Sorption of Yttrium and Rare Earth Elements by Amorphous Ferric Hydroxide:  Influence of Temperature

Kelly A. Quinn, Robert H. Byrne, Johan Schijf

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Abstract

The sorption of yttrium and the rare earth elements (YREEs) by amorphous ferric hydroxide was investigated between 10 and 40 °C over a range of pH (4.7−7.1) in the absence of solution complexation. Distribution coefficients, defined as i K Fe = [MS i ] T /([M] T [Fe 3+ ] S ), where [MS i ] T is the concentration of sorbed YREEs, [M] T is the total dissolved YREE concentration, and [Fe 3+ ] S is the concentration of precipitated iron, increased with increasing temperature over the entire investigated pH range. The observed increase in i K Fe was largest for the heavy REEs, indicating that relative log i K Fe values (i.e., YREE patterns) vary somewhat with temperature. The pH dependence of YREE sorption was described by a surface complexation model of the form i K Fe = ( S β 1 [H + ] -1 + S β 2 [H + ] - 2 )/( S K 1 [H + ] + 1), where S β n are stability constants for sorption of free YREE ions (M 3+ ) and S K 1 is a surface protonation constant for amorphous ferric hydroxide. The influence of temperature on the YREE surface stability constants ( S β 1 and S β 2 ) was characterized by calculating molar enthalpies for M 3+ sorption (Δ H 1 0 and Δ H 2 0 ) using the van 't Hoff equation. The Δ H 1 0 values appropriate to S β 1 range from 11.8 to 13.4 kcal/mol, whereas the Δ H 2 0 values appropriate to S β 2 range between 7.7 and 12.3 kcal/mol. These values are on the same order of magnitude as enthalpies of the first hydrolysis step for a variety of cations.

Original languageAmerican English
JournalEnvironmental Science Technology
Volume41
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2007

Disciplines

  • Life Sciences

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