Arsenic encapsulation using Portland cement with ferrous sulfate/lime and Terra-Bond™ technologies - Microcharacterization and leaching studies.

This work reports the results of an investigation on the treatment and encapsulation of arsenic-containing materials by Portland cement with ferrous sulfate and lime (PFL) and Terra-Bond™, a commercially available patented technology. The arsenic materials included: chromated copper arsenate (CCA)-treated wood materials; scorodite-rich mine tailings from the La Trinidad Mine in California; and a soil/smelter dust mixture from the Anaconda Superfund site spiked with monosodium methyl arsenate (MSMA) to simulate an organoarsenic soil material. SEM/EDS and XRD spectra of PFL treated samples showed similarity across all three waste materials while Terra-Bond treated samples showed predominance of elemental sulfur. SEM/EDS of PFL treated samples showed that calcium was imbedded in the structure while micrographs of Terra-Bond treated samples showed the appearance of an epoxy material on the surface. The epoxy material appears to be responsible for encapsulating and reducing the leachability of arsenic. XANES spectra for the PFL treatment of CCA-containing samples showed that arsenic has a predominant pentavalent form (As +5), and the PFL treatment process did not alter the arsenic oxidation state. But, distinct differences were observed for XANES spectra of untreated and PFL treated scorodite-rich mine tailing which changed the arsenic coordination structure from a mixture of As (+3/+5) to exclusively As (+5). Both S/S techniques reduced the amount of arsenic released in the leaching tests. Most cases show lower amounts of arsenic released from wastes treated by the Terra-Bond™ technique when compared to the PFL technique. The pH of the solution significantly affected the leachability, with the amount of arsenic released increasing with pH. Sequential extraction results indicate that sodium hydroxide was favorable in releasing arsenic in the mine tailings. This is due to ligand displacement reactions of hydroxyl ions with arsenic species and high pH conditions that prevent the readsorption of arsenic. Published by Elsevier B.V.