Modelling competition between the siderophore ferrioxamine B and humic like binding sites in seawater v1

Here we archive a protocol that can be used to determine competition between a siderophore (ferrioxamine B) and humic like binding sites that are present in marine DOM. We use the NICA-Donnan model to describe binding by humic like binding sites in DOM. Constants for Fe binding to marine DOM are taken from Zhu et al., (2021). Thermodynamic constants describing binding between major ions, iron and ferrioxamine B are taken from Schijf and Burns, (2016). References Schijf, J., Burns, S.M., 2016. Determination of the Side-Reaction Coefficient of Desferrioxamine B in Trace-Metal-Free Seawater. Front. Mar. Sci. 3, 117. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2016.00117 Zhu, K., Birchill, A.J., Milne, A., Ussher, S.J., Humphreys, M.P., Carr, N., Mahaffey, C., Lohan, M.C., Achterberg, E.P., Gledhill, M., 2021a. Equilbrium calculations of iron speciation and apparent iron solubility in the Celtic Sea at ambient pH using the NICA-Donnan model. Mar. Chem

Isolation and purification treatments change the metal-binding properties of humic acids: effect of HF/HCl treatment

Environmental contextStudying the mechanism of binding between metals and natural organic matter is fundamental to understanding the transport and availability of these contaminants in the environment. The influence of sample treatment on the purification of organic matter showed significant differences in the interaction with metals. The results will contribute to improved modelling of metal binding to organic matter in soils, thereby providing a basis for a more realistic risk assessment. AbstractWe studied the changes in metal binding characteristics of extracted humic acids induced by HF/HCl treatment followed by dialysis, i.e. the last step of the International Humic Substances Society (IHSS) extraction protocol. We performed metal binding experiments with both the alkaline-extracted material (AE) and the fully purified (FP) humic acid using the electrochemical stripping technique (AGNES) and modelled the results using the NICA-Donnan model. The results showed an increase of free Zn, Cd and Pb concentrations of ~1 order of magnitude for the AE compared with the FP. These differences may be mostly explained by the different carbon content (51.3 % FP and 36.5 % AE) associated with an AE/FP carboxyl ratio of 0.5. Simulations using the NICA-Donnan model showed that halving the amount of carboxylic groups (Qmax,1) for the FP reduced this difference to 0.25 log units for Cd and Zn and to 0.15 log unit for Pb. There is a clear need for further research on the differences between purified v. less-disturbed natural organic material, which will contribute to improved modelling of metal binding to organic matter in soils, hence providing a basis for a more realistic risk assessment.

PEST-ORCHESTRA, a tool for optimising advanced ion-binding model parameters: derivation of NICA-Donnan model parameters for humic substances reactivity

Environmental contextThe environmental behaviour of trace metals in soils and waters largely depends on the chemical form (speciation) of the metals. Speciation software programs combining models for the binding of metals to soil and sediment constituents are powerful tools in environmental risk assessment. This paper describes a new combination of speciation software with a fitting program to optimise geochemical model parameters that describes proton and metal binding to humic substances. AbstractHere we describe the coupling of the chemical speciation software ORCHESTRA with the parameter estimation software PEST. This combination enables the computation of optimised model parameters from experimental data for the ion binding models implemented in ORCHESTRA. For testing this flexible tool, the NICA-Donnan model parameters for proton-, Cd- and Zn-binding to Laurentian fulvic acid were optimised. The extensive description of the method implementation and the examples provided facilitate the use of this tool by students and researchers. Three procedures were compared which derive the proton binding parameters, differing in the way they constrain the model parameters and in the implementation of the electrostatic Donnan model. Although the different procedures resulted in significantly different sets of model parameters, the experimental data fit obtained was of similar quality. The choice of the relation between the Donnan volume and the ionic strength appears to have a strong influence on the derived set of optimal model parameters, especially on the values of the protonation constants, as well as on the Donnan potential and Donnan volume. Optimised results are discussed in terms of their physico-chemical plausibility. Coherent sets of NICA-Donnan parameters were derived for Cd and Zn binding to Laurentian fulvic acid.