A new approach was developed to separate and recover concentrated phosphoruss from animal waste. It was improved by adding a second waste or product containing sugars, such as molasses, fruit waste, or lactose waste. They can be used as a natural acid precursor that replaces purchased acids and lowers the overall cost of phosphorus recovery. The two wastes were swine manure solids (source of extractable phosphorus and proteins) and peach waste, sugar beet molasses and lactose (source of acid precursors). A short fermentation time (1 day) was needed to acidify the manure to a point that the phosphorus was solubilized and ready for precipitation with alkaline earth compounds, producing high-grade phosphates.
How to cite: Vanotti, M.: Enhanced recovery of phosphorus from swine manure using acid precursors contained in other wastes., EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-1604, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-1604, 2025.
Chile, a major mining country, generates over 537 million tons of mine tailings annually, with volumes expected to continue increasing in the coming years. Additionally, due to freshwater scarcity, increasing water recirculation rates is essential. To address environmental and water scarcity challenges, abandoned copper mine tailings (Cu tailings) and fly ash (FA) were used as secondary raw materials to produce alkali-activated materials (AAMs), incorporating Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) as an additive. Characterization results revealed that Cu tailings are primarily crystalline with quartz, while FA contains 68% amorphous content. The addition of OPC improved densification, reduced porosity, and enhanced the mechanical properties of the FA-AAM2 sample, achieving a compressive strength of 16 MPa after 28 days of curing, compared to 12 MPa for FA-AAM1 (without OPC). Leaching tests confirmed that heavy metal and metalloid concentrations remained within safety limits. In adsorption experiments, the materials effectively removed Cu (0.5 mg/g in FA-AAM1, 0.4 mg/g in FA-AAM2) and As (2.0 mg/g in FA-AAM1, 1.5 mg/g in FA-AAM2) from aqueous solutions.
In summary, the combination of Cu tailings, FA, and OPC successfully produced AAMs with good mechanical strength and adsorption capacity, offering a sustainable and value-added solution for the management and valorization of abandoned mine tailings.
How to cite: Reyes-Román, A., Castillo-Godoy, D., Silva-Urrego, Y., Samarina, T., Letelier-Solar, M. V., Delgado-Vega, J., and Gomez-Ramos, R.: Potential used of mining waste - fly ash -based alkali activated materials as an adsorbent to remove of copper, and arsenic ions from water, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-3331, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-3331, 2025.
The demand for reliable, high-performance, rechargeable batteries commercialized lithium-ion batteries (LIB). Increasing trends in energy storage requirements and the need to decrease cobalt consumption for layered lithium cobalt oxide LiCoO2 (LCO) cathodes for LIB, among other reasons, resulted in ongoing research for nickel-rich cathode alternatives, e.g., layered lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxides LiNi1-x-yCoxMnyO2 (NCM). Ni-rich cathode compounds, though with higher energy density, are not yet widely implemented due to safety and cycle stability concerns. However, with a forecast of nearly 40% of total cathode materials produced in 2025 to be attributed to NCM, there are research efforts on sustainable recycling and regeneration strategies, as well as targeted repurposing.
In the present contribution, waste NCM cathode material samples are subjected to normal atmospheric conditions. The samples are characterized by X-ray diffractometry coupled with Rietveld refinement, scanning electron microscopy and bulk chemistry via ICP optical emission spectroscopy. Detailed evaluation of the produced diffractograms shows secondary pure or mixed, either Li-free or Li-bearing, Ni-, Co- and Mn-oxide and hydroxide crystalline phases due to alteration of the initial NCM active material. Commonly evaluated secondary phases are manganosite MnO, lithium manganese oxide LiMn3O4, spinel lithium Mn-oxide LiMn2O4, mixed cobalt nickel oxides 5CoO·3NiO and 3CoO·5NiO, and nickel oxide hydroxide NiO(OH). The controlling conditions generally seem to favor low-valence metal oxyhydroxide products in the alteration reactions, however the mechanism is not well understood.
The presence of secondary transition-metal oxyhydroxide phases has a bipartite set of implications, as battery degradation in natural systems has the potential to be both environmentally harmful and cost-intensive, in general. Firstly, the secondary phases present have direct environmental importance especially in the case of uncontrolled waste disposal, e.g., in landfills. In surficial geochemical environments, where the physical and chemical conditions favor metal mobility with further oxidation and metal complexation of the respective oxyanions, the secondary phases could be sources of metal release in the environment, preferentially in surface water and soil.
Additionally, it is crucial in industrial planning in terms of worker health risks, due to the physical form of the cathode waste, elemental mobility and potential human bioavailability. Furthermore, it is of economic importance in implementing recycling methodologies in non-pristine material. Secondary phases can especially disrupt the hydrometallurgical solution chemistry needed for optimal recovery and could lower the quality of the final product regarding direct recycling.
Our data shows for the first time that the NCM battery cathode material degrades under ambient atmospheric conditions. The production of secondary crystalline phases, which defines the material alteration, could be alarming in cases of uncareful handling and disposal, both in an environmental and industrial context.
How to cite: Zamparas, C., Eiche, E., and Kolb, J.: Secondary phases developed from layered lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide (NCM) cathode material waste: environmental mineralogy implications for advancing NCM recycling methodologies, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-6752, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-6752, 2025.
In Spain, metallic mining has been highly significant throughout its history. Today, numerous mines in a state of abandonment have been registered, posing not only an environmental risk but also a health risk to humans. Some of these mines were equipped with their own metallurgical system to obtain the desired metal from the ore. Other small-scale mines were located nearby, supplying a single metallurgical core, such as the San Pablo Smelting. This smelter is located in the southwest of the Castilla La Mancha region (South-Central Spain), in the municipality of Chillón (Ciudad Real). Although historical information about its operation is limited, it is known that this metallurgical center was of great importance between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. Subsequently, its slag heaps were reprocessed several times, the last in the 1960s. In the immediate vicinity of this smelter, numerous slag heaps have been found, with considerable volumes of slag materials with distinguishable aspects. This variability suggests differences in the efficiency of metallurgical recovery processes, in this case, of lead (Pb) which could reflect various periods of activity. In this area, 6 samples corresponding to slag materials and 11 soil samples were collected. To determine the total content of trace elements in these samples, the technique of energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) was used. The analyses revealed an average content of Pb and Cu of 3.14% and 0.16% in soil samples, respectively. Both elements exceed the legal limits by 320% for Cu and 3140% for Pb in forest-type soils. Regarding the slag material, three samples were identified with a Pb content of less than 8% and another three exceeding 15%. These metal contents in soils confirm the need for environmental intervention, or a possible enhancement of the existing materials in the area. In light of the results obtained, a revaluation for the extraction of Pb using updated metallurgical techniques is proposed. Leaching with sodium citrate presents an environmentally viable alternative to traditional pyrometallurgical methods, reducing emissions of harmful compounds such as sulfur oxide and carbon dioxide.
How to cite: Morales Laurente, J. A., Higueras, P., Barquero, J. I., Lorenzo, S., and García Ordiales, E.: Potentially Toxic Elements in Historical Metallurgical Areas: Environmental Impact and Revaluation Possibility at the San Pablo Pb Smelting, Spain, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-7162, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-7162, 2025.
The mining of critical minerals (CMs) is a paramount for the development of advanced renewable energy systems and storage technologies. CMs are found in ores located only in a few areas of the world and are extracted often through inefficient and unsustainable processes. Their current supply
will not be able to meet future demand. Therefore, their mining with innovative and sustainable solutions from alternative and more widely distributed resources such as waste is envisaged.
Here we present results of a research aimed at developing a process for the extraction of CMs integrated with ex situ carbon dioxide (CO2) mineralization to transform mining into a carbonnegative operation. The mine tailings acquired from a wollastonite mine (NY, USA) were used as a
waste source material. The tailings contain three major minerals: wollastonite (CaSiO3), diopside (MgCaSi2O6), and garnets (grossular Ca3Al2(SiO4)3 and andradite Ca3Fe2Si3O12). Enhanced mineral dissolution of the waste was carried out using a flow-through system, with 0.1 m of formic acid as
organic catalyst and at 40 and 80oC. The extracted elementes were then separated using nanofiltration to create two streams. One containing CM (namely Al, Fe, Mg, and Mn) and the other rich in Ca for CO2 mineralization. Nanofiltration was performed by a commercial polyether sulfone (PES)
membranes modified via interfacial polymerization method to separate multivalent cations from the leachate. Data from tests were used to validate a process model that combines population balance equation, the one-dimensional (1D) Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP) equation, and geochemistry. The
model agrees well with the data and shows that the integrated process reaches steady state within 48 hours with dissolution achieving completion in one day at 80oC and nanofiltration obtaining 98 % for the separation of Ca and Mn in a few hours.
How to cite: Prigiobbe, V., Jazari, O., Liguori, S., Brombin, V., Pasquali, N., and Nardello, A.: Recovery of critical minerals from mine tailingsintegrated with CO2 mineralization, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-7306, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-7306, 2025.
The European Union (EU) is heavily dependent on external sources of critical raw materials (CRMs), essential for many technological applications. To mitigate this dependency, the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) promotes a strategic framework for adopting circular economy models, and valorising mining waste is a viable solution for reducing environmental impacts while recovering valuable minerals.
To this aim, scraps and wastes from abandoned quarries on serpentinite outcrops in Sila Piccola Massif (southern Italy) were collected and characterized by optical microscopy, SEM-EDS and XRF. Results indicate that serpentine rocks, the main lithotypes in the area, are the potential sources of Mg, Mn, Cr, Co and Ni, some of which are found in high amounts within the serpentinite and included in the critical raw materials (CRM) list, considered crucial for the EU economy.
The ReMade@ARI – RECAMP (Recovery of Critical rAw materials from Mining wastes through Plants; PID27426) project, in which we are involved, aims to investigate the potential of phyto-mining, an ecologically sound technique for extracting these valuable elements from contaminated soils where traditional mining is not competitive. Specifically, our research focuses on using Helianthus annuus (sunflower) to uptake and concentrate metals such as nickel, cobalt, and magnesium from serpentinite mining wastes.
To evaluate the capacity of sunflower plants to accumulate metals from serpentinite waste materials, assess the effect of these plants on the bioavailability of heavy metals in the soil, and compare the efficiency of different detection techniques in identifying metal concentrations in plant tissues, sunflower plants were grown on a control pot substrate and on serpentinite waste material (alone or amended by a mycorrhizae fertilizer). After three months sunflower stems and leaves, and serpentinite material were collected and characterized using Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), Particle Induced X-Rays Emission (PIXE), and Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP).
Preliminary results indicate that while LIBS can detect major elements such as magnesium and calcium in plant biomass, other metals such as Ni and Co are difficult to detect in soils and plant biomass due to the high iron content, as iron peaks could potentially mask the peaks of these elements when their concentrations are low (below 50ppm). Set up adjustments are required to accurately detect the elements of interest, PIXE could be a more reliable technique for some trace elements.
Regarding phyto-mining, ICP results indicated that sunflower plants exhibited a higher capacity for element uptake, including CRMs, when cultivated in a pot substrate as opposed to serpentinite soils, despite the higher CRM concentration present in the serpentinite. This is likely to be a consequence of the bioavailability of these elements in serpentinite being very low.
To conclude, the use of phyto-mining as a sustainable method for CRM recovery from serpentinite in the context of circular economy could be considered taking into account other plant species and/or other amendments that could increase CRM bioavailability in wastes. By improving detection methods and understanding of plant-metal interactions, we aim to increase the efficiency of this process and thereby support the EU’s strategic goals for resource independence.
How to cite: Indelicato, V., Punturo, R., Nogues, I., Guglietta, D., Passatore, L., Maldonado Gavilan, N., Piñon, V., and Massimi, L.: Phyto-mining to recover critical raw materials from mining wastes, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-10985, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-10985, 2025.
In May 2024, the European Union introduced the Critical Raw Materials Act, a policy framework aimed at addressing the increasing demands for Critical Raw Materials and reducing dependence on external suppliers. In this context, this research focuses on the potential recovery of critical raw materials from ornamental granite extraction scraps produced at a quarry in Buddusò, Sardinia, Italy.
The volume and mass of the granite waste accumulated in the designated disposal zones of the quarry were estimated using Geographic Information Systems and Digital Elevation Models. Subsequently, the characterization of the granite waste by Scanning Electron Microscopy confirmed the presence of allanite, a rare earth mineral rich in light rare earth elements, such as cerium, lanthanum, and neodymium. Following that, a combination of gravity and magnetic separation techniques was used to recover enriched fractions containing significant amounts of rare earth elements, scandium and gallium, with concentrations that could be economically relevant for industrial applications.
This study highlights the economic potential of REEs recovery from granite extractive waste and assesses the feasibility of integrating these processes into broader industrial contexts. Preliminary market analysis indicates that, under optimized operating conditions, the recovery of critical raw materials from this type of waste could achieve significant profitability. The extension of such studies to other quarries in the region could provide a robust basis for the creation of a district recycling hub, in line with the European Union's objective of improving the resilience and sustainability of its critical raw materials supply chain.
How to cite: Aquilano, A., Marrocchino, E., and Vaccaro, C.: Recovery Potential of Critical Raw Materials from Granite Quarry Waste: A case study from Buddusò (Sardinia, Italy), EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-11956, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-11956, 2025.
Around 30 million tonnes of bauxite residues (red muds), resulting from aluminium extraction via Bayer process, are stored at the Porto Vesme disposal site in southern Sardinia, Italy. The primary crystalline components of these residues include iron oxides, aluminium hydroxides, titanium oxides, silicates, carbonates, and halides, along with several minor phases. Lanthanide-rich phosphate minerals are occasionally detected. The Na-aluminosilicates are results of desilication, while the aluminium hydroxides and oxyhydroxides are residual alumina minerals, and the iron oxides, most titanium minerals, and REE-rich phosphate minerals originate from the parent bauxite. LREE ferro-titanates have also been identified.
The residues are predominantly composed of Fe2O3, Al2O3, SiO2, Na2O, TiO2, and calcium, with the REEs being significantly enriched compared to the parent bauxite. LREEs are the most abundant, followed by HREE+Y and Sc. Cerium is the dominant lanthanide, and the chondrite-normalized patterns reveal substantial positive Ce anomalies. Vanadium (V) is the most abundant critical metal, followed by niobium (Nb), gallium (Ga), and hafnium (Hf).
Factor analysis of the major elements (SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, CaO, Na2O, TiO2, P2O5), REEs, and critical metals (V, Co, Cu, Ga, Nb, Hf, Ta, W) indicates that the first factor (52.1% variance) reflects the competition between desilicated minerals and secondary phases that host the LREEs and critical metals such as V, Cu, and Nb. The second factor (15.2% variance) is associated with zircon’s role in distributing HREE+Y.
The HREE+Y and metals like Hf, TiO2, and W are enriched relative to the Upper Continental Crust, suggesting a high supply risk and economic importance. Several profitability indices, including the outlook coefficient, critical REEs to total REEs ratio, and the (Nd+Dy+Ce+Pr+La)/Σ(REE+Y) ratio, indicate that the bauxite residues at Porto Vesme have significant economic potential.
Keywords
Red muds, geochemistry, LREE, HREE+Y, profitability, Sardinia
How to cite: ouladmansour, A., Mameli, P., Schingaro, E., Mesto, E., Lacalamita, M., Cerri, G., Idini, A., Cisullo, C., and Mongelli, G.: Rare Earth Elements (La-Lu, Sc, Y) and Other Critical Metals deportment in Bauxite Residues: Assessing the Economic Viability of Red Mud Deposits at the Porto Vesme Disposal Site, Sardinia, Italy, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-12788, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-12788, 2025.
Nanomaterials have attracted much attention in recent decades for contaminant remediation purposes, due to their unique physical properties such as high surface area per unit volume, the ability to process functional groups on their surfaces to target specific pollutants, and the ability to adjust their characteristics such as size, morphology, porosity, and chemical composition according to the need. Among the nanomaterials, zero-valent iron, iron oxides, manganese oxides, activated carbon, carbon nanotubes and graphene have been most commonly used. Among these options, graphene attracts attention with its relatively large specific surface area, economic suitability and versatile structure that can be modified in various ways. It has the potential to be a good adsorbent in water treatment due to its two-dimensional layer structure, large surface area and pore volume, high mechanical stability, flexibility of surface chemistry and abundant production from natural resources. For efficient separation of the nanoadsorbent from the system, ease of operation and regeneration ability, magnetite (Fe3O4) reduced graphene oxide (M-rGO) can be used as an innovative reactive material for remediation of various contaminants from the subsurface. Although various protocols for producing magnetite reduced graphene oxide composite from graphite is available, uncertainties and/or differences were observed in the literature during the M-rGO material synthesis stage. In order to clarify these uncertainties, additional studies were carried out and some modifications were conducted. Under these modifications, different M-rGO samples were prepared, where surface characterization was compared with each other as well as with literature. This study focuses on the modifications conducted for the material synthesis of M-rGO for its optimum performance to be used as an adsorbent media for heavy metal removal.
In order for the nanocomposite M-rGO to be loaded into a porous environment such as a packed column to be used in larger-scaled implementations, it would need to be transferred to a larger size carrier which can provide a good support for the nanocomposite and also prevent M-rGO to separate from the medium during continuous flow experiments. For this purpose, available literature resources were compiled and a procedure is also proposed here for the coating of synthesized M-rGO onto sand particles. The chemical alteration of reactive M-rGO coated onto sand media is presented, showing the potential to be used for remediating contaminated groundwater.
Acknowledgement: This study is supported by TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) 1001 Project with Grant Number 123Y025 and Research Fund of the Middle East Technical University, Research Universities Support Program (ADEP) with Grant Number ADEP-311-2022-11172.
How to cite: Sengor, S. S., Çelebi, S., Şenol, A., Elkawefi, O. A. I. M., Ertaş, G., and Ünlü, K.: Synthesis of M-rGO and M-rGO-sand coated reactive media for contaminant remediation, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-14731, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-14731, 2025.
The sustainable management of mining wastes, a byproduct of extractive activities, represents a critical challenge in the context of the Critical Raw Materials Act (European Commission, 2023) and the transition to a circular economy. Mining waste dumps may contain significant residual amounts of ore minerals or metals, including Critical Raw Materials (CRMs), making their mapping and evaluation essential for environmental remediation and possible resource recovery. Developing detailed regional or national maps is pivotal to identifying mining waste dumps' location, typology, distribution, and spatial extent. Integrating Geographic Information System (GIS) software with complementary tools such as Google Earth, topographic maps, and orthophotos offers a comprehensive approach to efficiently identifying and analysing these sites.
Sampling and characterising mining waste dumps is crucial to assessing their economic potential and environmental impact (Beltré et al., 2023). Mineralogical analyses (e.g., X-ray diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, RAMAN, and Electron Microprobe) and chemical analyses (e.g., Portable X-ray Fluorescence, ICP-MS, or ICP-OES) enable the evaluation of mineral processing residues. This differentiation helps identify economically viable dumps and prioritise remediation efforts for non-viable sites with contamination risks. (Lemière et al., 2011)
These methodologies are now applied to developing the Metallogenic Map of Sardinia, which will include the mapping of different mining waste dumps in Sardinia and their sampling.
The crucial challenges of this project are accurately estimating dump volumes due to difficulties in identifying underlying bedrock and quantifying critical metal content. Addressing these gaps is crucial for effective resource valorisation and site rehabilitation. To date, 140 mining waste samples have been collected and are under analysis to assess their economic and environmental potential. This study integrates GIS technologies with environmental and economic assessments as a pathway to support sustainable exploitation and management of mining waste dumps, aligning with EU strategic goals for CRMs.
Keywords: Critical Raw Materials, Circular Economy, Resource valorisation
- European Commission (2023) - Study on the Critical Raw Materials for the EU. Fifth list. Final report.
- Rosario-Beltré, A. J., Sánchez-España, J., Rodríguez-Gómez, V., Fernández-Naranjo, F. J., Bellido-Martín, E., Adánez-Sanjuán, P., & Arranz-González, J. C. (2023). Critical Raw Materials recovery potential from Spanish mine wastes: A national-scale preliminary assessment. Journal of Cleaner Production, 407. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137163
- Lemière,, Cottard, F., & Piantone BRGM, P. (2011). Mining waste characterization in the perspective of the European mining waste directive.
How to cite: Sedda, L., Attardi, A., De Giudici, G., and Naitza, S.: Mapping and Characterisation of Mining Waste Dumps for Sustainable Resource Management, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-15969, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-15969, 2025.
Manganese represents a key metal in our modern industries being mainly used in the production of steel and alloy as well as batteries and chemicals like fertilizers. The growing issue of declining deposits and their depletion requires improved recovery from waste residues including industrial slags. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in bio-assisted extraction techniques that offset the energetic and environmental costs associated with high temperature as well as acid and reductive leaching processes. However, these approaches involve acidic conditions that limit their scope of application. By using elemental and mineralogical analyses combined with high-throughput DNA sequencing of 16S ribosomal RNA-encoding gene, we show here that manganese oxyhydroxides can be produced from ferro-magnesian pyrometallurgical slags as a result of the in situ activity of endemic slag-hosted microbial communities at alkaline and saline surface conditions. While microbially-produced reactive oxygen species likely contributed to the formation of Mn oxides accompanying slag alkalinizing biological and chemical alteration, we propose an important role of Alphaproteobacteria, notably members of the Erythrobacter genus, in the precipitation of Mn oxyhydroxides from slags.
How to cite: Dejean, C., Ménez, B., Bergsten, P., Bouquerel, H., Gélabert, A., Lecourt, L., Debret, B., Caurant, C., and Gérard, E.: Manganese extraction from pyrometallurgy slags mediated by endemic microbial communities, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-16724, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-16724, 2025.
Posters virtual: Thu, 1 May, 14:00–15:45 | vPoster spot 1
EGU25-14122 | ECS | Posters virtual | VPS23
Spatial Distribution and Contamination Levels of Heavy Metals (Fe, Mn, Ni, Cu, As, and Zn) in Urban Topsoils of Jammu City, IndiaThu, 01 May, 14:00–15:45 (CEST) | vP1.6
Abstract
Urban surface dust and soils serve as a primary source and reservoir of metals that substantially impact human health and urban ecosystems. This study investigates the impact of metal contamination on urban surface soils from diverse land-use locations and their potential risk to human health in Jammu City, India. A total of fifteen surface soil samples were collected to evaluate the total metal concentration (As, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Zn), Contamination Factor (CF), Geo-accumulation Index (Igeo), Pollution Load Index (PLI), and Potential Ecological Risk Index (PERI). The research findings of this study revealed significant variation in metal concentration. In comparison to Upper Continental Crust (UCC, taken as background here), the average concentration of Fe and Mn is lower across all locations, whereas As, Ni, Cu, and Zn are significantly higher over all locations. Elevated levels of Fe and Mn were observed higher near samples collected from industrial zones while Ni, As, Cu and Zn showed wider distribution throughout the study area. Apart from all metals, high As content was observed at near-construction and high-traffic interactions. Higher CF (CF > 6) and PLI values in surface soil samples revealed high contamination of As, Cu, Ni and Zn due to intensive industrial and vehicular emissions in the study area. Igeo values in surface soil samples indicated severe contamination of As, Cu, Ni and ZN in the study area, while Fe and Mn showed no contamination. PERI assessment in surface soil samples revealed extremely high ecological risk for As and Cu in Jammu City. Risk index values indicated that 40% of surface soil samples carried a very high risk (RI > 600) of metal contamination in the study area. The overall findings advised that industrial, transportation, and construction activities need to be improved to protect the region's environment and public health.
Keywords: Heavy metals, geo-accumulation index (IGeo), risk assessment, roadside dust.
How to cite: Gorka, R. and Kumar, R.: Spatial Distribution and Contamination Levels of Heavy Metals (Fe, Mn, Ni, Cu, As, and Zn) in Urban Topsoils of Jammu City, India, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-14122, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-14122, 2025.
