TY - JOUR
T1 - Thallium isotopic fractionation in industrial process of pyrite smelting and environmental implications
AU - Liu, Juan
AU - Yin, Meiling
AU - Xiao, Tangfu
AU - Zhang, Chaosheng
AU - Tsang, Daniel C.W.
AU - Bao, Zhi'an
AU - Zhou, Yuting
AU - Chen, Yongheng
AU - Luo, Xuwen
AU - Yuan, Wenhuan
AU - Wang, Jin
N1 - Funding Information:
The work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41573008 , 41873015 , 41573119 , 41773011 and 41673138 ), the Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation ( 2017A030313247 ), and the Guangzhou University's 2017 training program for young top-notch personnel ( BJ201709 ). The authors also deeply appreciate the very helpful advice and suggestions from the reviewers and editor. Appendix A
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier B.V.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/2/15
Y1 - 2020/2/15
N2 - Thallium (Tl) is typical rare element with severe toxicity comparable to Hg and Pb. To track Tl pollution, isotopic fractionation of Tl was evaluated during pyrite smelting for sulfuric acid production. Large variations in Tl isotope compositions were observed among the pyrite ore (PO) and its four different smelting wastes. The starting raw PO had an ε205Tl value of +1.28. The fluidized-bed furnace slag generated by high-temperature smelting had the heaviest ε205Tl (+16.24) in the system. Meanwhile, the boiler fly ash (ε205Tl = +8.34), cyclone fly ash (ε205Tl = +2.17), and electrostatic precipitation fly ash (ε205Tl = –1.10), with decreasing grain sizes during the treatment processes, were characterized by elevated levels of Tl contents and substantial enrichment in the light Tl isotopes relative to the furnace slag. Further calculation and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy indicated that Tl isotope fractionation could be governed by both Rayleigh-type fractionation and adsorption of volatilized Tl by particles of various grain sizes. According to the substantial differences in the PO from its smelting wastes and the measurement precision of isotopic fractionation, it is suggested that Tl isotopes can serve as a new tool for tracing pollution of Tl.
AB - Thallium (Tl) is typical rare element with severe toxicity comparable to Hg and Pb. To track Tl pollution, isotopic fractionation of Tl was evaluated during pyrite smelting for sulfuric acid production. Large variations in Tl isotope compositions were observed among the pyrite ore (PO) and its four different smelting wastes. The starting raw PO had an ε205Tl value of +1.28. The fluidized-bed furnace slag generated by high-temperature smelting had the heaviest ε205Tl (+16.24) in the system. Meanwhile, the boiler fly ash (ε205Tl = +8.34), cyclone fly ash (ε205Tl = +2.17), and electrostatic precipitation fly ash (ε205Tl = –1.10), with decreasing grain sizes during the treatment processes, were characterized by elevated levels of Tl contents and substantial enrichment in the light Tl isotopes relative to the furnace slag. Further calculation and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy indicated that Tl isotope fractionation could be governed by both Rayleigh-type fractionation and adsorption of volatilized Tl by particles of various grain sizes. According to the substantial differences in the PO from its smelting wastes and the measurement precision of isotopic fractionation, it is suggested that Tl isotopes can serve as a new tool for tracing pollution of Tl.
KW - Fly ash
KW - Isotopic signature
KW - Potentially toxic elements
KW - Pyrite smelting
KW - Source apportionment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85072047626&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121378
DO - 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121378
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85072047626
VL - 384
JO - Journal of Hazardous Materials
JF - Journal of Hazardous Materials
SN - 0304-3894
M1 - 121378
ER -