Trace elements solid-state speciation

The speciation of trace elements in solid phases determines their mobility and toxicity. Spectroscopic techniques such as XANES and XAFS, can be used to determine directly the oxidation and structural state of elements in coal combustion byproducts. For example, Huggins et al. (2000) used these synchrotron techniques to determine that Cr and As occur predominately in the less toxic oxidation states Cr(IIl) and As(V) in CCBs. In addition, they found As, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Zn were present primarily as oxidized species (i.e., as oxides, sulphates, arsenates, etc.) in unweathered CCBs. 

Though several studies (5-9) have described the concentrations of trace elements in surface waters, most of them did not differentiate between species of a particular element. Some (10) have considered the distribution between dissolved and particulate forms. However, few attempts (11) have been made to evaluate the distribution of metals between various solid phase components of the suspended material. The present study provides quantitative estimates of dissolved (dissolved is defined as those aquatic components that could not be removed by centrifugation from liquid phase) and various solid phase associated metal fractions in southeastern United States streams. Between November 83 and August 85, 46 bi-weekly samples were taken from six SRP associated watersheds to determine dissolved (filterable) and total element concentrations. As one of several goals of the study was to assess the impact of natural and production related activities on trace element behavior in these aquatic systems, knowledge of speciation within solid and dissolved phases was essential for data interpretation. The research described herein used sequential extraction and a thermodynamics approach to define solid and dissolved phase species of Cu, Cd, Fe, Mn, Ni and Zn. The study also evaluated the effects of natural and production related processes on the distribution of metals in aquatic systems at SRP. 

The present state of knowledge of solid matter speciation of trace elements is still somewhat unsatisfactory because the appropriate techniques are only operational tools with associated conceptual and practical problems. With respect to estimating bioavailable concentrations, one such conceptual problem is the effect of competition between binding sites on the solid substrate and selective mechanisms of metal translocation by the different organisms involved, a situation that... 

Within this context, the quantitation and speciation of organically bound trace metals in coal liquefaction soluble products presents a real challenge. Quantitative trace element methods in the solid state on liquefaction... 

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