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Effect of pH on Metal Lability in Drinking Water Treatment Residuals
Author(s) -
Wang Changhui,
Yuan Nannan,
Pei Yuansheng
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq2013.06.0233
Subject(s) - lability , chemistry , leaching (pedology) , environmental chemistry , metal , toxicity characteristic leaching procedure , fractionation , water treatment , environmental engineering , heavy metals , environmental science , chromatography , soil water , biochemistry , organic chemistry , soil science
Drinking water treatment residuals (WTRs), by‐products generated during treatment of drinking water, can be reused as environmental amendments to remediate contamination. However, this beneficial reuse may be hampered by the potential release of toxic contaminants (e.g., metals) in the WTRs. In present study, batch tests and then fractionation, in vitro digestion, and the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure were used to investigate the release and extractability of metals in the Fe/Al hydroxides comprised WTRs under differing pH. The results demonstrated that significant release from WTRs for Ba, Be, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Fe, Mg, Mn, Pb, Sr, and Zn occurred under low pH (acid condition); for As, Mo, and V under high pH (alkaline condition); and for Al, Cu, and Ni under both conditions. In comparison, most metals in the WTRs were more easily released under low pH, but the release was stable at a relatively low level between pH 6 and 9, especially under alkaline conditions. Further analysis indicated that the chemical extractability and bioaccessibility of many metals was found to increase in the WTRs after being leached, even though the leached WTRs could still be considered nonhazardous. These results demonstrated that pH had a substantial effect on the lability of metals in WTRs. Overall, caution should be used when considering pH conditions during WTRs reuse to avoid potential metal pollution.