Negative pH values in an open-air radical environment affected by acid mine drainage. Characterization and proposal of a hydrogeochemical model
| Autor: | Ana T. Luís, Jesús María Díaz Curiel, Eduardo Ferreira da Silva, Juan Carlos Fortes, Jose Antonio Grande, Aguasanta Miguel Sarmiento, María Santisteban, José Miguel Dávila, María Luisa de la Torre |
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| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
Environmental Engineering
Iberian Pyrite Belt 0208 environmental biotechnology 02 engineering and technology 010501 environmental sciences Contamination Acid mine drainage 01 natural sciences Pollution 020801 environmental engineering Metal visual_art Environmental chemistry visual_art.visual_art_medium Environmental Chemistry Environmental science Waste Management and Disposal 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Open air |
| Zdroj: | The Science of the total environment. 644 |
| ISSN: | 1879-1026 |
| Popis: | This paper presents the finding of a singular environment polluted by acid mine drainage in the Iberian Pyrite Belt. This situation is regulated by particular conditions, thus the analysed values can be considered as extreme, not only because of the high concentrations of toxic elements, but also due to the extreme low pH, reaching an average negative pH of −1.56, never found before in open-air environments contaminated by acid mine drainage. Concentrations up to 59 g/L of Fe, 2.4 g/L of Al, 740 mg/L of As, 4.3 mg/L of Co, 5.3 mg/L of Ge, 4.8 mg/L of Sb, inter alia, can be found dissolved in these polluted waters. The main aims of the present work are the physicochemical characterization and the toxicity assessment of these radical polluted waters. In addition, a hydrogeochemical model of the system will be proposed, which justifies the extreme pH value and the extraordinarily high concentrations of toxic elements, even for acid mine drainage polluted environments. Extreme acidity and metal and sulphate concentrations in the Radical Environment are due to several processes of different nature, mainly driven by the geochemistry of the minerals presents in the endorheic character of the basin. The extremely acidic nature of these waters control the Fe species present in them, being FeHSO4+ the mainly Fe specie representing 94% of total. High toxicity of these waters has been detected due to the absence of any diatoms species. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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