Remediation of Pb-contaminated soil using modified bauxite refinery residue

This study examines amendment of Pb-contaminated soil with modified bauxite refinery residue (MBRR) to decrease soil Pb mobility and bioaccessibility. Amendment experiments were conducted using four soils contaminated with Pb from various sources, including smelting, shooting-range activities and Pb-based paint waste. Lead L₃-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) indicated that Pb speciation in these soils was a mixture of Pb sorbed to Fe (hydr)oxide and clay minerals, along with Pb bound to organic matter. Amendment with MBRR decreased water-soluble Pb and/or Toxicity Characteristic Leachate Procedure (TCLP) Pb concentrations. Lead L₃-edge XAS and X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated that Pb retention by MBRR occurred via sorption to Fe- and Al-(hydr)oxides at low Pb loadings, in addition to formation of hydrocerussite (Pb₃(CO₃)₂(OH)₂) at high loadings. Soil amendment with MBRR had relatively little effect on gastric-phase Pb bioaccessibility; as quantified via the Solubility/Bioavailability Research Consortium, SBRC, in vitro assay. In contrast, amendment with MBRR caused substantial decreases in relative intestinal-phase Pb bioaccessibility (Rel-SBRC-I) due to increased Pb sorption by MBRR’s Fe- and Al-hydr(oxide) minerals as simulated GI tract conditions shifted from the gastric- to the intestinal-phase. These decreases in Rel-SBRC-I point to the potential efficacy of using amendment with MBRR to decrease soil Pb bioavailability.