Arsenic speciation in iron hydroxide precipitates

In this study a special sequential extraction method is proposed to discriminate between arsenic adsorbed and co-precipitated in precipitates arising mainly from iron hydroxides or bound in low solubility mineral phases. Synthetic iron hydroxide precipitates were prepared to investigate the influence of the amount of arsenate, of the manganese additionally added and of the valence state of arsenic on the remobilisation of arsenic. After preparing the precipitates with arsenate no arsenic could be detected in the supernatant solution. About 82% (w/w) of the arsenate is adsorbed to the precipitate and the remaining part can be dissolved by shaking with an oxalate buffer. A significant difference between the amount of arsenic added and the amount analysed in the two steps was not found. Consequently, compounds with a low solubility, such as scorodite, were not formed in the synthesized precipitates. The valence of the arsenic and addition of manganese influence significantly the uptake of arsenic by iron hydroxides. Natural precipitate samples from a percolate water of tin mill tailings were investigated using this method. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.