Stabilization of lead with amorphous solids synthesized from aluminosilicate gel

Lead is a hazardous heavy metal that can be stabilized by incorporation into the matrix of aluminosilicate bearing phases as they solidify. The actual mechanism by which lead is stabilized, however, continues to be unclear because the individual mechanisms of Pb incorporation into crystalline and amorphous aluminosilicate phases have not yet been studied separately. A detailed investigation of the incorporation of Pb into the amorphous phase of aluminosilicate solids was therefore performed. Amorphous aluminosilicate solids were synthesized with 0.7, 1.5, and 3.7 wt.% of Pb from aluminosilicate gel produced from chemical reagents. Based on Raman spectroscopy, the SiO stretching vibration bond shifted to lower wavenumbers with increasing Pb concentration. This shift suggested that covalent bonding between Pb and O in the matrix of the aluminosilicate solids increased. In addition, sequential extraction revealed that most of the Pb (75-90%) in the aluminosilicate solids was in a poorly soluble form (i.e., reducible, oxidizable, and residual fractions). These findings indicate that most of Pb is bonded covalently to the amorphous phase in aluminosilicate solids.