Arsenite Oxidation by a Poorly Crystalline Manganese-Oxide 1. Stirred-Flow Experiments

Abstract

Manganese-oxides (Mn-oxides) are quite reactive, with respect to arsenite (As(III)) oxidation. However, studies regarding the pathways of As(III) oxidation, over a range of time scales, by poorly crystalline Mn-oxides, are lacking. In stirred-flow experiments, As(III) oxidation by δ-MnO₂ (a poorly crystalline form of hexagonal birnessite) is initially rapid but slows appreciably after several hours of reaction. Mn(II) is the only reduced product of δ-MnO₂ formed by As(III) oxidation during the initial, most rapid phase of the reaction. There seems to be evidence that the formation of Mn(III) observed in previous studies is a result of conproportionation of Mn(II) sorbed onto Mn(IV) reaction sites rather than from direct reduction of Mn(IV) by As(III).The only evidence of arsenic (As) sorption during As(III) oxidation by δ-MnO₂ is during the first 10 h of reaction, and As sorption is greater when As(V) and Mn(II) occur simultaneously in solution. Our findings indicate that As(III) oxidation by poorly crystalline δ-MnO₂ involves several simultaneous reactions and reinforces the importance of studying reaction mechanisms over time.