Visible Light Accelerates Cr(III) Release and Oxidation in Cr-Fe Chromite Residues: An Overlooked Risk of Cr(VI) Reoccurrence

The reduced chromite ore processing residue (rCOPR) deposited in environments is susceptible to surrounding factors and causes reoccurrence of Cr(VI). However, the impact of natural sunlight on the stability of rCOPR is still unexplored. Herein, we investigated the dissolution and transformation behaviors of Cr(III)-Fe(III) hydroxide, a typical Cr(III)-containing component in rCOPR, under visible light. At acidic conditions, the release rate of Cr(III) under illumination markedly increased, up to 7 times higher than that in the dark, yet no Cr(VI) was produced. While at basic conditions, only Cr(VI) was obtained by photo-oxidation, with an oxidation rate of similar to 7 times higher than that by delta-MnO2 under dark conditions at pH 10, but no reactive oxygen species was generated. X-ray absorption near-edge structure and density functional theory analyses reveal that coexisting Fe in the solid plays a critical role in the pH-dependent release and transformation of Cr(III), where photo-generated Fe(II) accelerates Cr(III) produced at acidic conditions. Meanwhile, at basic conditions, the production of intermediate Cr(III)-Fe(III) clusters by light leads to the oxidation of Cr(III) into Cr(VI) through the nonradical metal-to-metal charge transfer mechanism. Our study provides a new insight into Cr(VI) reoccurrence in rCOPR and helps in predicting its environmental risk in nature.

Automated summary

This study investigates the dissolution and transformation behaviors of Cr(III)-Fe(III) hydroxide in chromite ore processing residue (COPR) under visible light. The results show that the release rate of Cr(III) significantly increases under illumination in acidic conditions, while only photo-oxidation of Cr(VI) occurs in basic conditions. It is found that the presence of coexisting Fe in the solid plays a critical role in the pH-dependent release and transformation of Cr(III).