Field site leaching from recycled concrete aggregates applied as sub-base material in road construction.

The release of major and trace elements from recycled concrete aggregates used in an asphalt covered road sub-base has been monitored for more than 4 years. A similar test field without an asphalt cover, directly exposed to air and rain, and an asphalt covered reference field with natural aggregates in the sub-base were also included in the study. It was found that the pH of the infiltration water from the road sub-base with asphalt covered concrete aggregates decreased from 12.

Optimization of an anion-exchange high performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometric method for the speciation analysis of oxyanion-forming metals and metalloids in leachates from cement-based materials.

A method was developed for the speciation analysis of the oxyanions of As(III), As(V), Cr(VI), Mo(VI), Sb(III), Sb(V), Se(IV), Se(VI) and V(V) in leachates from cement-based materials, based on anion-exchange HPLC coupled with ICP-MS. The method was optimized in a two-step multivariate approach: the effect of sample pH and mobile phase composition on resolution, peak symmetry and analysis time was studied. Optimum conditions were then identified for the significant experimental factors by studying their interdependence.

Overcoming matrix interferences in ion-exchange solid phase extraction of As, Cr, Mo, Sb, Se and V species from leachates of cement-based materials using multiple extractions.

Solid phase extraction (SPE) methods based on multiple extractions have been developed to overcome matrix interferences in the charge-based fractionation analysis of As, Cr, Mo, Sb, Se and V leached from cement-based materials. Disposable SPE tubes packed with 500 mg strong anion-exchange (SAX) or strong cation-exchange (SCX) sorbents were used to extract the anionic and cationic species of the elements, respectively. The multiple extractions were based on the percolation of a small sample volume (5.

Charge-based fractionation of oxyanion-forming metals and metalloids leached from recycled concrete aggregates of different degrees of carbonation: a comparison of laboratory and field leaching tests.

The release and charge-based fractionation of As, Cr, Mo, Sb, Se and V were evaluated in leachates generated from recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) in a laboratory and at a field site. The leachates, covering the pH range 8.4-12.

Fractionation analysis of oxyanion-forming metals and metalloids in leachates of cement-based materials using ion exchange solid phase extraction.

A simple and versatile solid phase extraction (SPE) method has been developed to determine the anionic species of As, Cr, Mo, Sb, Se and V in leachates of cement mortar and concrete materials in the pH range 3-13. The anionic fractions of these elements were extracted using a strong anion exchanger (SAX) and their concentrations were determined as the difference in element concentration between the sample and the SAX effluent. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used off-line to analyse solutions before and after passing through the SAX.