ABSTRACT

Hexavalent chromium reduction by sulfide in the presence of goethite was studied through several batch experiments. Under our specific experimental conditions including 20 μM of hexavalent chromium, 560-1117 μM of sulfide and 10.61-37.13 m²/L of goethite at pH of 8.45 controlled by 0.1 M borate buffer, the obtained hexavalent chromium disappearance rate was -d[Cr(VI)]/dt = k[surface area of goethite][Cr(VI)][S(-II)]_T^1.5 and the determined overall rate constant (k) was 31.9 ± 4.2 (min)^-1(m²/L)^-1(mol/L)^-1.5. Among the potential major reducing agents in our comprehensive heterogeneous system such as aqueous phase sulfide, surface-associated sulfide, dissolved ferrous iron, ferrous iron on the goethite surface, as well as fresh ferrous sulfide in the solution, it was considered that the surface ferrous irons which could be produced following sulfide adsorption, played a leading role for Cr(VI) reduction as primary electron donors. In addition, no proof of the preliminary dissolution of ferrous iron from goethite to aqueous phase was observed in the experiments. Elemental sulfur was detected as the final stabilized product of sulfide and it took in charge for the promoted Cr(VI) disappearance for the successive addition of Cr(VI) at later stage.