Assessment of waste oyster shells and coal mine drainage sludge for the stabilization of As-, Pb-, and Cu-contaminated soil

A novel treatment mix was designed for the simultaneous immobilization of As, Cu, and Pb in contaminated soils using natural (waste oyster shells (WOS)) and industrial (coal mine drainage sludge (CMDS)) waste materials. The treatments were conducted using the standard U.S. sieve size no. 20 (0.85 mm) calcined oyster shells (COS) and CMDS materials with a curing time of 1 and 28 days. The As immobilization treatments were evaluated using the 1-N HCl extraction fluid, whereas the Pb and Cu immobilization treatments were evaluated using the 0.1-N HCl extraction fluid based on the Korean leaching standards. The treatment results showed that the immobilization of As, Cu, and Pb was best achieved using a combination mix of 10 wt% COS and 10 wt% CMDS. This treatment mix was highly effective leading to superior leachability reductions for all three target contaminants (>93 % for As and >99 % for Cu and Pb) for a curing period of 28 days. The X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) results showed that As was present in the form of As(V) in the control sample and that no changes in As speciation were observed following the COS-CMDS treatments. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM)-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) sample treated with 10 wt% COS and 10 wt% CMDS indicated that As immobilization may be associated with the formation of Ca–As and Fe–As precipitates while Pb and Cu immobilization was most probably linked to calcium silicate hydrates (CSHs) and calcium aluminum hydrates (CAHs).