MOBILITY AND ADSORPTION OF TRACE ELEMENTS IN A COAL RESIDUES-AFFECTED SWAMP
G.S. Ghuman1, K.S. Sajwan1, S. Paramasivam1,
D.C. Adriano2, and G.L. Mills2
1Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
, Savannah State University, Savannah, GA 31404, U.S.A.
2Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia,
Aiken, SC, 29802, U.S.A.
ABSTRACT
A study was conducted to determine the mode of transport of Cd, Cu and
Ni through the Steel Creek sediments at the Savannah River Site and to
find the adsorption of these metals to the sediments. The sediments collected
from three adjacent sites showed considerable heterogeneity but had a
uniform pH approximating 6.0. Three periodic collections of sediment cores
(0-20 cm) from two sites and surface sediments (0- 10 cm) of 3rd
site were analyzed for three metals in the pore water and DTPA extract
of wet sediments. The concentrations of dissolved metals in the pore water
were quite low in the ranges of 0.02-0.5 µg L-1 Cd, 0.0-6.0
µg L-1 Cu, and 2.3-11.9 µg L-1 Ni. DTPA-
extractable metals in the sediments ranged 0.0-~4.67, 0.0-491.4, and 44.6-676.4
µg L-1 for Cd, Cu and Ni, respectively. Surface water
enclosed in two polyethylene chambers imbedded in the stream path was
spiked with 100 µg L-1 of each metal. The metals moved
downward and outside the chambers through the sediments and equilibrated
with the ambient within two weeks. Adsorption study with seven sediment
samples using Cd and Cu solutions in the concentration range of 50-110
µg L-1 provided essentiall)' linear adsorption isothehns
at 25° C with significant correlation coefficients. The amounts of
Cd adsorption were greater as compared to Cu adsorption. Study revealed
low concentrations of dissolved metals in the surface and pore water and
but relatively high adsorption by the sediments and particulate matter
which forms the mobility pattern of these metals as a mechanism of transport
in the swamp system.
SREL Reprint #2757
Ghuman, G. S., K. S. Sajwan, S. Paramasivam, D. C. Adriano and G. L. Mills. 2003. Mobility and adsorption of trace elements in a coal residues-affected swamp. p. 165-176. In Chemistry of Trace Elements in Fly Ash, edited by K. S. Sajwan, A. K. Alva and R. F. Keefer. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
