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The Effect of Gypsum on the Fixation of Selenium in the Iron/Calcium-Selenium Coprecipitation Process

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Abstract

The coprecipitation of selenium(IV) (Se) with iron(III) (Fe) is a widely practiced method for the removal of Se from mineral processing effluents, but the effect of gypsum as a major secondary mineral on the iron-selenium coprecipitation process is still of concern. In our work we first investigated the effects of pH, Fe/Se molar ratio and the neutralizing agent on the removal efficiency of Se by iron-selenium coprecipitation method. The developed two-step Fe-Se coprecipitation method (Fe/Se molar ratio of 4) was superior to the one-step Fe-Se coprecipitation method at pH 4 using CaO as base in terms of the stability of the generated Fe-Se coprecipitates. Raman experimental results indicated the iron-selenium coprecipitates had the by-product of calcium selenite. We then investigated the effect of incorporation of Se into gypsum on the coprecipitation process at different pHs. The fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the calcium-selenium coprecipitates showed that the Se incorporated into the structure of gypsum at pH 8–10. Therefore, this work has important implications for the development of new technologies for efficient Se removal.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFD0800301). We gratefully acknowledge the help of Dr. Alberto Gomez Mario for his valuable suggestions in language polish.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Liaoning Engineering Research Center for Treatment and Recycling of Industrially Discharged Heavy Metals, Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, Shenyang, 110142, Liaoning, People’s Republic of China

    Haibo Wang, Ruonan Jiang, Baiyi Wang & Shuhua Yao

  2. College of Environmental and Safety Engineering, Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, Shenyang, 110142, Liaoning, People’s Republic of China

    Haibo Wang

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  1. Haibo Wang
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  2. Ruonan Jiang
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  3. Baiyi Wang
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  4. Shuhua Yao
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Correspondence to Shuhua Yao.

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Wang, H., Jiang, R., Wang, B. et al. The Effect of Gypsum on the Fixation of Selenium in the Iron/Calcium-Selenium Coprecipitation Process. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 106, 121–125 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-020-02881-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-020-02881-2

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