ICDSUPL3-E022

Volume: 3, 2024
3^rd International PhD Student’s Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland:
ENVIRONMENT – PLANT – ANIMAL – PRODUCT

Abstract number: E022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL3.E022

Published online: 24 April 2024

ICDSUPL, 3, E022 (2024)

Speciation of emerging pollutants: In, Ga, Sb, Co, V, and Tl using a geochemical modeling approach

George Yandem¹*, Magdalena Jabłońska-Czapla¹, Katarzyna Grygoyć¹

¹ Institute of Environmental Engineering of Polish Academy of Sciences, M. Sklodowskiej-Curie 34, 41-819 Zabrze, Poland

^{* Corresponding author: george.yandem@ipispan.edu.pl}

Abstract

The rapid growth of technology in recent decades has led to an increase in Technological Critical Elements (TCE) being released into the environment as potential emerging pollutants. Despite considerable scientific efforts to understand how these elements behave in the environment, there is still a significant knowledge gap in the chemical speciation of TCE. By using a geochemical modeling approach, this work aims to identify the potential of some TCE species, specifically for In, Ga, Sb, Co, V, and Tl, that could be formed in the aqueous conditions of the Biała Przemsza River. The results indicate that despite the spatiotemporal variation the following species are the dominant In(OH)_3(aq), [Ga(OH)₄]^–1, [Sb(OH)₆]^–1, [Co]⁺², [H₂VO₄]^–1, and [Tl]⁺¹ consequently most of the TCEs react with water to form oxide and hydroxide species except for [Co]⁺² and [Tl]⁺¹ which exist as free ions, also, the ionic strengths were at least 0.01M at all sampling locations. Moreover, the elemental activities for the analytes were lower than or equal to their concentration at all sampling locations except for In(OH)_3(aq), despite having the lowest concentration, its activity was higher than its concentration. nevertheless, the concentrations of the following precipitants are predicted in descending order: GaOOH_(s), CoCO_3(s), Vanadinite, SbO_2(s), and Pb₂V₂O_7(s). However, due to competition, Zn could take over the available [CO₃]^–2 anions forming ZnCO_3(s), thus Co₃O_4(s) with much lower concentrations might be a possible alternative precipitate. Finally, no significant concentrations resulting from the interaction between humic acids and fulvic acids with the TCEs are predicted.

Keywords: speciation, emerging pollutants, geochemical modeling, In, Ga, Sb, Co, V, and Tl

How to cite

G. Yandem, M. Jabłońska-Czapla, K. Grygoyć, 2024. Speciation of emerging pollutants: In, Ga, Sb, Co, V, and Tl using a geochemical modeling approach. In: 3rd International PhD Student’s Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland: Environment – Plant – Animal – Product. https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL3.E022