Become A Leader.
The International Youth Journal offers talented youths, journalists, and experts the unique opportunity to publish and read interesting articles on many topics on an international level: Publish My Article
Become Official Youth Journalists and report exciting stories from around the world.
Speciation Of Soluble Titanium And Vanadium In Agricultural Drainage Water
28. June 2018 at 10:46
This work was carried out to check the concentrations of Titanium (Ti) and Vanadium (V) metals in agricultural drainage water and aqueous soil sediment extracts from Tony farms limited Koton-karfe Local Government Area, Kogi State. The average concentrations of Ti and V were 19.88µg/g and 12.99µg/g respectively in the aqueous soil sediment extracts and 25.98ppm and 25.25ppm respectively in the agricultural drainage water. This result showed that the drainage water and soil sediment of this area is heavily polluted.
Contamination of the surface of the earth by metallic contaminants from human activities has been significant (Markham, 1994) and thus, regimes of ecosystem of the aquatic and terrestrial environment of the earth’s surface are burdened with a range of metallic pollutants/contaminants. For example, many materials were processed in significant quantities to support the developing technologies underpinning the growth of the developed countries (Markham, 1994; Macklin, 1992). The extraction and utilization of metals as major components of infrastructure and in high value goods became the cornerstone of the development of human civilization (Wedepol, 1991).

Through human activities, contamination of the Earth’s surface by metallic contaminants developed from localized problems associated with mining and initial ore processing, example like the Zamfara lead (Pb) poisoning in northern Nigeria (WHO Lead NGR, 2010), through to large scale manipulation and refining, construction, manufacture and finally to waste disposal. This, coupled with the focusing of population center into industrialized cities, resulted in an increased burden on the environment (Lowe and Bowlby, 1992). The consequence of this has increased awareness of human and industrial impacts on environmental systems at the local and global scale. This has resulted in efforts to manage and improve the degraded quality of aquatic and terrestrial systems (Ozbes et al., 2011; Thornton, 1996; Cairney, 1995; Bora, 1998).

The increase in human stress on sensitive surface environments requires the development of reliable management options for soil and water systems, which are often contaminated with a mix group of physical and, chemical components. Contamination from processing residues, direct deposition and accidental releases of organic and metallic species create a wide spectrum of environmental hazards (Hagelstein, 2009; Cairney, 1995; Ferguson et al., 1998). An in-depth understanding and appropriate remediation of these situations would rely on an intimate mix of science, technology and socio-economic factors (Haruna et al., 2013).

It is within this context that the speciation of metallic contaminants provides both the potential hazard (mobility, reactivity, toxicity) (Centeno, 2003) and thus, the pathway to a technological acceptable solution (remediation option). The factors influencing the speciation and changes with both time and environmental conditions provide the greatest challenges and opportunity for environmental science and technology (Haruna et al., 2013).

Within the terrestrial ecosystem, soils play a major role in element cycling and accumulate heavy metals in concentration orders of magnitude higher than in water and air (Ashraf et al., 2012).

It is widely recognized that to assess the environmental impact of soil pollution, the determination of the metal speciation will give more information about the potential for release of contaminants and further derived processes of migration and toxicity (Rauret et al., 1988; Usero et al., 1998). Therefore, in geo-environmental studies of risk assessment, chemical partitioning among the various geochemical phases is more useful than measurements of total heavy metals contents (Campanella et al., 1995; Quevauviller et al., 1996). Among the procedures to determine element speciation, those based on sequential extraction are the most widely used (Usero et al., 1998). These works are of interest in environmental studies to inform on the interactions with other components of the biosphere as well as to outline areas of potential toxicity and to provide information on the soil micronutrient levels for agricultural use (Wilcke et al., 1998). To assess the binding of heavy metals to the main fractions in soils, a five – step sequential extraction procedure based on the capacity of some extracting reagents to remove the heavy metals retained from the geochemical phases has been used (Tessier et al., 1979).

Heavy metals take place in biogeochemical cycles and are not permanently fixed in soils; therefore, assessment of their distribution in soils is a key issue in many environmental studies. Heavy metals are included in soil minerals as well as bound to different phases of soil particles by a variety of mechanisms, mainly absorption, ion exchange, co-precipitation, and complexation. Moreover, soil properties such as contents of organic matter, carbonates, oxides as well as soil structure and profile development influence the heavy metal mobility. The knowledge of the binding of metals with the different soil phases and components is of major interest to assess the connections with other biotic and abiotic elements of the environment (Ashraf et al., 2012).

Heavy metals are classified as metallic elements that have relatively high atomic weight and are poisonous at low concentrations. They are natural components of the earth crust and they cannot be degraded or destroyed (Lentech, 2011). Living organisms require trace amount of some heavy metals such cobalt, copper, manganese, vanadium, molybdenum, iron and strontium for metabolic process, but in excess, these metals can also be detrimental to the organisms (Science Daily, 2012).

Heavy metals can enter a water supply through pollution of industrial and consumer wastes or even from acidic rain breaking down soils and releasing heavy metals into streams and ground water (Lentech, 2011). Heavy metals or chemical elements are easily introduced into aquatic system as a result of chemical weathering of soil and rocks from volcanic eruptions and from a variety of human activities involving processing or using of metals and substances that contained metals. There are two different types of sources of pollutants in our water bodies, namely: point source and non-point or diffuse source. Point source is a localized pollution where pollutants come from single identifiable sources. The second type of pollution sources are non-point or diffuse sources, where pollutants come from dispersed sources and often difficult to identify sources (Lentech, 2006).

Water pollution occurs in various forms and is caused by different factors. The major causes of water pollution in most countries in the tropics can be linked to human activities such as sewage and refuse disposal, industrial effluents, agricultural activities, mining and quarrying activities. The most common source of water pollution in developing nations is domestic sewage and refuse (Butu and Iguisi, 2013).

Several other studies have also shown that a considerable number of chemical elements are leached from refuse dumps during raining season into ground water and streams (Olofin, 1991). Farouk (1997) opines that mechanic workshops, where used engine oil and petrol are continually discarded are also available sources of metallic contaminant. Industrialization is another major source of chemical pollution; industrial effluents are discharged into water sources without treatment. Modern agriculture is now becoming a nuisance to mankind. The insecticides, pesticides, chemical fertilizers especially nitrate and phosphate are used annually to boost agricultural production and these chemicals are washed down the soil by rain and eventually end up to contaminate the ground and stream water ways (Butu and Iguisi, 2013).

In most river basins diffuse sources contribute a very large portion of dissolved load carried by mainstream channel. Example of diffuse or non-point source include sediment from erosion, acid from mine and drainage from urban or industrial areas. In urban areas pollutants transport to receiving water bodies is usually through well defined system of combined or separate storm sewers. The pollution of water resources from these different sources would have remarkable effect on aquatic biota through addition of biodegradable materials in solutions or suspension and toxic chemical substances as well as general environmental effects on the portability of water. Heavy metals are known to be carcinogenic and fatal, they are generally dangerous to living organisms especially man because of their bioaccumulation nature, they accumulate in living tissues anytime they are taken up and stored faster than they are metabolized or excreted (Lentech, 2011).

Heavy metals discharged in aquatic systems may be immobilized within the stream sediments by main processes such as adsorption, flocculation and co-precipitation. Therefore, sediments in aquatic environment serves as a pool that can retain or release heavy metals to the water column by various processes of remobilization. Several studies have demonstrated that the concentration of metals in sediments can be sensitive indicator of contaminants in aquatic systems (Butu and Iguisi, 2013).

Titanium, symbol Ti, silver-white metallic elements used principally to make light, strong alloy. Titanium is one of the transition elements of the periodic table (Periodic Law). The atomic number of titanium is 22. The metal is extremely brittle when cold, but is readily malleable and ductile at a low red heat. Titanium melts at about 1668°C (about 3034°F), boils at about 3287°C (about 5949°F) and has a specific gravity of 4.5. The atomic weight of titanium is 47.87. It ranks ninth (9th) in abundance among the elements in Earth’s crust but is never found in the pure state. It occurs as an oxide in the minerals ilmenite, FeTiO3; rutile, TiO2; and sphene, CaO.TiO2.SiO2 (Redmond, 2008).

Because of its strength and light weight, titanium is used in metallic alloys and a substitute for aluminum. Alloyed with aluminum and vanadium, titanium is used in aircraft for firewalls, outer skin, landing-gear components, hydraulic tubing, and engine supports. The compressor blades, disks and housings of jet engines are also made of titanium. Titanium is also widely used in missiles and space capsules. The relative inertness of titanium makes it available as a replacement for bone and cartilage in surgery and as a pipe and tank lining in the processing of foods. It is used in heat exchangers in desalinization plants because of its ability to withstand salt water corrosion. In metallurgy, titanium alloys are employed as deoxidizers and denitrogenizers to remove oxygen and nitrogen from molten metals. Titanium dioxide, known as titanium white, is a brilliant white pigment used in paints, lacquers (fast drying liquid applied to surfaces of objects to provide a decorative, stiffening, or protective coating), plastics, paper, textiles, and rubber (Redmond, 2008).

Vanadium, symbol V, silver-white metallic element with an atomic number of 23. Vanadium is one of the transition elements of the periodic table (Periodic Law). Vanadium takes a high polish and is one of the hardest of all metals. It melts at about 1910°C (about 3470°F) boils at about 3407°C (about 6164°F), and has a specific gravity of 6.11. The atomic weight of vanadium is 50.94. Vanadium ranks about nineteenth (19th) in abundance of the elements in Earth’s crust. It is never found in the pure state, but occurs in combination with various minerals throughout the world. Some of these vanadium ore minerals include roscoelite, K(V3+,Al,Mg)2(AlSi3O10)(OH), vanadinite, Pb5(VO4)3Cl and carnotite K2(UO2)2(VO4)2.3H2O etc. (Redmond, 2008).

Because of its hardness and great tensile strength, the metal is used in many alloys such as ferrovanadium, nickel vanadium, and chrome-vanadium. Chrome-vanadium steels are used in the production of springs and in transmission gears and other engine parts. Titanium vanadium alloys are used for missile cases, jet-engine housings, and nuclear-reactor components. As a catalyst, vanadium has largely replaced platinum in the manufacture of sulfuric acid and is employed widely as a photographic developer, as a reducing agent, and as a drying agent in various plants (Redmond, 2008).

Speciation is defined as the identification and quantification of the different, defined species, forms, or phases in which an element occurs and is essentially a function of the mineralogy and chemistry of the soil sample examined. Quantification is typically done using chemical solutions of varying but specific strengths and reactivity to release metals from the different fractions of the examined soil (Ashraf et al., 2012).

Many analytical techniques have been developed for chemical speciation of elements in the environmental samples: typically – sequential leaching methods, hyphenated techniques such as GC-ICP-MS (analysis of organometallic elements) and x-ray spectroscopic techniques. These methods of analysis provide significant information on the chemical forms of elements in the environment in terms of analysis, it is possible to identify and quantify species in environmental samples (Haruna et al., 2013). This project work used the flame atomic absorption spectrometer (FAAS) for its speciation process.

Atomic absorption spectroscopy is a spectro-analytical procedure for the quantitative determination of chemical elements using the absorption of optical radiation (light) by free atoms in the gaseous state. This technique is used for determining the concentration of the particular element (the analyte) in a sample to be analyzed (Wikipedia, 2016).
1.2 Aims and Objectives

The main purpose of this project is to determine the concentrations of Titanium (Ti) and Vanadium (V) in agricultural drainage water and aqueous soil sediment extracts.
1.3 Significance of the Study

Total metal concentration is a good indicator of the degree and extent of contamination (Tessier et al., 1979). It is use in assessing the potential effect of soil sediment contamination, this implies that all forms of a given metal have an equal impact on the environment (Jaradat, 2006).

Heavy metals cannot be destroyed by biochemical processes; hence to evaluate the environmental impact of contaminated soil, knowledge of the total concentration of metals is insufficient without considering their speciation (Lo and Yang, 1998; Kirpichtchikova, 2006; Asagba et al., 2007).

  Read Full Article
Cite This Article As: Meshach Idoko. "Speciation Of Soluble Titanium And Vanadium In Agricultural Drainage Water." International Youth Journal, 28. June 2018.

Link To Article: https://youth-journal.org/speciation-of-soluble-titanium-and-vanadium-in-agricultural-





Submit Your Article Subscribe for Free Login or Register Become Journalist
About IYJ
Submit Your Article
Become Youth Journalist
Awards and Competitions
For Teachers and Schools
Materials and Documents
Authors and Journalists
Search Article Archive
Quaterly Paper Volumes
Facebook Page
Author Login
Contact Form
FAQ Page
Impressum
Data Policy

International Youth Journal