Selenium (Se) has
become an environmental contaminant of aquatic
ecosystems as a result of human activities, particularly mining, fossil
fuel combustion, and agricultural activities. By leveraging the high
sulfate concentrations relative to Se oxyanions (i.e., SeO
n
2–
,
n
= 3, 4)
present in some wastewaters, we have developed an efficient approach
to Se-oxyanion removal by cocrystallization with bisiminoguanidinium
(BIG) ligands that form crystalline sulfate/selenate solid solutions.
The crystallization of the sulfate, selenate and selenite, oxyanions
and of sulfate/selenate mixtures with five candidate BIG ligands are
reported along with the thermodynamics of crystallization and aqueous
solubilities. Oxyanion removal experiments with the top two performing
candidate ligands show a near quantitative removal (>99%) of sulfate
or selenate from solution. When both sulfate and selenate are present,
there is near quantitative removal (>99%) of selenate, down to
sub-ppb
Se levels, with no discrimination between the two oxyanions during
cocrystallization. Reducing the selenate concentrations by 3 orders
of magnitude or more relative to sulfate, as found in many wastewaters,
led to no measurable loss in Se removal efficiencies. This work offers
a simple and effective alternative to selective separation of trace
amounts of highly toxic selenate oxyanions from wastewaters, to meet
stringent regulatory discharge limits.