Elemental sulfur amendment decreases bio-available Cr-VI in soils impacted by leather tanneries

Jingjing Shi; Hualin Chen; Joselito M Arocena; Todd Whitcombe; Ronald W Thring; Jeff Nze Memiaghe

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.01.045

Elemental sulfur amendment decreases bio-available Cr-VI in soils impacted by leather tanneries

Environ Pollut. 2016 May:212:57-64. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2016.01.045. Epub 2016 Feb 1.

Authors

Jingjing Shi¹, Hualin Chen², Joselito M Arocena³, Todd Whitcombe⁴, Ronald W Thring⁵, Jeff Nze Memiaghe⁶

Affiliations

¹ College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province 325035, China; Environmental Science and Engineering Programs, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, Canada. Electronic address: Jshi@unbc.ca.
² College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province 325035, China. Electronic address: hualin2100@126.com.
³ College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province 325035, China; Environmental Science and Engineering Programs, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, Canada. Electronic address: Joselito.arocena@unbc.ca.
⁴ Environmental Science and Engineering Programs, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, Canada. Electronic address: Todd.whitcombe@unbc.ca.
⁵ College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province 325035, China; Environmental Science and Engineering Programs, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, Canada. Electronic address: Ron.thring@unbc.ca.
⁶ Environmental Science and Engineering Programs, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, Canada. Electronic address: Nzememi@unbc.ca.

PMID: 26840517
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2016.01.045

Abstract

This study investigated the potential use of elemental S (S(0)) to convert Cr-VI to Cr-III which should decrease the bio-availability hence, toxicity of Cr-VI in soils. The bio-available fraction of Cr in soil was measured by phosphate buffer extraction (PBE) and the results showed that the fraction is about 10% of the total Cr-VI and varied from 12.8 to 42.5 mg kg(-1). The addition of 4.0 mg g(-1) S(0) decreased PBE Cr-VI to <0.4 mg kg(-1) limit established for Cr-VI toxicity in soils. Synchrotron-based X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and micro-XRD revealed that Cr-III was the dominant species (99% of total Cr) and Cr was retained by hematite and goethite in soil. Fe-containing minerals may have provided sufficient protection to render the dominant Cr-III species biochemically inert to redox processes in soils. It is concluded that S(0)amendment is a promising approach to remediate Cr-VI contaminated soils.

Keywords: Bio-available metals; Environmental risks; Synchrotron; X-ray diffraction.

MeSH terms

Cations
Chromium / analysis*
Environmental Pollution
Oxidation-Reduction
Soil / chemistry*
Soil Pollutants / analysis*
Sulfur / chemistry*
Tanning*
X-Rays

Substances

Cations
Soil
Soil Pollutants
Chromium
Sulfur