Comparison of a new sequential extraction method and the BCR sequential extraction method for mobility assessment of elements around boron mines in Turkey

Abstract The mobility of As, B, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn in the soils collected from fields near boron mines was investigated using a new sequential extraction method and the BCR sequential extraction methods. The new sequential extraction method fractionates elements in more detail as F1 (water soluble and exchangeable fraction), F2 (bound to carbonates), F3 (bound to manganese oxides), F4 (bound to amorphous Fe minerals), F5 (bound to crystalline Fe minerals), F6 (oxidizable fraction—bound to organic matter and sulfides) and F7 (residual). The concentrations of the elements in these fractions from the new sequential extraction method were compared with the concentrations of the elements in the fractions obtained from the BCR sequential extraction method. A MANOVA test was used to find any inter-relationships between the fractions of these sequential extraction methods. It was concluded that the percentages of the elements extracted using the new sequential extraction method for the fractions F1 to F6 were generally higher than BCR sequential extraction method. This difference was probably related to the detailed fractionation capacity of the new sequential extraction method.