Les interactions entre l'arsenic, le fer et la matière organique en milieu anoxique

Arsenic occurs naturally in groundwater used as drinking water. It is thus responsible of a great mortality in the world. Understand the As interactions with its environment and its transfer mode to the aquifers is therefore crucial. This work was focused on the direct and indirect binding mechanisms of As(III) by organic matter (OM) in anoxic environments, in particular via OM thiol groups and as ternary complexes involving ionic Fe.The first part of this work was dedicated to the complexation of As(III) by the OM thiol. Binding experiments of As(III) by a humic acid (HA) grafted or not by thiol were thus performed. Grafted or not OM were able to bind As(III) but bound As(III) concentrations were low and dependant on the thiol site density. Modeling with PHREEQC-Model VI modified to take into account thiol site demonstrated that As(III) was bound as monodentate complexes to OM thiol sites. Another indirect binding mechanism involving ternary complex via cationic bridge was however described to explain larger binding of As(III, V) to natural OM. Here under anoxic conditions, we speculated that this bridge was an ionic Fe(II) bridge. However, little information exists about the binding of Fe(II) by OM. Complexation experiments of Fe(II) by humic substances (HS) were thus conducted. The experimental results showed that Fe(II) was weakly complexed to HS at acidic pH, when the functional groups were protonated. By contrast, at basic pH, 100% of Fe(II) were complexed to HS. Modeling calculations demonstrated that Fe(II) formed mainly carboxylic bidentate at acidic pH and carboxy-phenolic and phenolic bidentate at basic pH. In the last part, the complexation of As(III) as As(III)-ionic Fe(II, III)-OM ternary complexes was tested. Experimental results showed that As(III)-Fe(II)-OM ternary complexes could form in anoxic environments. Modeling allowed to test several ternary complexes conformations. The most potential was the binding of As(III) as mononuclear bidentate complex onto a bidentate Fe(II)-AH complex. However, another definition of the model that should be constrained by XAS data is required. By contrast, at low concentrations of Fe (III), when the oxidizing and reduced species coexist, As(III) does not form As(III)-ionic Fe(III)-OM ternary complexes.Speciation of As and Fe is particularly important in the study of the As(III) transfer. When As(III) is bound to OM as ternary complexes, its transfer is entirely controlled by the own OM transfer mechanisms. Here, we calculated, however, that much of As(III) remains as labile species and can therefore reach underlying aquifers as long as anoxic conditions exist.L'arsenic est un élément toxique présent naturellement dans l'environnement. Parfois en fortes concentrations dans les eaux souterraines, utilisées comme eaux de boisson, il est responsable d'une des plus grandes mortalités au monde. Il est donc important de mieux comprendre les interactions de l'As avec l'environnement et son mode de transfert jusqu'aux aquifères. Cette thèse a pour objectif de comprendre les mécanismes de complexation direct et indirect de l'As(III) par la matière organique (MO) en milieu anoxique, notamment via les groupements thiols de la MO et sous forme de complexes ternaires faisant intervenir le Fe ionique. La première partie de ce travail a été consacrée à la complexation de l'As(III) par les groupements thiols de la MO. Des expériences de complexation d'As(III) par un acide humique (AH) naturel greffé ou non en sites thiols ont été réalisées. L'As(III) se complexe à la MO directement mais les concentrations complexées sont faibles et dépendantes de la densité en site thiol. La modélisation à l'aide de PHREEQC-Model VI modifié afin de tenir compte des sites thiols, a mis en évidence que l'As était complexé à la MO sous forme de complexes monodentates. Il existe, un autre mécanisme qui propose une complexation indirecte via la formation d'un pont cationique. Nous nous sommes intéressés ici, en conditions anoxiques, à la possibilité que ce pont soit un pont de Fe(II). Il n'existe cependant que très peu d'information sur la complexation du Fe(II) par la MO. Des expériences de complexation du Fe(II) par des substances humiques (SH) ont donc été réalisées. Les résultats expérimentaux ont montré que le Fe(II) est faiblement complexé aux SH lorsque le pH était acide et les groupements fonctionnels protonés. Au contraire à pH neutre à basique, 100% du Fe(II) est complexé aux SH. La modélisation a montré que le Fe(II) forme majoritairement des complexes bidentates carboxyliques à pH acides et des complexes bidentates carboxy-phénoliques et phénoliques à pH basiques. Dans la dernière partie, la complexation de l'As(III) par des complexes ternaires As(III)-Fe(II, III) ionique-MO a été testée. Les résultats expérimentaux ont montré que des complexes ternaires As(III)-Fe(II)-MO pouvaient se former en milieu anoxique. La modélisation a permis de tester différentes conformations structurales de complexes ternaires. Le complexe le plus probable est un complexe bidentate mononucléaire d'As(III) sur un complexe bidentate de Fe(II)-AH. Cependant, PHREEQC-Model VI doit être amélioré car la distribution des sites bidentate n'est pas réaliste en comparaison des données spectroscopiques. Au contraire pour de faibles concentrations en Fe(III), l'As(III) ne forme pas de complexes ternaires As(III)-Fe(III) ionique-MO. La spéciation de l'As et du Fe est particulièrement importante dans l'étude du transfert de l'As. Si l'As(III) est complexée à la MO, son transfert dépendra totalement des mécanismes de transfert de la MO

Does As(III) interact with Fe(II), Fe(III) and organic matter through ternary complexes?

International audienceUp until now, only a small number of studies have been dedicated to the binding processes of As(III) with organic matter (OM) via ionic Fe(III) bridges; none was interested in Fe (II). Complexation isotherms were carried out with As(III), Fe(II) or Fe(III) and Leonardite humic acid (HA). Although PHREEQC/Model VI, implemented with OM thiol groups, reproduced the experimental datasets with Fe(III), the poor fit between the experimental and modeled Fe(II) data suggested another binding mechanism for As(III) to OM. PHREEQC/Model VI was modified to take various possible As(III)-Fe(II)-OM ternary complex conformations into account. The complexation of As(III) as a mononuclear bidentate complex to a bidentate Fe(II)-HA complex was evidenced. However, the model needed to be improved since the distribution of the bidentate sites appeared to be unrealistic with regards to the published XAS data. In the presence of Fe(III), As(III) was bound to thiol groups which are more competitive with regards to the low density of formed Fe(III)-HA complexes. Based on the new data and previously published results, we propose a general scheme describing the various As(III)-Fe-MO complexes that are able to form in Fe and OM-rich waters

Geochemical modeling of Fe(II) binding to humic and fulvic acids

International audienceThe complexation of Fe(II)with organic matter (OM)and especiallywith humic acids (HAs) remains poorly characterized in the literature. In this study, batch experiments were conducted on a pH range varying from 1.95 to 9.90 to study HA-mediated Fe(II) binding. The results showed that high amounts of Fe(II) are complexed with HAdepending on the pH. Experimental datawere used to determine a new set of binding parameters by coupling PHREEPLOT and PHREEQC-Model VI. The new binding parameters (log KMA = 2.19 ± 0.16, log KMB= 4.46± 0.47 and ΔLK2=3.90 ± 1.30) were validated using the LFER (linear free energy relationship) method and published adsorption data between Fe(II) and Suwannee River fulvic acid (SRFA) (Rose andWaite, 2003). Theywere then put in PHREEQC-Model VI to determine the distribution of Fe(II) onto HA functional groups. It was shown that Fe(II) forms mainly bidentate complexes, some tridentate complexes and only a few monodentate complexes with HA. Moreover, Fe(II) is mainly adsorbed onto carboxylic groups at acidic and neutral pH, whereas carboxy-phenolic and phenolic groups play a major role at basic pH. The major species adsorbed onto HA functional groups is Fe2+; Fe(OH)+ appears at basic pH (frompH 8.13 to 9.9). The occurrence of OMand the resulting HA-mediated binding of Fe(II) can therefore influence Fe(II) speciation and bioavailability in peatlands and wetlands, where seasonal anaerobic conditions prevail. Furthermore, the formation of a cationic bridge and/or the dissolution of Fe(III)-(oxy)hydroxides by the formation of Fe(II)-OM complexes can influence the speciation of other trace metals and contaminants such as As

Thiol groups controls on arsenite binding by organic matter: New experimental and modeling evidence

International audienceAlthough it has been suggested that several mechanisms can describe the direct binding ofAs(III) to organic matter (OM), more recently, the thiol functional group of humic acid (HA)was shown to be an important potential binding site for As(III). Isotherm experiments onAs(III) sorption to HAs, that have either been grafted with thiol or not, were thus conducted toinvestigate the preferential As(III) binding sites. There was a low level of binding of As(III) toHA, which was strongly dependent on the abundance of the thiols. Experimental datasetswere used to develop a new model (the modified PHREEQC-Model VI), which defines HA asa group of discrete carboxylic, phenolic and thiol sites. Protonation/deprotonation constantswere determined for each group of sites (pKA = 4.28 ± 0.03; ΔpKA = 2.13 ± 0.10; pKB = 7.11 ±0.26; ΔpKB = 3.52 ± 0.49; pKS = 5.82 ± 0.052; ΔpKS = 6.12 ± 0.12 for the carboxylic, phenolicand thiols sites, respectively) from HAs that were either grafted with thiol or not. The pKSvalue corresponds to that of single thiol-containing organic ligands. Two binding models weretested: the Mono model, which considered that As(III) is bound to the HA thiol site asmonodentate complexes, and the Tri model, which considered that As(III) is bound astridentate complexes. A simulation of the available literature datasets was used to validate2the Mono model, with log KMS = 2.91 ± 0.04, i.e. the monodentate hypothesis. This studyhighlighted the importance of thiol groups in OM reactivity and, notably, determined theAs(III) concentration bound to OM (considering that Fe is lacking or at least negligible) andwas used to develop a model that is able to determine the As(III) concentrations bound toOM

The interactions between arsenic, iron and organic mater in anoxic environment

L'arsenic est un élément toxique présent naturellement dans l'environnement. Parfois en fortes concentrations dans les eaux souterraines, utilisées comme eaux de boisson, il est responsable d'une des plus grandes mortalités au monde. Il est donc important de mieux comprendre les interactions de l'As avec l'environnement et son mode de transfert jusqu'aux aquifères. Cette thèse a pour objectif de comprendre les mécanismes de complexation direct et indirect de l'As(III) par la matière organique (MO) en milieu anoxique, notamment via les groupements thiols de la MO et sous forme de complexes ternaires faisant intervenir le Fe ionique. La première partie de ce travail a été consacrée à la complexation de l'As(III) par les groupements thiols de la MO. Des expériences de complexation d'As(III) par un acide humique (AH) naturel greffé ou non en sites thiols ont été réalisées. L'As(III) se complexe à la MO directement mais les concentrations complexées sont faibles et dépendantes de la densité en site thiol. La modélisation à l'aide de PHREEQC-Model VI modifié afin de tenir compte des sites thiols, a mis en évidence que l'As était complexé à la MO sous forme de complexes monodentates. Il existe, un autre mécanisme qui propose une complexation indirecte via la formation d'un pont cationique. Nous nous sommes intéressés ici, en conditions anoxiques, à la possibilité que ce pont soit un pont de Fe(II). Il n'existe cependant que très peu d'information sur la complexation du Fe(II) par la MO. Des expériences de complexation du Fe(II) par des substances humiques (SH) ont donc été réalisées. Les résultats expérimentaux ont montré que le Fe(II) est faiblement complexé aux SH lorsque le pH était acide et les groupements fonctionnels protonés. Au contraire à pH neutre à basique, 100% du Fe(II) est complexé aux SH. La modélisation a montré que le Fe(II) forme majoritairement des complexes bidentates carboxyliques à pH acides et des complexes bidentates carboxy-phénoliques et phénoliques à pH basiques. Dans la dernière partie, la complexation de l'As(III) par des complexes ternaires As(III)-Fe(II, III) ionique-MO a été testée. Les résultats expérimentaux ont montré que des complexes ternaires As(III)-Fe(II)-MO pouvaient se former en milieu anoxique. La modélisation a permis de tester différentes conformations structurales de complexes ternaires. Le complexe le plus probable est un complexe bidentate mononucléaire d'As(III) sur un complexe bidentate de Fe(II)-AH. Cependant, PHREEQC-Model VI doit être amélioré car la distribution des sites bidentate n'est pas réaliste en comparaison des données spectroscopiques. Au contraire pour de faibles concentrations en Fe(III), l'As(III) ne forme pas de complexes ternaires As(III)-Fe(III) ionique-MO. La spéciation de l'As et du Fe est particulièrement importante dans l'étude du transfert de l'As. Si l'As(III) est complexée à la MO, son transfert dépendra totalement des mécanismes de transfert de la MO.Arsenic occurs naturally in groundwater used as drinking water. It is thus responsible of a great mortality in the world. Understand the As interactions with its environment and its transfer mode to the aquifers is therefore crucial. This work was focused on the direct and indirect binding mechanisms of As(III) by organic matter (OM) in anoxic environments, in particular via OM thiol groups and as ternary complexes involving ionic Fe. The first part of this work was dedicated to the complexation of As(III) by the OM thiol. Binding experiments of As(III) by a humic acid (HA) grafted or not by thiol were thus performed. Grafted or not OM were able to bind As(III) but bound As(III) concentrations were low and dependant on the thiol site density. Modeling with PHREEQC-Model VI modified to take into account thiol site demonstrated that As(III) was bound as monodentate complexes to OM thiol sites. Another indirect binding mechanism involving ternary complex via cationic bridge was however described to explain larger binding of As(III, V) to natural OM. Here under anoxic conditions, we speculated that this bridge was an ionic Fe(II) bridge. However, little information exists about the binding of Fe(II) by OM. Complexation experiments of Fe(II) by humic substances (HS) were thus conducted. The experimental results showed that Fe(II) was weakly complexed to HS at acidic pH, when the functional groups were protonated. By contrast, at basic pH, 100% of Fe(II) were complexed to HS. Modeling calculations demonstrated that Fe(II) formed mainly carboxylic bidentate at acidic pH and carboxy-phenolic and phenolic bidentate at basic pH. In the last part, the complexation of As(III) as As(III)-ionic Fe(II, III)-OM ternary complexes was tested. Experimental results showed that As(III)-Fe(II)-OM ternary complexes could form in anoxic environments. Modeling allowed to test several ternary complexes conformations. The most potential was the binding of As(III) as mononuclear bidentate complex onto a bidentate Fe(II)-AH complex. However, another definition of the model that should be constrained by XAS data is required. By contrast, at low concentrations of Fe (III), when the oxidizing and reduced species coexist, As(III) does not form As(III)-ionic Fe(III)-OM ternary complexes. Speciation of As and Fe is particularly important in the study of the As(III) transfer. When As(III) is bound to OM as ternary complexes, its transfer is entirely controlled by the own OM transfer mechanisms. Here, we calculated, however, that much of As(III) remains as labile species and can therefore reach underlying aquifers as long as anoxic conditions exist

The environmental fate of nanoplastics: What we know and what we need to know about aggregation

The presence of nanoplastics in the environment has been proven. There is now an urgent need to determine how nanoplastics behave in the environment and to assess the risks they may pose. Here, we examine nanoplastic homo- and heteroaggregation, with a focus on environmentally relevant nanoplastic particle models. We made a systematic analysis of experimental studies, and ranked the environmental relevance of 377 different solution chemistries, and 163 different nanoplastic particle models. Since polymer latex spheres are not environmentally relevant (due to their monodisperse size, spherical shape, and smooth surface), their aggregation behavior in natural conditions is not transferable to nanoplastics. A few recent studies suggest that nanoplastic particle models that more closely mimic incidentally produced nanoplastics follow different homoaggregation pathways than latex sphere particle models. However, heteroaggregation of environmentally relevant nanoplastic particle models has seldom been studied. Despite this knowledge gap, the current evidence suggests that nanoplastics may be more sensitive to heteroaggregation than previously expected. We therefore provide an updated hypothesis about the likely environmental fate of nanoplastics. Our review demonstrates that it is essential to use environmentally relevant nanoplastic particle models, such as those produced with top-down methods, to avoid biased interpretations of the fate and impact of nanoplastics. Finally, it will be necessary to determine how the heteroaggregation kinetics of nanoplastics impact their settling rate to truly understand nanoplastics' fate and effect in the environment.ISSN:2452-074

Chemical Speciation of Pt in Natural Waters: Implications for its Geochemical Behaviour

Goldschmidt 2023, Lyon, 9-14 JulySolution speciation and geochemistry of trace elements is required in order to study and predict their biogeochemical behaviour (i.e., reactivity, transport, fate, toxicity) in natural systems. This requires thermodynamic models that accurately describe the interactions between ultratrace elements and natural ligands in the environmental compartments. However, the solution speciation of platinum in natural waters has been, however, poorly characterised, and the available speciation calculations reported in the literature are not fully consistent. For example, it is still controversial whether Pt(II) or Pt(IV) is the dominant redox form in natural waters at surface conditions. Also, the stability constants with some inorganic ligands (e.g. Cl-, OH-), which are expected to play an important role in Pt speciation are still unknown or the reported data are inconsistent, and only estimates have been provided. On the other hand, an important fraction of trace elements in natural waters is known to be complexed with natural organic matter (NOM); although several papers report the interaction of Pt with NOM, the stability constants of their complexes have not yet been calculated. We have therefore undertaken a critical review of the literature dealing with the speciation of dissolved Pt (II) and Pt(IV) in natural waters. Calculations of the "best" estimate of their speciation based on the critically-selected stability constants are given and compared with available experimental speciation data, and the results are discussed with respect to the implications for the geochemical behaviour of PtN

GeOHeLiS (Géochimie Élémentaire et Isotopique) / OSUR

La plateforme Géochimie Élémentaire et Isotopique (GeOHeLiS) est une plateforme labellisée par l’université de Rennes 1 (OSUR Géosciences Rennes) dans le cadre de l’amélioration de la lisibilité des moyens techniques de l’établissement

Metals and microplastics, a multi-contamination in the environment: which planetary distribution?

International audiencePlastic debris are everywhere: soils, rivers, oceans, even at the top of the Everest. In marine environments, plastics accumulate in gigantic oceanic gyres, in which different sizes of plastic are found (macro-, micro- and nano-plastics)1. Then, due to the oceanic currents, numerous plastics are remobilized and finished on the beaches from all around the World. Problems are associated to plastics presence. For 30 years, in the public minds, the principal hazards related to macroplastics (i.e. plastics debris size >5mm) is their strangulation effects on the animals. However, a more insidious danger was poorly considered: plastics act as trojan horses for contaminants in the environment, including toxic metals. Metals can either originate from the plastic formulation (additives) or from external environment (sorption)2. Over time, both becomes bioavailable and could represent a danger for the biota3. These last 5 years, increasing studies measured metal concentrations in microplastics from various location over the Earth. In this study, we reviewed the literature data concerning the distribution of the metal concentrations according to the sampling area and location. First, we focused on the methods used to measure metal concentrations in order to perform valuable comparisons between studies. Then, we discussed the differences/similarities in the metal distribution according to the sampling zone. Indeed, some metals occur everywhere, due to their use as additives. In contrast, other metals present different distribution patterns, depending on the sampling zone. Thus, what is the source and final impact of the plastic debris? Behind these results, we provide an interactive online global map based on the database built from this review. The final aim is to provide a map and database that can be implemented by researchers in order to simplify future summarizing and comparisons of the available data.1Ter Halle A. et al., ES&T, 2017, 51, 13689-136972Prunier J. et al., Env. Poll., 2019, 245, 371-3793Catrouillet C. et al., Env. Sci. Proc. Impacts Lett., submitte

Coupled As and Mn Redox Transformations in an Fe(0) Electrocoagulation System: Competition for Reactive Oxidants and Sorption Sites

Iron electrocoagulation (EC) can be used for the decentralized treatment of arsenic(As)-contaminated groundwater. Iron EC involves the electrolytic dissolution of an Fe(0) electrode to Fe(II). This process produces reactive oxidants, which oxidize As(III) and Fe(II) to As(V) and a range of Fe(III) (oxyhydr)oxide phases. Here, we investigated the impact of manganese (Mn) on As removal, since the two often co-occur in groundwater. In the absence of Mn(II), we observed rapid As(III) oxidation and the formation of As(V)-Fe(III) polymers. Arsenic removal was achieved upon aggregation of the As(V)-Fe(III) polymers. In the presence of Mn, the mechanism of As removal varied with pH. At pH 4.5, As(III) was oxidized rapidly by OH center dot and the aggregation of the resulting As(V)-Fe(III) polymers was enhanced by the presence of Mn. At pH 8.5, As(III) and Mn(II) competed for Fe(IV), which led As(III) to persist in solution. The As(V) that did form was incorporated into a mixture of As(V)-Fe(III) polymers and a ferrihydrite-like phase that incorporated 8% Mn(III); some As(III) was also sorbed by these phases. At intermediate pH values, As(III) and Mn(II) also competed for the oxidants, but Mn(III) behaved as a reactive intermediate that reacted with Fe(II) or As(III). This result can explain the presence of As(V) in the solid phase. This detailed understanding of the As removal mechanisms in the presence of Mn can be used to tune the operating conditions of Fe EC for As removal under typical groundwater conditions