title: Use of caustic magnesia to remove cadmium, nickel, and cobalt from water in passive treatment systems: column experiments.
abstract: In the present study caustic magnesia obtained from calcination of magnesium carbonate was tested in column experiments as an alternative material for passive remediation systems to remove divalent metals. Caustic magnesia reacts with water to form magnesium hydroxide, which dissolves increasing the pH to values higher than 8.5. At these pH values, cadmium is precipitated as otavite and to a minor amount as a hydroxide. Cobalt and nickel are precipitated as hydroxides which form isostructural solids with brucite. Thus, metal concentrations as high as 75 mg/L in the inflowing water are depleted to values below 10 microg/L. Magnesia dissolution is sufficiently fast to treat flows as high as 0.5 m3/m2 x day. For reactive grain size of 2-4 mm, the column efficiency ends due to coating of the grains by precipitates, especially when iron and aluminum are present in the solution.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera, CSIC, Lluis Solé i Sabarís s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Spain. troetting@ija.csic.es
authors.forename: Tobias Stefan
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Rötting
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cama
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ayora
authors.forename: Jose-Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Cortina
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: De Pablo
mesh_terms: D002104:Cadmium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003035:Cobalt / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008277:Magnesium Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D008670:Metals / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000379:methods; D009532:Nickel / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018508:Water Purification / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D008670:Metals; D002104:Cadmium; D008277:Magnesium Oxide; D003035:Cobalt; D009532:Nickel