TY - JOUR
T1 - A method for preparation and cleaning of uniformly sized arsenopyrite particles
AU - Parthasarathy, Hariprasad
AU - Baltrus, John P.
AU - Dzombak, David A.
AU - Karamalidis, Athanasios K.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Drs. J. Alexandra Hakala and Christina Lopano of National Energy Technology Laboratory for their useful comments. This project was funded in part by the John and Claire Bertucci Fellowship in Engineering, and by the Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), an agency of the United States Government, through a support contract (DE-FE0004000) with URS Energy & Construction, Inc as part of the NETL’s Regional University Alliance (RUA). Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, nor URS Energy & Construction, Inc., nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Parthasarathy et al.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Background: The oxidative dissolution of sulfide minerals, such as arsenopyrite (FeAsS), is of critical importance in many geochemical systems. A comprehensive understanding of their dissolution rates entails careful preparation of the mineral surface. Measurements of dissolution rates of arsenic from arsenopyrite are dependent on the size and degree of oxidation of its particles, among other factors. In this work, a method was developed for preparation and cleaning of arsenopyrite particles with size range of 150-250 μm. Four different cleaning methods were evaluated for effectiveness based on the removal of oxidized species of iron (Fe), arsenic (As) and sulfur (S) from the surface. The percentage oxidation of the surface was determined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and surface stoichiometry was measured using scanning electron microscopy - energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Results: Results indicate that sonicating the arsenopyrite particles and then cleaning them with 12N HCl followed by 50% ethanol, and drying in nitrogen was the most effective method. This method was successful in greatly reducing the oxide species of Fe while completely removing oxides of As and S from the arsenopyrite surface. Conclusions: Although sonication and acid cleaning have been widely used for mineral preparation, the method described in this study can significantly reduce grain size heterogeneity as well as surface oxidation, which enables greater control in surface and dissolution experiments.
AB - Background: The oxidative dissolution of sulfide minerals, such as arsenopyrite (FeAsS), is of critical importance in many geochemical systems. A comprehensive understanding of their dissolution rates entails careful preparation of the mineral surface. Measurements of dissolution rates of arsenic from arsenopyrite are dependent on the size and degree of oxidation of its particles, among other factors. In this work, a method was developed for preparation and cleaning of arsenopyrite particles with size range of 150-250 μm. Four different cleaning methods were evaluated for effectiveness based on the removal of oxidized species of iron (Fe), arsenic (As) and sulfur (S) from the surface. The percentage oxidation of the surface was determined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and surface stoichiometry was measured using scanning electron microscopy - energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Results: Results indicate that sonicating the arsenopyrite particles and then cleaning them with 12N HCl followed by 50% ethanol, and drying in nitrogen was the most effective method. This method was successful in greatly reducing the oxide species of Fe while completely removing oxides of As and S from the arsenopyrite surface. Conclusions: Although sonication and acid cleaning have been widely used for mineral preparation, the method described in this study can significantly reduce grain size heterogeneity as well as surface oxidation, which enables greater control in surface and dissolution experiments.
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U2 - 10.1186/s12932-014-0014-9
DO - 10.1186/s12932-014-0014-9
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84920506051
SN - 1467-4866
VL - 15
JO - Geochemical Transactions
JF - Geochemical Transactions
IS - 1
M1 - 14
ER -