on contaminant mobility in acid mine drainage from the Iberian
Pyrite Belt by seawater mixing in the laboratory, simulating the processes occurring in the Estuary of Huelva (SW
Iberian Peninsula). Concentrations of Al, Fe, As, Cu and REY in mixing solutions significantly decreased with
increasing pH. Schwertmannite precipitation at pH 2.5–4.0 led to the total removal of Fe(III) and As. Subsequently,
iron-depleted solutions began to be controlled by precipitation of basaluminite at pH 4.5–6.0, which
acted as a sink for Al, Cu and REY. Nevertheless, as the pH rises, schwertmannite becomes unstable and releases
back to solution the previously retained As. Moreover, other elements (S, Zn, Cd, Ni and Co) behaved conservatively
in mixing solutions with no participation in precipitation processes. Some toxic elements finally end up
to the Atlantic Ocean contributing to the total pollutant loads and environmentally threatening the coastal areas.