Iron-induced association between selenium and humic substances in groundwater from deep sedimentary formations

寺島 元基; 遠藤 貴志*; 紀室 辰伍; 別部 光里*; 根本 一昭*; 天野 由記

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 60(4), p.374 - 384, 2023/04

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2022.2111376

For better understanding of impact of natural organic matters (NOM) on facilitating migration of Se in underground environments, association mechanism between Se and humic substance (HS) in groundwater was investigated by incubation experiments using groundwater sample under abiotic and biotic conditions and speciation analyses by an isolation technique with DAX-8 resin and a size exclusion chromatography coupled on-line to UV-Vis and ICP-MS detection (SEC-UV-ICP-MS). Selenite added into the groundwater was reduced to elemental Se only when microbial activity was stimulated by a nutrient. The speciation analysis by the isolation technique showed the presence of Se associated with HS and that proportion of the associate to total dissolved Se is highest in the reducing condition. The SEC-UV-ICP-MS analyses of alkaline extracts from the DAX-8 resin showed that Se was coeluted with Fe as well as HS, regardless of microbial activity and redox conditions. Logarithmic peak areas of Se and Fe coeluted with HS in the SEC chromatograms was linearly correlated in the moderately oxidizing condition (r = 0.947, p 0.01 with addition of Se; r = 0.995, p 0.01 without the addition of Se). The SEC chromatogram of Se coeluted with HS in the reducing condition was well matched with those of Se-Fe-HS ternary complex in the moderately oxidizing condition. Therefore, these suggest that the association between Se and HS in groundwaters can be dominated by a formation of Se-Fe-HS ternary complex.