Monodisperse ferrous phosphate colloids in an anoxic groundwater plume
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Abstract
Groundwater samples collected near a secondary-sewage infiltration site on Cape Cod, Massachusetts were examined for colloidal materials (10–1000 nm). In two wells the water contained a population of monodisperse 100-nm particles, detected using laser-light scattering and autocorrelation data processing. SEM and SEM-EDAX analysis of these colloidal materials collected on ultrafilters confirmed the laser light scattering result and revealed that these microparticles consisyed of primarily iron and phosphorus in a 1.86 Fe to 1.0 P stoichiometric ratio. Chemical analyses of the water samples, together with equilibrium solubility calculations, strongly suggest that the ion-activity product should exceed the solubility product of a 100-nm diameter predominantly vivianite-type (Fe3(PO4)2 · 8H2O) colloidal phase. In light of our results, we conclude that these microparticles were formed by sewage-derived phosphate combining with ferrous iron released from the aquifer solids, and that these colloids may be moving in the groundwater flow. Such a subsurface transport process could have major implications regarding the movement of particle-reactive pollutants traditionally viewed as non-mobile in groundwater.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Monodisperse ferrous phosphate colloids in an anoxic groundwater plume |
| Series title | Journal of Contaminant Hydrology |
| DOI | 10.1016/0169-7722(87)90011-8 |
| Volume | 1 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Year Published | 1987 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Wiley |
| Contributing office(s) | Toxic Substances Hydrology Program |
| Description | 19 p. |
| First page | 309 |
| Last page | 327 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| Other Geospatial | Cape Cod |
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