Characterisation of Antimony-bearing Scorodite for Remediation of Toxic Mine Waste

用于修复有毒矿山废物的含锑臭葱石的表征

• 批准号: NE/J01303X/1
• 负责人: Karen Hudson-Edwards
• 金额: $ 6.26万
• 依托单位: Birkbeck, University of London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2012 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FJ01303X%2F1
• 关键词: Characterisation; Antimony; bearing; Scorodite; Remediation

Since the dawn of civilization, humankind has been extracting metals and minerals for the production of goods, energy and buildings. These activities have created great wealth, but they have also produced huge quantities of solid and liquid waste, known collectively as 'mine waste'. It has been estimated that the quantity of solid mine waste generated throughout the world matches that of Earth materials moved by fundamental global geological processes, at approximately several thousand million tonnes per year. Mine wastes contain toxic antimony (Sb) in concentrations that pose serious hazards to ecosystems, health and livelihoods. Humans can develop problems such as DNA damage and lung cancer from ingestion or inhalation of Sb-bearing particles. The risks posed by exposure to Sb can be mitigated by the formation of insoluble minerals that take up the Sb so it has low bioaccessibility. One such mineral is scorodite, hydrated iron arsenate oxide (FeAsO4.2H20). No one has evaluated the potential for scorodite to take up Sb, even though Sb and As (arsenic) have similar chemical properties, and they have been shown to substitute for one another in other minerals. We have discovered an Sb-rich scorodite in decomposed mine tailings from Bolivia, but the full potential of scorodite to take up Sb has not been investigated. Therefore, this study is aimed at answering the questions 'How efficient is scorodite at taking up Sb compared to As?', What are the chemical and mineralogical properties of Sb-rich scorodites?', and 'What are the predicted bioaccessibilities of Sb-bearing scorodites?' By answering these questions, we will be able to design schemes for remediating Sb-contaminated mine wastes using Sb-bearing scorodites, and thus improve the lives of 10s to 100s of thousands of people worldwide.

自从文明的曙光以来，人类一直在提取金属和矿物质以生产商品，能源和建筑物。这些活动创造了巨大的财富，但它们也产生了大量的固体和液体废物，共同被称为“矿山废物”。据估计，在世界范围内产生的固体矿石废物数量与全球基本地质过程所移动的地球材料的数量相匹配，每年约为数千吨。矿井废物含有有毒锑（SB），浓度对生态系统，健康和生计构成了严重危害。人类可能会出现诸如摄入或吸入SB颗粒的DNA损伤和肺癌之类的问题。暴露于SB所带来的风险可以通过占用SB的不溶性矿物的形成来减轻，因此它具有较低的生物访问。一种这样的矿物质是敏捷的，水合氧化铁氧化铁（Faso4.2H20）。即使SB和AS（砷）具有相似的化学特性，也没有人评估过Scorodite服用SB的潜力，并且已显示它们在其他矿物质中互相代替。我们已经在玻利维亚分解的矿山尾矿中发现了一种富含SB的骨柱，但是尚未研究骨柱的全部潜力。因此，这项研究的目的是回答“与AS相比，SCORODITE在服用SB的效率如何？通过回答这些问题，我们将能够设计方案，以使用含有SB的敏捷剂来修复经SB污染的矿井，从而改善全球10至100千万人的生活。

项目成果

Scorodite precipitation in the presence of antimony

• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2015.04.013
• 发表时间: 2015-06
• 期刊: Chemical Geology
• 影响因子: 3.9
• 作者: D. Kossoff;Mark D. Welch;K. Hudson-Edwards