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Effect of Complexing Agents (EDTA and ATMP) on the Remobilization of Heavy Metals from a Polluted River Sediment

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Abstract

EDTA and ATMP are synthetic chelatingagents used in many industrial applications. Becauseof their low biodegradability, they are present inmany aquatic systems where their strong complexingcapacities can modify the transfer of toxic heavymetals between solid and liquid phases.

The remobilization of Cu, Pb and Cd from pollutedsuperficial river sediments in the presence of twosynthetic organic ligands (a polycarboxylate, EDTA,and a phosphonate, ATMP) is investigated as a functionof reaction time to determine the time necessary toreach dissolutive equilibrium, and as a fonction ofthe complexing agent concentration.

The dissolutive equilibrium times are similar (10 to20 hours) and the solubilizing power of ATMP isslightly lower than that of EDTA. The curves ofsolubilization of metals in the presence of thecomplexing agents present a shape of a “chelateconcentration” desorption edge, for a chelate rangebetween 10-5 to 10-3 mol L-1, thesolubilised metals increasing dramatically. Thisremobilization is the result of a competition betweenassociation with the solid phase and dissolvedcomplexation. With EDTA, the desorption order ofmetals seems to be imposed by association with thesolid. For ATMP is it the chelate complexing strengthwhich determines this order.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Aquatic and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Limoges, 123, ave. Albert Thomas, 87060, Limoges, FRANCE

    François Bordas & Alain C. M. Bourg

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  1. François Bordas
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  2. Alain C. M. Bourg
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Bordas, F., Bourg, A.C.M. Effect of Complexing Agents (EDTA and ATMP) on the Remobilization of Heavy Metals from a Polluted River Sediment. Aquatic Geochemistry 4, 201–214 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009620513655

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