• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.231-243
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• 2004

Sequential extraction was carried out on twenty two subsamples of three ferromanganese crusts from three seamounts (Lemkein, Lomilik, and Litakpooki) near the Marshall Islands in the western Pacific. The extraction was designed to fractionate Fe-Mn crust forming elements into low defined groups: (1) exchangeable and carbornate, (2) Mn-oxide, (3) Fe-oxyhyd.oxide, and (4) residual fraction. X-ray diffraction result shows that target material were well removed by each extraction step except for CFA in phosphatized crusts generation. According to chemical analysis of each leachate, most of elements in the Fe-Mn crusts are bound with two major phases. Mn, Ba, Co, Ni, Zn, (Fe, Sr, Cu, and V) are strongly bounded with Mn-oxide $({\delta}-MnO_2)$ phase, whereas Fe, Ti, Zr, Mo, Pb, Al, Cu,(V, P, and Zn) show chemical affinity with Fe-oxyhydroxide phase. This result indicates that significant amount of Al, Ti, and Zr can not be explained by detrital origin. Ca, Mg, K, and Sr mainly occur as exchangeable elements and/or carbonate phase. Outermost layer 1 and inner layer 2 which are both young crusts generations are similar in chemical speciations of elements. However, some of Fe-oxyhydroxide bounded elements (Pb, Y, Mo, Ba, Al, and V) in phosphatized innermost layer 3 are released during phosphatization and incorporated into phosphate (Pb, Y, Mo, and Ba) or Mn-oxide phase (Al and V). Our sequential extraction results reveal that chemical speciations of elements in the hydrogenetic crusts are more or less different from interelemental relationship calculated by statistical method based on bulk chemistry.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.1-8
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• 2005

Fractional compositions and leaching potentials of Cd, Cu and Zn were investigated in the soils which had been disposed with the metal processing wastes, tungsten mine tailings and low quality coal mine area. Total concentrations of metals in these soils were higher than in non-polluted paddy and upland soils. Fractions of Cd, Cu and Zn were mostly reducible, organic and residual forms, but varied with origins of wastes. Residual fraction was a predominant form in the nonpolluted soils. Leaching potentials of metals were higher in polluted soils than in non-polluted soils. Metals leached were higher at pH 4.0 than 7.0 and increased with the duration time. After 25 to 35 hrs, metals released from soils reached a pseudoequilibrium. Leaching potential of metals in non-polluted soils was low due to high percentage of residual fractions.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.9-21
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• 2012

In this study, we investigated the chemical characteristics of soils collected from the several deserts and loess in China known as the typical source areas of Asian dust (the Taklamakan desert, the Alashan desert, the Ordos desert and the Loess Plateau). Based on our analysis, we examined the possibility of adverse effects on environments and human health. In each desert and loess, major elemental compositions of soils did not show large variations, implying that the long-periodic mixing of soils in each area made their chemical compositions homogeneous. Minor elements of soils in each desert and loess showed more complicated patterns with strong correlations each other (e.g., Cr, Cu, As, Co, Ni, V, Y, Sc, Sn, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cs, Li, Th, U). These results thus enable us to discriminate the soil of the Loess Plateau from those of the other deserts in China. The results of sequential extraction experiments for soils showed that the chemical speciation of Fe was dominant in residual fraction (>85%) in all deserts and loess, but the fractions of Mn and Ca chemical speciations were very different in each area. In the case of Mn, the fraction of amorphous Fe-Mn hydroxides (55.4%) in the Central Loess Plateau and the carbonate fraction (33.8%) in Taklamakan desert were higher as much as 2 to 5 times than other deserts. The chemical speciations of Ca are dominant in carbonate fraction in Taklamakan (75.9%) and Alashan (50.5%) deserts, but carbonate fractions of Ca in the Loess Plateau and Ordos deserts were low (6.6% and 2.1%, respectively). According to the mobility of trace elements inferred from the results of sequential extraction procedure, we could classify them into five groups, and the mobility of Cd, Pb and Cu are more than 87%, 33% and 30%, respectively. Therefore, Cd, Pb and Cu in soils of deserts and loess could be easily dissolved when interacted with surface water. As such, they could give adverse effects on surficial environments and human health.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.21-33
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• 2004

The objective of this study is to review of environmental assessment of heavy metals derived from various metalliferous mines in Korea. As a results of national wide research for heavy metal contaminations in the vicinity of metalleferous mines, the main contaminants are mine waste materials including tailings. From the materials, toxic elements including As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn can be dispersed into downstream through wind and water. Thus, soils around the mines contain elevated levels of those elements, which are over the guide values for environmental regulation of soils in Korea. Arsenic is one of the most important elements contaminated by mining activities, to a less extent, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn. In spite of remediation works for some metal mines by the government, there are still lots of abandoned mines which are necessary for reclamation of mining sites. This study also includes that metal concentrations in soils and tailings can be varied upon various decomposition methods including 0.1N HC1 and aqua regia and sequential extraction scheme, with differences in each element, too. This may be due to geochemical characteristics of the elements, such as solubility, mobility and chemical forms in the geochemical environment. Finally, it is suggested that a certain organization should be runned by Korean government for management of abandoned mines.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.229-244
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• 2013

Arsenic contamination may be brought about by a variety of natural and anthropogenic causes. Among diverse naturally-occurring chemical speciations of arsenic, trivalent (As(III), arsenite) and pentavalent (As(V), arsenate) forms have been reported to be the most predominant ones. It has been well known that the behavior of arsenic is chiefly affected by aluminum, iron, and manganese oxides. For this reason, this study was initiated to evaluate the applicability of manganese slag (Mn-slag) containing high level of Mn, Si, and Ca as an efficient sorbent of arsenic. The main properties of Mn-slag as a sorbent were investigated and the sorption of each arsenic species onto Mn-slag was characterized from the aspects of equilibrium as well as kinetics. The specific surface area and point of zero salt effect (PZSE) of Mn-slag were measured to be $4.04m^2/g$ and 7.73, respectively. The results of equilibrium experiments conducted at pH 4, 7 and 10 suggest that the sorbed amount of As(V) was relatively higher than that of As(III), indicating the higher affinity of As(V) onto Mn-slag. As a result of combined effect of pH-dependent chemical speciations of arsenic as well as charge characteristics of Mn-slag surface, the sorption maxima were observed at pH 4 for As(V) and pH 7 for As(III). The sorption of both arsenic species reached equilibrium within 3 h and fitting of the experimental results to various kinetic models shows that the pseudo-second-order and parabolic models are most appropriate to simulate the system of this study.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.38 no.4 s.173
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• pp.451-462
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• 2005

In order to examine the extent of environmental contamination at abandoned Samsanjeil Cu mines in Kosung-kun, Kyeongsangnam-do, we have investigated the contaminations and mobility of toxic trace elements from mine wastes including about 280,000 tonnages of tailings by chemical experiments (total extraction, partial extraction by 0.1N HCI and sequential extraction procedure). Total concentrations of trace elements showed that Cu, As, Co, Zn, Pb, and Cd concentrations in tailings were 14.0, 3.6, 3.1, 2.1, 2.1 and 1.6 times greater than those in background soil, respectively. From the proportion of metals bound to the exchangeable and carbonate fractions, the comparative mobility of metals decrease in order of $Zn(29.0\%)>Cu(12.3\%)Pb(9.6\%)>Cd(3.0\%)>As=Co(0.0\%)$. Based on the concentrations, chemical speciations of tailings, waste rock and nearby soil, it was revealed that Cu and Zn were the most possible elements to contaminate the surrounding environment in Samsanjeil mine area. In addition, the tailings had total trace metal concentrations below Dutch guideline values except Cu, and they might not affect adverse impact on environment.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.33-44
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• 2009

The objective of the study was to develop a hybrid technology integrating biological and physicochemical technologies to efficiently remediate arsenic contaminated lands such as abandoned mine area. The tailing soil samples contaminated with As at a high level were obtained from Songchon abandoned mine, and the content of arsenic and heavy metals as well as physicochemical properties and mineral composition were investigated. In addition, two sets of sequential extraction methods were applied to analyze chemical speciations of arsenic and heavy metals to expect their leachability and mobility in geoenvironment. Based on these geochemical data of arsenic and heavy metal contaminants, column-type experiments on the bioleaching of arsenic were undertaken. Subsequently, experiments on the hybrid process incorporating bioleaching and electrokinetics were accomplished and its removal efficiency of arsenic was compared with that of the individual electrokinetic process. With the results, finally, the feasibilty of the hybrid technnology was evaluated. The arsenic removal efficiencies of the individual electrokinetic process (44 days) and the hybrid process incorporating bioleaching (28 days) and electrokinetics (16 dyas) were measured 57.8% and 64.5%, respectively, when both two processes were operated in an identical condition. On the contrary, the arsenic removal efficiency during the bioleaching process (28 days) appeared relatively lower (11.8%), and the result indicates that the bioleaching process enhanced the efficacy of the electrokinetic process as a result of mobilization of arsenic rather than removed arsenic by itself. In particular, the arsenic removal rate of the electrokinetics integrated with bioleaching was observed over than 2 times larger than that obtained by the electrokinetics alone. From the results of the study, if the bioleaching which is considered a relatively economic process is applied sufficiently prior to electrokinetics, the removal efficiency and rate of arsenic can be significantly improved. Consequently, the study proves the feasibility of the hybrid process integrating both technologies.