Removal of mercury in contaminated water by ferrate, Fe(VI): the Abbadia San Salvatore (Italy) case study

This proposal aims to monitor the Fe and Hg complexes resulting from the use of ferrate in Hg contaminated water, working with a 500 ppb Hg lab solution and real samples collected from the Abbadia San Salvatore (ASS) former Hg-mining area (Italy). The main goal is the X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) investigation of the solid precipitates resulting from the direct application to the samples of Fe(III) and Fe(VI) based reagents, the latter being synthesized through an original procedure. Preliminary tests have already been performed during low beam current in-house shifts. The information acquired will provide an insight to how firmly Hg is “captured” and the potential for its remobilization.