Metal speciation in landfill leachates with a focus on the influence of organic matter

This study characterises the heavy-metal content in leachates collected from eight landfills in France. In order to identify heavy metal occurrence in the different size fractions of leachates, a cascade filtration protocol was applied directly in the field, under a nitrogen gas atmosphere to avoid metal oxidation. The results of analyses performed on the leachates suggest that most of the metals are concentrated in the <30 kDa fraction, while lead, copper and cadmium show an association with larger particles. Initial speciation calculations, without considering metal association with organic matter, suggest that leachate concentrations in lead, copper, nickel and zinc are super-saturated with respect to sulphur phases. Speciation calculations that account for metal complexation with organic matter, considered as fulvic acids based on C1(s) NEXAFS spectroscopy, show that this mechanism is not sufficient to explain such deviation from equilibrium conditions. It is therefore hypothesized that the deviation results also from the influence of biological activity on the kinetics of mineral phase precipitation and dissolution, thus providing a dynamic system. The results of chemical analyses of sampled fluids are compared with speciation calculations and some implications for the assessment of metal mobility and natural attenuation in a context of landfill risk assessment are discussed.

► This study characterises the heavy-metal content in leachates collected from eight landfills in France.
► Most of the metals are concentrated in the <30 kDa fraction, while Pb, Cu and Cd are associated with larger particles.
► Metal complexation with OM is not sufficient to explain apparent supersaturation of metals with sulphide minerals.