Determination of Free Nickel Ion Concentrations Using the Ion Exchange Technique: Application to Aqueous Mining and Municipal Effluents

Free metal ion concentration is generally considered a useful indicator of a metal’s bioavailability and ecotoxicity to aquatic biota. This article reports the speciation of nickel in mining and municipal effluents from Sudbury (Ontario, Canada), and also in model solutions containing a fully charac...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Aquatic geochemistry 2008-06, Vol.14 (2), p.99-116
Main Authors: Gopalapillai, Yamini, Fasfous, Ismail I., Murimboh, John D., Yapici, Tahir, Chakraborty, Parthasarathi, Chakrabarti, Chuni L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic animals
Bioavailability
Biota
Cation exchange
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Effluents
Fulvic acids
Geochemistry
Hydrogeology
Hydrology/Water Resources
Ion exchange
Ions
Metal concentrations
Municipal wastewater
Nickel
Original Paper
Speciation
Studies
Water Quality/Water Pollution
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:Free metal ion concentration is generally considered a useful indicator of a metal’s bioavailability and ecotoxicity to aquatic biota. This article reports the speciation of nickel in mining and municipal effluents from Sudbury (Ontario, Canada), and also in model solutions containing a fully characterized laurentian fulvic acid (LFA) at environmentally relevant concentrations. A column ion exchange technique (IET) using a cation exchange resin (Dowex 50W-X8) was applied to determine free nickel ion concentrations. In model solutions, reasonable correlation was found between the predictions of an equilibrium-based computer speciation code, Windermere Humic Aqueous Model (WHAM) VI, and the results obtained by IET at low nickel-to-fulvic acid ratios. However at higher mole ratios, the WHAM VI predicted higher free nickel ion concentrations than IET. Only three out of six effluent samples showed reasonable agreement between the IET and the WHAM VI results, indicating the need for further development of IET for application to effluent waters.
ISSN:1380-6165
1573-1421
DOI:10.1007/s10498-008-9027-2