Oxidation Characteristics of the Reactivity Between Pyrite and Aqueous Arsenate

Natural pyrites contain high levels of adsorbed and structurally incorporated arsenic(As),which may simultaneously result in the release of As and affect the oxidation process of pyrite.However,the oxidation and electrochemical behaviors of As on the oxidation reactivity of pyrites are still not clear.In this study,pyrite was prepared by a hydrothermal method and applied to study the oxidation mechanism between pyrite and aqueous arsenate.Analyses of X-ray diffraction,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,and scanning electron microscopy demonstrate that the as-prepared sample is an octahedron-like pyrite with high purity and crystallinity.The interaction between As(V)and pyrite as well as the electrochemical behaviors of pyrite oxidation in the presence of aqueous arsenate were investigated under acidic conditions by an ion analysis method,cyclic voltammetry(CV),Tafel,and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS).The results of the chemical reaction indicate that electrons are transferred from S 22-to dissolved oxygen with the formation of SO 42-in the initial As(V)concentration range of 0–0.3 mmol/L.In the initial As(V)concentration range of 0.4–1.2 mmol/L,electrons are transferred from S 22-to As(V)with the formation of elemental S 0 and As(III).The CV,the Tafel plot and EIS analyses indicate that aqueous arsenate in an electrolyte promotes oxidation reactivity and passivation of the pyrite electrode.Moreover,the electron transfer rate increases with increasing aqueous arsenate concentration in the electrolyte.

Photoreductive Dissolution of Schwertmannite with Incorporated As(Ⅴ) Induced by Oxalate and the Mobilization of As(Ⅴ)

Schwertmannite(Sh), a poorly crystalline iron(hydr)oxide that usually appears in acid mine drainage, plays a significant role in the immobilization of As(V). In this study, the effects of UV irradiation and oxalate on the dissolution of Sh with structurally incorporated As(V) [Sh-As(V)] and the subsequent mobilization of As(V) were investigated at pH 3.0. In the dark, more total dissolved Fe was produced(the maximum value was 33.2 mg/L) in the suspensions of Sh-As(V) with oxalate than in those without oxalate. UV irradiation slightly enhanced the mobilization of As(V) for the system of Sh-As(V)-1 and Sh-As(V)-2 in the absence of oxalate compared with that in the dark. However, in the presence of oxalate, UV irradiation caused the concentration of mobilized As(V) to decline by 630-875% compared with that in the dark. This study enhanced our understanding of the mobilization of As(V) and demonstrated that UV irradiation could contribute to the immobilization of As(V) on Sh in aqueous environments containing oxalate.

Catalytic Activity of Cr（Ⅵ） in the Degradation of Phenol by H2O2 Under Acidic Conditions

Cr(Ⅵ)and phenol are toxic contaminants that need to be treated,and different methods have been researched to simultaneously remove these two contaminants from industrial wastewater.In this study,Cr(Ⅵ)was used as a novel Fenton-like catalyst in phenol degradation by H2O2.In the pH range of 3.0-11.0,the degradation efficiency of phenol decreased with elevated pH.At pH=3.0,100 mg/L phenol was effectively degraded by 2 mmol/L Cr(Ⅵ)and 20 mmol/L H2O2.At pH=7.0 and the same conditions as those of pH=3.0,79%of 100 mg/L phenol was removed within 6h,which was an improvement in pH limitation compared with the Fe(Ⅱ)-mediated Fenton reaction.Quenching experiments indicated that·OH generated from the catalysis of H2O2 by Cr(Ⅴ)instead of Cr(Ⅵ)was the primary oxidant that degraded phenol.When pyrophosphate was added in the Cr(Ⅵ)/H2O2 system,complexes with the Cr(Ⅴ)intermediate rapidly formed and inhibited H2O2 decomposition,implying that the decomposition of H2O2 to·OH was catalyzed by Cr(Ⅴ)instead of Cr(Ⅵ).The presence of anions such as chloride and sulfate had insignificant effect on the degradation of phenol.TOC and UV analyses suggest that phenol could not be completely oxidized to CO2 and H2O,and the intermediates identified by high performance liquid chromatography further indicates that maleic acid and benzoquinone were intermediates which may be further degraded into short chain acids,primarily maleic,formic,acetic,and oxalic acids,and eventually into CO2 and H2O.Considering that more than 50%Cr(Ⅵ)can also be removed during this process,the Cr(Ⅵ)/H2O2 system is more appropriate for the simultaneous removal of Cr(Ⅵ)and phenol contaminants from industrial wastewater.

Peanut-Like Hematite Prepared by a New Facile Hydrothermal Process for Removal of As(V)

Peanut-like hematite has been prepared by a new facile hydrothermal method and applied in the adsorption removal of As(V). The structural features of the as-prepared hematite were characterized systematically by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy mapping, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Results showed that the morphologies of hematite could be tuned to spindle-like, oval-like, and cantaloupe-like shapes by adjusting the hydrothermal conditions. The peanut-like hematite formation followed a five-step route. At pH = 3, the adsorption amount of As(V) over peanut-like hematite reached 13.84 mg/g, and the adsorption kinetic process corresponded to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The peanut-like hematite also showed partial selectivity over As(V) in the hydrosphere. This method can be a reference for the preparation of other architectural metal oxide materials.