Infrared spectroscopic characterisation of arsenate (V) ion adsorption from mine waters, Macraes mine, New Zealand

Processing waters contain up to 10 mg l−1 dissolved As at the Macraes mine, New Zealand, and this is all removed by adsorption as the water percolates through a large earth dam. Laboratory experiments were set up to identify which mineral is the most effective substrate for this adsorption of As. The experiments were conducted using infrared (IR) spectroscopy of thin mineral films adhering to a ZnSe prism. Silicates, including kaolinite, adsorbed only small amounts of As which was readily washed off. Hydrated Fe oxides (HFO) were extremely effective at adsorbing As, particularly the natural amorphous HFO currently being deposited from dam discharge waters at the Macraes mine. An adsorption isotherm determined for this natural material has the adsorption constant, Kads=(1.9±0.4)×104 M−1, and the substrate becomes saturated with adsorbed As when solution concentrations exceed about 50 mg l−1. Saturation is not being reached at the Macraes mine. Arsenic adsorbed on to natural HFO has a distinctive IR spectrum with the absorption peak varying from 800 cm−1 (alkaline solutions) to 820 cm−1 (neutral to acid solutions). Much of this adsorbed As is strongly bound and difficult to wash off. Arsenate ions adsorb in a bidentate structure which may be a precursor for scorodite crystallisation.