Field demonstration of reduction of lead availability in soil and cabbage (Brassica Chinensis L.) contaminated by mining tailings using phosphorus fertilizers

A field demonstration of reduction of lead availability in a soil and cabbage (Brassica Chinensis L.) contaminated by mining tailings, located in Shaoxing, China was carried out to evaluate the effects of applications of phosphorus fertilizers on Pb fractionation and Pb phytoavailability in the soil. It was found that the addition of all three P fertilizers including single super phosphate (SSP), phosphate rock (PR), and calcium magnesium phosphate (CMP) significantly decreased the percentage of water-soluble and exchangeable (WE) soil Pb and then reduced the uptake of Pb, Cd, and Zn by the cabbage compared to the control (CK). The results showed that the level of 300 g P/m2 soil was the most cost-effective application rate of P fertilizers for reducing Pb availability at the first stage of remediation, and that at this P level, the effect of WE fraction of Pb in the soil de- creased by three phosphorus fertilizers followed the order: CMP (79%)>SSP (41%)>PR (23%); Effectiveness on the reduction of Pb uptake by cabbage was in the order: CMP (53%)>SSP (41%)>PR (30%). Therefore our field trial demonstrated that it was effective and feasible to reduce Pb availability in soil and cabbage contaminated by mining tailings using P fertilizers in China and PR would be a most cost-effective amendment.

Recovery of Rare Earth Elements Present in Mining Tails, by Leaching with Nitric and Hydrochloric Solutions

The rare earth elements (REE) include the group of 15 lanthanides, scandium and yttrium and have diverse applications in technological and nuclear areas. The existence of REE in massive solid mining wastes generated in leaching processes of copper minerals in the Atacama region of Chile generates the possibility of creating added value to the treatment of this type of waste and supporting the development of a circular economy, generating a useful by-product in different industries. In order to know the behavior of these elements present in the solid carrier waste, a leaching process was carried out by using two agents separately, corresponding to hydrochloric and nitric acid. The technical feasibility to recover REE from carrier tail was demonstrated, the best leaching agent for these elements being a hydrochloric solution, obtaining a maximum recovery efficiency of 64.5%, for an acid concentration: 3M, temperature: 40°C and (liquid/solid) ratio: 4. Lanthanum and cerium present the best individual recoveries compared to the other REE, with a maximum efficiency for a hydrochloric solution of 75.7% and 70.0%, respectively. The interaction of operational parameters that most influence the REE recovery corresponds to the temperature and the (liquid/solid) ratio. After 4 hours of leaching, REE recovery efficiencies remain practically constant. Acid consumptions correspond to 11 (kg HCl/ton mining tail) and 29 (kg HNO3/ton mining tail). The highest amount recovery ratios of these elements correspond to 0.355 and 0.224 (kg REE/ton mining tail), for hydrochloric and nitric solutions, respectively. These results influence the types of reagents and parameters to be studied in the following stages of the global process.

Risk assessment of heavy metal contaminated soil in the vicinity of a lead/zinc mine

Heavy metal contamination of soils through anthropogenic activities is a widespread and serious problem confronting scientists and regulators throughout the world. In this study we investigated the distribution, chemical species and availability of lead, zinc, cadmium and copper in nine surface（0 to 20 cm） soils from near an abandoned lead/zinc mine tailings located in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China. Total heavy metal contents ranged from 5271 to 16369 mg/kg for Pb, 387 to 1221 mg/kg for Zn, 3.0 to 9.3 mg/kg for Cd and 65 to 206 mg/kg for Cu. In general, all heavy metals exceeded China National Standards for Soil Environmental Quality of Heavy Metals by a factor of 3-65 times. Comparison of the heavy metal concentrations（Pb, Zn, Cd and Cu） with clay content revealed a strongly significant relationship while significant relationship（ P 〈 0.001 ） was also obtained between Cd ＋ Zn and Pb ＋ Cu. Solid phase speciation of the soils using Tessier procedure showed that the heavy metals were distributed in the order： residual 〉〉 organically complexed-Fe-Mn oxides occluded 〉 carbonate bound 〉 exchangeable 〉 water soluble. In the organic matter fraction, the ratio of Pb（29.1% ） to its total concentration in the soils was higher than those of Zn（4.70% ）, Cd（3.16% ） and Cu（9.50% ）. The percentages of the water soluble and the exchangeable fractions of Pb（1.80% ） and Cd（2.74% ） were markedly greater than those of Zn（0.10% ） and Cu（0.15% ）, suggesting that Pb and Cd are relatively more mobile and hence more toxic in the contaminated soils. Strongly significant relationships between H20-Pb, H20-Zn and H20-Cu, strong positive correlations between H20-Pb, H20-Zn, H20-Cu and organic matter in soil were found. The content of H20-Pb, H20-Zn, H20-Cu was negatively correlated with pH values. The similar negative relationships between pH values and exchangeable heavy metals were also recorded. It is suggested that increasing soil pH or liming the soil could decrease bioavailability of heavy metals in the soil.