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ON THE EFFECT OF SOPHOROLIPIDS ON DIFFERENT FRACTIONS OF MINE TAILING AND THE SPECIATION OF ARSENIC
Session: Contamined Sites and Remediation / Sités contaminés et réhabilitation
Fereshteh Arab, Concordia University (Canada)
Catherine Mulligan, Concordia University (Canada)
Mine tailings produced after extracting gold from its ore, contain high levels of arsenic and heavy metals. As a result, mine tailings are one of the main environmental contamination sources. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of sophorolipids on the speciation and mobilization of arsenic, as well, on the morphology and composition of the mine tailings. The result from the sequential extraction of untreated and treated sample showed that in a continuous setting, a solution of 1% sophorolipids at pH 5 was able to change the morphology of the sample and mobilize arsenic associated with all fractions of the mine tailing sample. By using the soil washing in the continuous setup the total removal of 99% of iron and 98.8 % of arsenic was achieved. The results drawn from these investigations will be used to develop an efficient, environmentally friendly, and economically feasible system for the treatment of mine tailings.
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