Loading…

Characterization of the role of phosphogypsum foam in the transport of metals and radionuclides in the Southern Mediterranean Sea

[Display omitted] •Geochemical/mineralogical characterization of phosphogypsum foam (PGF) was conducted.•Chemically, PGFs are heavily loaded with metallic and radiological contaminants.•Mineralogically, PGFs are mainly composed by synthetic gypsum and other minerals.•PGFs are the main accumulating,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of hazardous materials 2019-02, Vol.363, p.258-267
Main Authors: El Zrelli, Radhouan, Rabaoui, Lotfi, Abda, Heithem, Daghbouj, Nabil, Pérez-López, Rafael, Castet, Sylvie, Aigouy, Thierry, Bejaoui, Nejla, Courjault-Radé, Pierre
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:[Display omitted] •Geochemical/mineralogical characterization of phosphogypsum foam (PGF) was conducted.•Chemically, PGFs are heavily loaded with metallic and radiological contaminants.•Mineralogically, PGFs are mainly composed by synthetic gypsum and other minerals.•PGFs are the main accumulating, transporting and dispersion agent of phosphogypsum contaminants. The Gabes Gulf had received huge quantities of phosphogypsum discharged from fertilizer plants. Dumping phosphogypsum in coastal waters leads to the formation of foam layers which can float on the surface and be passively transported to distant areas. This is the first attempt at geochemical and mineralogical characterization of these industrial foams in order to understand their role in the dynamic and behavior of contaminants in marine environment. Chemically, phosphogypsum foams (PGFs) are heavily loaded with radiochemical contaminants. Their mineralogical composition showed a prevalence of synthetic gypsum followed by other secondary minerals including halite, quartz, dolomite, sphalerite-Cd and fluorapatite. PGFs are rich in organic matter (OM), precursor of their formation. Once released in gypseous water, the OM in solution undergoes agglomeration, cementing and flotation steps leading to the formation of floating foams. The foams’ OM was found to control the mobility of industrial contaminants contributing then to the marine environment pollution. Consequently, PGFs are the main accumulating, transporting and dispersion agent of phosphogypsum radiochemical contaminants. Thus, PGFs removal has the potential to reduce enormously the dynamics of contaminants transferred from the fertilizer plants to the aquatic environment, reducing thus their impacts on the marine environment and health status in Gabes.
ISSN:0304-3894
1873-3336
DOI:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2018.09.083