(GRS-653) Development of a Thermodynamic Model for Zinc, Lead and Cadmium in Saline Solutions

Research project 02C0710

The impact of water on surface and underground waste disposal sites or other contaminated sites such as mining tailings piles etc. can cause a mobilisation of heavy metals and other pollutants. Therefore, groundwater and drinking water resources may be at risk. To assess the risk potential, it is necessary to know as precisely as possible the physical and chemical processes that occur during water inflow. This requires not only qualitative knowledge of reaction and transport phenomena, but rather high-quality data backed up by experiments and qualified estimates that allow a quantitative prediction of pollutant mobilisation. A comprehensive understanding of the system, combined with a reliable prediction model, also provides the tools to develop or optimise strategies to minimise or avoid such releases.

Heavy metals that are easily mobilised include zinc, cadmium, and lead, some of which are present in the waste in quite high concentrations (BRASSER 1991) and occur in many contaminated sites. Leaching can result in solution concentrations that are above various limit or guideline values.

This report is an English translation of the revised report ‘Entwicklung eines thermodynamischen Modells für Zink, Blei und Cadmium in salinaren Lösungen‘ GRS-219 rev. Out of practical reasons, some figures were not translated.