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Updated: May 18, 2026

Hydroponics: A Versatile System to Study Nutrient Allocation and Plant Responses to Nutrient Availability and Exposure to Toxic Elements
Published on: July 13, 2016
[XANES study of lead speciation in duckweed]
Bin-Bin Chu1, Li-Qiang Luo, Tao Xu
1National Research Center of Geoanalysis, Beijing 100037, China. binlun_126@163.com
Abstract:
Qixiashan lead-zinc mine of Nanjing was one of the largest lead zinc deposits in East China Its exploitation has been over 50 years, and the environmental pollution has also been increasing. The lead concentration in the local environment was high, but lead migration and toxic mechanism has not been clear. Therefore, biogeochemistry research of the lead zinc mine was carried out. Using ICP-MS and Pb-L III edge XANES, lead concentration and speciation were analyzed respectively, and duckweed which can tolerate and enriched heavy metals was found in the pollution area. The results showed that the lead concentration of duckweed was 39.4 mg x kg(-1). XANES analysis and linear combination fit indicated that lead stearate and lead sulfide accounted for 65% and 36.9% respectively in the lead speciation of duckweed, suggesting that the main lead speciation of duckweed was sulfur-containing lead-organic acid.
