Competitive sorption of carbonate and arsenic to hematite: Combined ATR-FTIR and batch experiments

The competitive sorption of carbonate and arsenic to hematite was investigated in closed-system batch experiments. The experimental conditions covered a pH range of 3–7, arsenate concentrations of 3–300 μM, and arsenite concentrations of 3–200 μM. Dissolved carbonate concentrations were varied by fixing the CO2 partial pressure at 0.39 (atmospheric), 10, or 100 hPa. Sorption data were modeled with a one-site three plane model considering carbonate and arsenate surface complexes derived from ATR-FTIR spectroscopy analyses. Macroscopic sorption data revealed that in the pH range 3–7, carbonate was a weak competitor for both arsenite and arsenate. The competitive effect of carbonate increased with increasing CO2 partial pressure and decreasing arsenic concentrations. For arsenate, sorption was reduced by carbonate only at slightly acidic to neutral pH values, whereas arsenite sorption was decreased across the entire pH range. ATR-FTIR spectra indicated the predominant formation of bidentate binuclear inner-sphere surface complexes for both sorbed arsenate and sorbed carbonate. Surface complexation modeling based on the dominant arsenate and carbonate surface complexes indicated by ATR-FTIR and assuming inner-sphere complexation of arsenite successfully described the macroscopic sorption data. Our results imply that in natural arsenic-contaminated systems where iron oxide minerals are important sorbents, dissolved carbonate may increase aqueous arsenite concentrations, but will affect dissolved arsenate concentrations only at neutral to alkaline pH and at very high CO2 partial pressures.

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► Arsenate and carbonate form bidentate inner-sphere surface complexes on hematite surfaces.
► Highly elevated CO2 partial pressures lead to decreased arsenic sorption.
► Arsenite sorption is affected by carbonate more strongly than arsenate sorption.