Research Progress of Mercury and Mineral Adsorption Behavior

Abstract

Thallium (Tl) and mercury (Hg), as heavy metal elements with significant biotoxicity, are typical environmental pollutants widely found in China and even globally. They are widely distributed in a variety of environmental media, such as water, atmosphere, soil, etc., and have the characteristics of persistence, bioaccumulation and amplification along the food chain/food web. Such characteristics lead to the continuous enrichment of Tl and Hg in living organisms, which constitutes a continuous and serious threat to the health of ecosystems and the safety of human beings. The aim of this paper is to systematically review the important progress of thallium and Hg pollution research in recent years, focusing on the main sources of pollution, spatial and temporal distribution characteristics in environmental media, key transport and transformation processes, potential hazards and toxicity effects on the ecosystem, as well as integrated soil and water environment management and pollution prevention strategies. Especially crucial, this paper focuses on the emerging research direction of adsorption and immobilization of Tl and Hg by natural mineral materials. Starting from the interaction mechanism between minerals and heavy metal ions, we will systematically summarize and review the latest research progresses at home and abroad in the use of natural minerals for Tl and Hg batch adsorption experiments, the in-depth analysis of adsorption mechanisms with the help of advanced instrumental characterization techniques (e.g., XPS, XRD, SEM-EDS, and spectroscopy, etc.), and the simulation of microscopic adsorption processes with the use of theoretical computational methods (e.g., density-functional-theoretic DFT). The latest research progress. This systematic review not only provides a solid foundation for the in-depth understanding of the scientific mechanisms of mineral interfaces regulating the environmental behavior of Tl and Hg, but also provides important theoretical support and practical guidance for the development of highly efficient, economical, and environmentally friendly remediation technologies based on natural minerals for heavy metal pollution.