Untersuchungsergebnisse zur Mobilität und Remobilisierung von Kupfer und Antimon in wasserwirtschaftlich relevanten, porösen Lockergesteinen durch Säulenversuche und mit reaktiver Transportmodellierung

Published: April 25, 2003, 11 a.m.

The aim of this study is to obtain a better understanding of the hydrological and geochemical contexts of the heavy metal transport in watersaturated porous aquifer sediments, where both copper (Cu) and antimony (Sb) are the main focus. The background of investigation is based on questions within the scope of the redevelopement of past industrial waste deposits areas and groundwater protection. The functional and experimental part of this study was initially comprised of planning, conception and set-up of a column arrangement which served as a model of the sediment-/groundwater system as well as the development of appropriate preparation and sampling techniques. The experimental set-up run was suitable for simulation of groundwater flow with velocities between centimetre and metre per day. In order to differentiate results concerning the migration behaviour of the heavy metals copper and antimony, laboratory experiments were conduced in three water aquifer systems Quaternary Gravel, Tertiary Sand and Dogger-Sand of southern Germany. Between the systems carbonate, clay, or iron contents vary. Quartz-Sand was served as the reference material. Copper was injected as the cationic form of copper nitrate (Cu(NO3)2) and antimony as anionic potassium antimonat (K[Sb(OH)6]). The investigations included short-term (Dirac-impulse) and long-term (Pulse-injection) experiments. A calcareous water served as an eluent for sediments with high buffer capacity and a rainwater-mimic modelwater as an eluent for the sediment with lower buffer capacity. Determination of distribution coefficients (batch-experiments) and thermodynamic modelling of solubility in different experimental waters led to maximum values in the calcareous water for copper as well as antimony, where the solubility of copper was 30 % lower than for antimony. Due to the additional complexes found in the DOC-water of the Dachauer Moos copper has a significantly higher mobility. The effect is even more significant by applying EDTA-water. Mass balance of the column experiments show that copper is fundamentally less mobile (recovery 0-18 %) in contrast to antimony (recovery 85-99 %). Differences in the sorption behaviour were reflected in the retardation values, which subsequently distinguished almost three orders for both elements. Cumulatively, these results show that the sorption capacities for copper can not be achieved even after a total input of 201 mg Cu (Quaternary Gravel) by injection pulses over two years. However, sorption capacities can be attained with antimony after only 10.4 days (Tertiary Sand), after 11.4 days (Dogger-Sand) and after 1.5 years (Quaternary Gravel), respectively. Qualitatively, the results of copper can be described with a fast irreversible sorption kinetic, and antimony with a slow reversible one. Three mathematical models were applied to simulate the experimental data set. The observed Sb-breakthrough curves modelled quite well with the one-dimensional linear reaction model of CAMERON & KLUTE (1977) and the determination of corresponding dynamic reaction parameters. However, a satisfying fit could not be found for copper with this model in a buffered system for the two following reasons: 1.) The precipitation processes and 2.) the complex surface-active processes which were assumed next to the predominant sorption reactions. Therefore non-linear model approaches were employed for the fit. Initially, the observed Sb-curves were fitted using two-site Langmuir-isotherm first order kinetics, allowing for quantification of sorption capacities, -affinities and –rates. Applying three-site Langmuir-isotherm first order kinetics also includes precipitation processes. With all models, a satisfying fit of the desorption processes in the declining curve part emerged. However the sorption processes could still not be satisfactorily described. Experiments investigating the influence of both complexing agents, DOC and EDTA, on the migration behaviour of copper showed more or less a stoichiometric complexation of the heavy metal copper. With the stronger complexing agent EDTA at least twice as high remobilisation as with DOC could be achieved. The strongest EDTA-mediated remobilisation could be observed in the unbuffered sediments (49-50%), significantly lower values were attained in the buffered sediments with 17-26 %. Of the injected copper mass in unbuffered sediment 82 % could be recovered from Dogger-Sand, and 83 % from Quartz-Sand. A maximum of 55 % could be recovered from the buffered sediments. In order to support mobility data of copper and antimony sequential extractions of column beds were performed after the column experiments. As an essential result, it emerged that copper is accumulated increasingly in areas near the surface, while antimony is distributed in the whole profile. Therefore, copper in contrast to antimony is stable bound at neutral pH and is not transferred. As a consequence, a different behaviour of availability of both elements can be observed. The results of the column experiments indicate that copper is preferentially occluded at organic matter binding fractions as well as in the immobile aqua regia fraction. Antimony is mainly bound in the mobile and easy exchangeable fraction and in both the iron and manganese fraction. As this result allows immediate conclusions on the availability and transfer potential of heavy metals, it also permits estimations of the ecotoxicological efficacy of copper and antimony and the assessment of the endangering risk potential of the contaminated sediments.