The geochemical behaviors of potentially toxic elements in a typical lead/zinc (Pb/Zn) smelter contaminated soil with quantitative mineralogical assessments.

Abstract This study comprehensively investigated the potential roles of soil mineralogy identified by the automated mineral liberation analysers (MLA) in the prediction of geochemical behavior of toxic metals in the smelter polluted soils. The results from modal mineralogy revealed that the non-reactive silicate phases such as quartz (42.05%) and biotite (40.43%) were the major mineralogical phases. The element deportment showed that fayalite, lead oxide, apatite, galena and wollastonite were identified as the dominant As, Cd, Pb and Zn bearing minerals. Furthermore, MLA analysis also confirmed that Pb was most concentrated in the smaller particles of lead oxide, which significantly enhanced Pb release in contact with the chemical extractant during chemical kinetic tests. The results from pH-dependent leaching tests indicated that the leaching concentrations of As, Pb and Zn increased at low and high pH values, but were lowest at the neutral pH range. In addition, the results from the kinetic study demonstrated that the second order model provided the best description for the release patterns of As, Cd, Pb and Zn in the bioavailability and bioaccessibility tests. The integrated geochemical analysis demonstrated that among these studied elements, As showed a typical geochemical behavior, which was predominantly controlled by 90.09% of fayalite. The above study results would have significant implications for soil remediation and risk management of smelter contaminated sites.