Abstract
In many aquifers around the world, there exists the issue of abnormal concentrations of Fe and Mn in groundwater. Although it has been recognized that the main source of this issue is the release of Fe and Mn from aquifer sediments into groundwater under natural environmental conditions, there lacks enough reliable scientific evidence to illustrate whether the pollutants imported from anthropogenic activities, such as organics, can increase this natural release. On the basis of time series analysis and comparative analysis, the existence of an increasing effect was verified through laboratorial leaching test, and the impacts of aquatic chemical environment conditions, such as pH, on the effect were also identified. The results showed that the increase of organics in groundwater made the release of Fe and Mn more thorough, which was favorable for the increase of groundwater concentrations of Fe and Mn. The higher the contents of Fe- and Mn-bearing minerals in aquifer sediments, the higher the concentrations of Fe and Mn in groundwater after the release reaches kinetic equilibrium. Lower pH can make the leaching more thorough, but the neutral environment also increases the amount of Mn. It can be deduced that the pollutants such as organics imported by anthropogenic activities can indeed increase the releases of Fe and Mn from aquifer sediments into groundwater, thus worsening the issue of groundwater Fe and Mn pollution. The findings provide a deeper insight into the geochemical effects of Fe and Mn in the natural environment, especially in the groundwater system.
Highlights
IntroductionMn in groundwater vary very widely in space, from a few micrograms per liter [2,3] to tens of micrograms per liter or more [4]
This study reveals that Fe and Mn can release from Fe- and Mn-bearing minerals of aquifer sediments through groundwater leaching
It further proves the hypothesis that the input of pollutant such as organics into groundwater through anthropogenic activities can considerably enhance the leaching, which can cause the concentrations of Fe and
Summary
Mn in groundwater vary very widely in space, from a few micrograms per liter [2,3] to tens of micrograms per liter or more [4]. This difference is related to the spatial distribution of Fe and Mn in the porous medium of the strata [5,6], it is greatly related to the high complexities of the geochemistry processes of them [7,8], which are controlled by the hydrogeochemical environment [9,10] and have not yet been well understood [11]
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