Redox Heterogeneities Promote Thioarsenate Formation and Release into Groundwater from Low Arsenic Sediments
Abstract
Groundwater contamination by As from natural and anthropogenic sources is a worldwide concern. Redox heterogeneities over space and time are common and can influence the molecular-level speciation of As, and thus, As release/retention but are largely unexplored. Here, we present results from a dual-domain column experiment, with natural organic-rich, fine-grained, and sulfidic sediments embedded as lenses (referred to as “reducing lenses”) within natural aquifer sand. We show that redox interfaces in sulfur-rich, alkaline aquifers may release concerning levels of As, even when sediment As concentration is low (<2 mg/kg), due to the formation of mobile thioarsenates at aqueous sulfide/Fe molar ratios <1. In our experiments, this behavior occurred in the aquifer sand between reducing lenses and was attributed to the spreading of sulfidic conditions and subsequent Fe reductive dissolution. In contrast, inside reducing lenses (and some locations in the aquifer) the aqueous sulfide/Fe molar ratios exceeded 1 and aqueous sulfide/As molar ratios exceeded 100, which partitioned As(III)–S to the solid phase (associated with organics or as realgar (As4S4)). These results highlight the importance of thioarsenates in natural sediments and indicate that redox interfaces and sediment heterogeneities could locally degrade groundwater quality, even in aquifers with unconcerning solid-phase As concentrations.
- Authors:
-
- Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Univ. of Vienna (Austria)
- SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Univ. of Bayreuth (Germany)
- Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
- SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1633945
- Grant/Contract Number:
- PL 302/20-1; EF-0830093; AC02-76SF00515; SC0020205
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Environmental Science and Technology
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 54; Journal Issue: 6; Journal ID: ISSN 0013-936X
- Publisher:
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Citation Formats
Kumar, Naresh, Noël, Vincent, Planer-Friedrich, Britta, Besold, Johannes, Lezama-Pacheco, Juan, Bargar, John R., Brown, Gordon E., Fendorf, Scott, and Boye, Kristin. Redox Heterogeneities Promote Thioarsenate Formation and Release into Groundwater from Low Arsenic Sediments. United States: N. p., 2020.
Web. doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b06502.
Kumar, Naresh, Noël, Vincent, Planer-Friedrich, Britta, Besold, Johannes, Lezama-Pacheco, Juan, Bargar, John R., Brown, Gordon E., Fendorf, Scott, & Boye, Kristin. Redox Heterogeneities Promote Thioarsenate Formation and Release into Groundwater from Low Arsenic Sediments. United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b06502
Kumar, Naresh, Noël, Vincent, Planer-Friedrich, Britta, Besold, Johannes, Lezama-Pacheco, Juan, Bargar, John R., Brown, Gordon E., Fendorf, Scott, and Boye, Kristin. Tue .
"Redox Heterogeneities Promote Thioarsenate Formation and Release into Groundwater from Low Arsenic Sediments". United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b06502. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1633945.
@article{osti_1633945,
title = {Redox Heterogeneities Promote Thioarsenate Formation and Release into Groundwater from Low Arsenic Sediments},
author = {Kumar, Naresh and Noël, Vincent and Planer-Friedrich, Britta and Besold, Johannes and Lezama-Pacheco, Juan and Bargar, John R. and Brown, Gordon E. and Fendorf, Scott and Boye, Kristin},
abstractNote = {Groundwater contamination by As from natural and anthropogenic sources is a worldwide concern. Redox heterogeneities over space and time are common and can influence the molecular-level speciation of As, and thus, As release/retention but are largely unexplored. Here, we present results from a dual-domain column experiment, with natural organic-rich, fine-grained, and sulfidic sediments embedded as lenses (referred to as “reducing lenses”) within natural aquifer sand. We show that redox interfaces in sulfur-rich, alkaline aquifers may release concerning levels of As, even when sediment As concentration is low (<2 mg/kg), due to the formation of mobile thioarsenates at aqueous sulfide/Fe molar ratios <1. In our experiments, this behavior occurred in the aquifer sand between reducing lenses and was attributed to the spreading of sulfidic conditions and subsequent Fe reductive dissolution. In contrast, inside reducing lenses (and some locations in the aquifer) the aqueous sulfide/Fe molar ratios exceeded 1 and aqueous sulfide/As molar ratios exceeded 100, which partitioned As(III)–S to the solid phase (associated with organics or as realgar (As4S4)). These results highlight the importance of thioarsenates in natural sediments and indicate that redox interfaces and sediment heterogeneities could locally degrade groundwater quality, even in aquifers with unconcerning solid-phase As concentrations.},
doi = {10.1021/acs.est.9b06502},
journal = {Environmental Science and Technology},
number = 6,
volume = 54,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Feb 18 00:00:00 EST 2020},
month = {Tue Feb 18 00:00:00 EST 2020}
}
Web of Science
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