Compared with sulfide tailings, the oxidation and transformation of certain substances in oxidized tailings into more soluble forms may affect the bioaccumulation and biomagnification properties and enhance the risk of toxic effects in the ecosystem. This study aimed to apply the generalized additive model (GAM) to evaluate factors affecting heavy metal leaching from nickel (Ni) tailings. We created an orthogonal experiment table (L(3)) to evenly distribute the different combinations of factor values. The Ni tailings were immersed in solutions with different combinations of factor values for 16 d, and samples were taken on days 1, 2, 4, 7, 11, and 16 to measure the pH and heavy metal concentration of the leachate. The GAM was used to fit the concentration of heavy metals of the leachate and the initial factors of the leaching solution. The results showed that the pH and Cr concentration of the leachate increased with time and stabilized after 1 d (pH of approximately 7), while the Mn, Ni, and Tl concentrations gradually decreased and stabilized after peaking on the first day. An analysis of the GAM results showed that the Cr concentration was highly sensitive to the solid-liquid ratio (F = 127.8) and tailing particle size (F = 10.7). The Cr concentration of the leachate was significantly higher when exposed to a high solid-liquid ratio or a fine particle size, whereas the Mn, Ni, and Tl concentrations were highly sensitive to the KCl concentration and solid-liquid ratio (F = 77.4, 146.9, and 315.9 respectively). The GAM identified interactions between key factors, which have complex and strong effects on the leaching of tailings and the migration of heavy metals, either promotional or antagonistic. The prediction of the minimum Cr leaching concentration shows that GAM can be used to determine the conditions associated with minimum leaching concentrations of heavy metals and to effectively predict the metal concentrations of leachate. As such, the results of this study can be applied to the management of nickel tailings.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113488 | DOI Listing |
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int
January 2025
Department of Chemistry, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, 751 004, Odisha, India.
This research highlights a sustainable approach for the design and synthesis of a magnetic nickel ferrite (NiFeO) catalyst reutilizing industrial waste, specifically iron ore tailing and Raney nickel catalyst processing waste, by simple co-precipitation method. Transforming waste materials into high-performance catalysts, this study aligns with the principles of a circular economy, addressing both environmental waste and pollution. Structural characterization by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and microscopic (FESEM and TEM) revealed the formation of well crystalline nano ferrite with NiFeO nanoparticles with cubic spinel structure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuan Jing Ke Xue
August 2024
Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China.
Acid mine drainage (AMD) is of great concern owing to its safety hazards and environmental risks. However, little is known about the effects of AMD leakage on soil physicochemical properties and bacterial communities in ecologically fragile desert steppe soils, especially in the soil profile. Therefore, an AMD-contaminated profile and clean profile were used as research objects respectively to investigate the effects of AMD on soil physicochemical properties and bacterial community composition, structure, and interactions in soil layers at different depths of desert grassland and, based on this, to analyze the driving factors of bacterial community changes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAppl Environ Microbiol
June 2024
Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
The oxidation of sulfide-bearing mine tailings catalyzed by acidophilic iron and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria releases toxic metals and other contaminants into soil and groundwater as acid mine drainage. Understanding the environmental variables that control the community structure and metabolic activity of microbes indigenous to tailings (especially the abiotic stressors of low pH and high dissolved metal content) is crucial to developing sustainable bioremediation strategies. We determined the microbial community composition along two continuous vertical gradients of Cu/Ni mine tailings at each of two tailings impoundments near Sudbury, Ontario.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdv Mater
December 2024
Materials Science and Engineering, Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
In advanced batteries, interphases serve as the key component in stabilizing the electrolyte with reactive electrode materials far beyond thermodynamic equilibria. While an active interphase facilitates the transport of working ions, an inactive interphase obstructs ion flow, constituting the primary barrier to the realization of battery chemistries. Here, a successful transformation of a traditionally inactive passivating layer on Mg-metal anode, characteristic of Mg-metal batteries with typical carbonate electrolytes, into an active and robust interphase in the Li-metal scenario is presented.
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