Effect of organic matter on size and structural strain of nano-ZnS formed in organic waste
Résumé
Anaerobic digestion (AD) is an interesting opportunity
for organic wastes (OW) treatment because of biogas
production and agricultural valorisation of digestate as
fertiliser. OW often contain large amounts of zinc (Zn),
potentially toxic for soil living organisms on the long term.
Therefore, it is crucial to understand the effect of AD on Zn
speciation in OW to determine the risk of digestate recycling.
ZnS have already been evidenced in digestates in varying
proportions according to past studies [1-2]. Besides, the
dissolution in soil is faster for ZnS that precipitated in OW
than for ZnS from other origins [3-4].
In order to better understand process influence on Zn
speciation, a systematic study was needed. We have sampled
OW in nine AD and composting plants that cover most of the
current practices. Zn k-edge ExtendedX-ray Absorption Fine
Structure (EXAFS) was used to determine Zn speciation. We
showed that nano-ZnS is a major phase in all digestates. The
high reactivity of those nano-ZnS is reflected by the drastic
change of Zn speciation along the OW treatment chain.
The OW is a too complex matrix to investigate these
processes. Therefore to go further into the mechanisms that
drive ZnS reactivity, we used laboratory batch experiments.
Nano-ZnS of different sizes have been synthetized in
presence of organic molecules in the laboratory and
characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Wide Angle
X-ray Scattering (WAXS). Pair Distribution Function (PDF)
analysis was perfomed on WAXS signals to obtain real-scale
interatomic distances distribution. It has shown structural
size-dependent properties and has underligned the influence
of OM on both size and strain.