Spectroscopic Investigation of Hg(II) reduction by Magnetite
EMSL Project ID
30448
Abstract
Mercury is a key contaminant of concern found in Department of Energy sites. In subsurface environments, the fate and transport of mercury is controlled, in part, by its chemical form. As such, there is significant interest in understanding the biogeochemical processes that affect Hg speciation. Recently, we have observed the reduction of ionic mercury [Hg(II)] to elemental mercury [Hg(0)] by the Fe(II)/Fe(III) oxide mineral magnetite. In this study, we propose employ wet chemistry techniques and Mössbauer spectroscopy to elucidate the electron transfer reactions that control the reduction of Hg(II) by magnetite. Mössbauer spectra will be collected for magnetite particles before and after reaction with ionic mercury. Changes in the Mössbauer spectra will be used to demonstrate the oxidation of Fe(II) in magnetite, and the formation of iron oxidation products, e.g. Fe(III) minerals.We are close to the completion of this study. We are missing only the Mössbauer data before sending the manuscript for publication in a peer-review journal. This work is a part of a larger research project ("Reduction of mercury in saturated subsurface sediments and its potential to mobilize mercury in its elemental form") currently funded by the DOE Environmental Remediation Sciences Program.
Project Details
Project type
Limited Scope
Start Date
2008-06-23
End Date
2008-08-01
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Related Publications
Wiatrowski HA, S Das, RK Kukkadapu, ES Ilton, T Barkay, and N Yee. 2009. "Reduction of Hg(II) to Hg(0) by Magnetite." Environmental Science & Technology 43(14):5307-5313. doi:10.1021/es9003608