The oxidative dissolution of arsenopyrite (FeAsS) and enargite (Cu3AsS4) by Leptospirillum ferrooxidans

Arsenopyrite (FeAsS) and enargite (Cu₃AsS₄) fractured in a nitrogen atmosphere were characterised after acidic (pH 1.8), oxidative dissolution in both the presence and absence of the acidophilic microorganism Leptospirillum ferrooxidans. Dissolution was monitored through analysis of the coexisting aqueous solution using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy and coupled ion chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and chemical changes at the mineral surface observed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). Biologically mediated oxidation of arsenopyrite and enargite (2.5 g in 25 ml) was seen to proceed to a greater extent than abiotic oxidation, although arsenopyrite oxidation was significantly greater than enargite oxidation. These dissolution reactions were associated with the release of ∼917 and ∼180 ppm of arsenic into solution. The formation of Fe(III)-oxyhydroxides, ferric sulphate and arsenate was observed for arsenopyrite, thiosulphate and an unknown arsenic oxide for enargite. ESEM revealed an extensive coating of an extracellular polymeric substance associated with the L. ferrooxidans cells on the arsenopyrite surface and bacterial leach pits suggest a direct biological oxidation mechanism, although a combination of indirect and direct bioleaching cannot be ruled out. Although the relative oxidation rates of enargite were greater in the presence of L. ferrooxidans, cells were not in contact with the surface suggesting an indirect biological oxidation mechanism. Cells of L. ferrooxidans appear able to withstand several hundreds of ppm of As(III) and As(V).     

Stabilisation of soil organic matter by interactions with minerals as revealed by mineral dissolution and oxidative degradation

Soil organic matter is known to contain a stable fraction with an old radiocarbon age. Size and stabilisation processes leading to the formation of this old soil carbon pool are still unclear. Our study aims to differentiate old organic matter from young and labile carbon compounds in two acid forest soils (dystric cambisol, haplic podzol). To identify such fractions soil samples were exposed to oxidation with Na₂S₂O₈ and to dissolution by hydrofluoric acid (HF). A negative correlation between ¹⁴C activity and carbon release after dissolution of the mineral matrix by HF indicates a strong association of stabilised carbon compounds with the mineral phase. A negative correlation between the ¹⁴C activity and the relative proportion of carbon resistant to oxidation by Na₂S₂O₈ shows that young carbon is removed preferentially by this treatment. The fraction remaining after oxidation represents a certain stabilised, long residence time carbon pool. This old fraction comprises between 1 and 30% of the total soil organic carbon in the surface horizons, but reaches up to 80% in the sub-surface horizons. Old OC is mainly stabilised by organo-mineral associations with clay minerals and/or iron oxides, whereas intercalation in clay minerals was not found to be important.     

Kinetics and mechanisms of kaolinite dissolution: effects of organic ligands

The effect of protons, low molecular weight organic ligands, soil humic acid (HA), and stream water dissolved organic matter (DOM) on the rate of dissolution of kaolinite was examined. In acid solution (no ligands present) the rate of dissolution increased with increasing [H⁺] and the rate of Si dissolution was generally faster than Al. Low molecular weight organic ligands markedly increased the dissolution rates of both Al and Si in the following order: oxalate > malonate ≈ salicylate > o-phthalate. In the presence of organic ligands, the rate of Al dissolution was generally much greater than Si. Soil HA and stream water DOM did not promote the dissolution of kaolinite under the experimental conditions examined in this study.

The dissolution kinetics of Al were interpreted in terms of a surface complexation model and the rate equations described in terms of the concentrations of specific (i.e. inner sphere) surface complexes.     

Kinetics of dissolution of mechanically comminuted rock-forming oxides and silicates—I. Deformation and dissolution of quartz under laboratory conditions

The extensive evidence on the properties of ground quartz such as grain morphology and adherence and subsurface structural damage shows a consistent pattern, interpretable in terms of the competing processes of fracture and of local plastic deformation.The well-documented pattern of dissolution of ground quartz in aqueous solutions is also consistent. At large undersaturations and constant other environmental variables, the apparent dissolution rate of ground quartz decreases exponentially with the increasing thickness of the equivalent dissolved disturbed layer, and the rate of release of adherent tiny fragments shows roughly the same dependence on the latter. At small undersaturations distribution of solubilities also needs to be considered.     

Surface alteration of arsenopyrite (FeAsS) by Thiobacillus ferrooxidans

The surface of arsenopyrite was characterized after acidic, oxidative leaching in the presence of the bacterial species Thiobacillus ferrooxidans. Polished single-crystal grains of arsenopyrite were reacted for 1, 2, and 3 weeks with T. ferrooxidans suspended in a solution (pH 2.3) of essential salts (MgSO₄·7H₂O, [NH₄]₂SO₄, KH₂PO₄, and KCl). Abiotic control experiments were conducted in identical solutions. Reaction between arsenopyrite and T. ferrooxidans in the essential salts solution produced a uniform solid FePO₄ overlayer (∼0.2 μm thick) on the arsenopyrite surface within 1 week. The overlayer was detected visually by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and chemically by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It could not be distinguished by energy-dispersive X-ray analyses. No overlayer formed in the abiotic control. The uniform thickness and lateral continuity of the overlayer suggest an inorganic origin promoted by bacterial production of Fe³⁺. Iron released from arsenopyrite was oxidized by bacteria and subsequently precipitated with PO₄³⁻ (from the essential salts), forming ferric phosphate. After 2 and 3 weeks, SEM images revealed a roughened arsenopyrite surface, and XPS depth profiles indicated a progressively thicker phosphate overlayer and continued oxidation, diffusion, and dissolution of arsenopyrite beneath the overlayer. After only 1 week, the cells were isolated from the arsenopyrite surface by the uniform overlayer. Therefore, bacteria need not be attached to arsenopyrite to promote rapid reaction, and the mechanism of alteration at the arsenopyrite surface must have been inorganic. Because the delicate overlayer did not prevent continued alteration of arsenopyrite, FePO₄ may not be an effective barrier to oxidation in the tailings environment. The FePO₄ coating has likely formed in other experiments using these bacteria but was not detected because analytical techniques were not sufficiently surface sensitive to identify a separate, compositionally distinct overlayer. Some previous experimental results thus may be misleading or inapplicable to the tailings environment.     

Kinetics of silica sorption and clay dissolution reactions at 1 and 670 atm

Rates of reactions between clay minerals and silica-spiked seawater and the effect of pressure on the direction, extent and rate of such reactions have been studied. Kinetic behavior of short-term, clay-silica reaction indicates that diffusion is the rate controlling process in both clay dissolution and clay reconstitution reactions. Rate constants of these reactions are of the order of 10^?13 moles/ sec^{$\text{1}\text{2}$}cm². No significant pressure effect on the rate of clay dissolution was observed. Estimates of diffusion coefficient of silicic acid for clay dissolution and silica sorption reactions indicate that the true value lies within the range, 10^?13–10^?17cm²/sec, thus reflecting the semicrystalline or amorphous nature of the reaction product through which diffusion is occurring.     

Effect of exopolymers on oxidative dissolution of natural rhodochrosite by Pseudomonas putida strain MnB1: An electrochemical study

Oxidative dissolution of natural rhodochrosite by the Mn(II) oxidizing bacterium Pseudomonas putida strain MnB1 was investigated based on batch and electrochemical experiments using natural rhodochrosite as the working electrode. Tafel curves and batch experiments revealed that bacterial exopolymers (EPS) significantly increased dissolution of natural rhodochrosite. The corrosion current significantly increased with reaction time for EPS treatment. However, the corrosion process was blocked in the presence of cells plus extra EPS due to formation of the passivation layer. Moreover, the scanning electron microscopy and the energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM–EDS) results showed that the surface of the natural rhodochrosite was notably changed in the presence of EPS alone or/and bacterial cells. This study is helpful for understanding the role of EPS in bacterially oxidation of Mn(II). It also indicates that the Mn(II) oxidizing bacteria may exert their effects on Mn(II) cycle and other biological and biogeochemical processes much beyond their local ambient environment because of the catalytically dissolution of solid Mn(II) by EPS and the possible long distance transport of the detached EPS.     

Kinetics of zircon dissolution and zirconium diffusion in granitic melts of variable water content

The experimental dissolution of zircon into a zircon-undersaturated felsic melt of variable water content at high pressure in the temperature range 1,020° to 1,500° C provides information related to 1) the solubility of zircon, 2) the diffusion kinetics of Zr in an obsidian melt, and 3) the rate of zircon dissolution. Zirconium concentration profiles observed by electron microprobe in the obsidian glass adjacent to a large, polished zircon face provide sufficient information to calculate model diffusion coefficients. Results of dissolution experiments conducted in the virtual absence of water (<0.2% H₂O) yield an activation energy (E) for Zr transport in a melt ofM=1.3 [whereM is the cation ratio (Na+K+2Ca)/(Al·Si)] of 97.7±2.8 kcal-mol^?1, and a frequency factor (D ₀) of 980 _?580 ^+1,390 cm²-sec^?1. Hydrothermal experiments provide an E=47.3±1.9 kcal-mol^?1 andD ₀=0.030 _?0.015 ^+0.030 cm²-sec^?1. Both of these results plot close to a previously defined diffusion compensation line for cations in obsidian. The diffusivity of Zr at 1,200° C increases by a factor of 100 over the first 2% of water introduced into the melt, but subsequently rises by only a factor of five to an apparent plateau value of ～2×10^?9 cm²-sec^?1 by ～6% total water content. The remarkable contrast between the wet and dry diffusivities, which limits the rate of zircon dissolution into granitic melt, indicates that a 50 μm diameter zircon crystal would dissolve in a 3 to 6% water-bearing melt at 750° C in about 100 years, but would require in excess of 200 Ma to dissolve in an equivalent dry system. From this calculation we conclude that zircon dissolution proceeds geologically instantaneously in an undersaturated, water-bearing granite. Estimates of zircon solubility in the obsidian melt in the temperature range of 1,020° C to 1,500° C confirm and extend an existing model of zircon solubility to these higher temperatures in hydrous melts. However, this model does not well describe zircon saturation behavior in systems with less than about 2% water.     

Selective separation of pyrite from chalcopyrite and arsenopyrite by biomodulation using Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

This paper discusses the selective depression of pyrite from chalcopyrite and arsenopyrite by biomodulation using Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans under natural conditions of pH. The effect of bacteria–mineral interaction on the surface charge of mineral and bacterial cell was studied by microelectrophoresis. Adhesion experiments were conducted to establish the relationship between cell adhesion to specific minerals and the electrokinetic behaviour of the minerals subsequent to interaction with cells. Effect of bacterial interaction on the xanthate-induced flotation of all the minerals was assessed. Adhesion of A. ferrooxidans on pyrite was rapid and tenacious and subsequent to interaction with cells, pyrite remained hydrophilic even in presence of xanthate collector. The collector, on the other hand, was able to render good flotability to chalcopyrite even after interaction with bacterial cells. Copper activated arsenopyrite was able to retain its hydrophobicity in presence of cells due to poor attachment kinetics of cells to the mineral surface. Thus, by suitably conditioning with the cells and collector, it was possible to effectively depress pyrite from chalcopyrite and arsenopyrite.     

氧化亚铁硫杆菌与毒砂相互作用的阶段性及其机理研究

设计了毒砂的生物氧化和化学氧化两组对比实验,并对反应35d的溶液化学、固相产物成分和矿物表面元素化合态变化进行了分析,以说明氧化亚铁硫杆菌（A．ferrooxidans）与毒砂的相互作用机理。研究发现,毒砂的生物氧化过程随A．ferrooxidans菌生长规律分为三个阶段：（1）反应前7d,生物氧化作用还很弱,以自然氧化反应为主;（2）反应8～21d,生物氧化反应开始发生,细菌进入迟缓生长期;（3）反应22～35d,细菌处于对数生长期,生物氧化作用强烈。由离子浓度变化规律反映,前两个阶段生物氧化速率低于化学氧化,第三阶段起生物氧化速率高于化学氧化。细菌生长受溶液累积的As抑制,A．ferrooxidans菌能促进As和Fe形成砷酸铁沉淀,以降低As的抑制作用。毒砂表面高价态元素的比例随细菌生长和溶液Fe离子浓度的升高而增大,生物氧化第三阶段毒砂表面高价态元素的比例高于化学氧化。氧化过程中毒砂表面覆盖中间氧化产物S^0和As2S3沉积层,对比化学氧化,Aferrooxidans菌能不断把Fe^2＋氧化成Fe^3＋,促进毒砂表面中间产物氧化,并间接氧化毒砂。     

X-ray diffraction study of arsenopyrite at high pressure

The high-pressure X-ray diffraction study of a natural arsenopyrite was investigated up to 28.2 GPa using in situ angle-dispersive X-ray diffraction and a diamond anvil cell at National Synchrotron Light Source, Brookhaven National Laboratory. The 16:3:1 methanol–ethanol–water mixture was used as a pressure-transmitting medium. Pressures were measured using the ruby-fluorescence method. No phase change has been observed up to 28.2 GPa. The isothermal equation of state (EOS) was determined. The values of K ₀, and K′ ₀ refined with a third-order Birch–Murnaghan EOS are K ₀ = 123(9) GPa, and K′ ₀ = 5.2(8). Furthermore, we confirm that the linear compressibilities (β) along a, b and c directions of arsenopyrite is elastically isotropic (β _a  = 6.82 × 10⁻⁴, β _b  = 6.17 × 10⁻⁴ and β _c  = 6.57 × 10⁻⁴ GPa⁻¹).     

Micritization of crinoids by diagenetic dissolution

Bands within the Chalk of Kansas made up of masses of Uintacrinus socialis show an unusual preservation of crinoid ossicles: in contrast to their normal preservation in full relief as single large calcite crystals the ossicles are compressed and transformed to micrite. The micrite originated by a process different from the well-known micritization by algal and fungal borings and subsequent cementation of the borings: it is the outcome of partial dissolution. Dissolution proceeded inside the sediment and preferentially attacked the echinoderms as the most soluble calcareous component of the chalk sediment. Later, the remains of the Uintacrinus crystals preferentially attracted syntaxial cement so that the layer changed to a hard band of limestone within the soft chalk. In addition to a second process of micritization the preservation of Uintacrinus demonstrates (1) that the magnesium content of magnesian calcites survives the earliest stages of diagenesis within chalk, and (2) that a diagenetic comminution of large crystals (in an optical sense) to smaller ones is possible. Provided the ossicles of echinoderms are true single crystals (the knowledge in this field is summarized), this is an example of the often discussed ‘crystal diminution’.     

方解石和钾长石在模拟蚯蚓肠液中的初始溶解动力学机理及意义

蚯蚓肠道内小分子有机酸与摄入的土壤矿物相互作用,加速矿物溶解。摄入的土壤在蚯蚓肠道内平均停留时间约为12 h,不足以使土壤矿物产生显著的溶解特征,因此这一过程难以在蚯蚓体内进行评估。本研究通过体外实验控制pH值和有机酸浓度,模拟蚯蚓肠道中有机酸对土壤中常见矿物的溶解反应,探讨了方解石和钾长石在蚯蚓肠道环境中的初始溶解动力学。研究发现,矿物在混合有机酸中的溶解速率比在纯水中高一个数量级,说明有机配体和质子促进了矿物溶解。溶解速率及粒度分析表明,方解石(CaCO₃)溶解速率不受溶解过程中粒度变化的影响,而钾长石(KAlSi₃O₈)粒度在溶解期间未出现显著变化。在此基础上,采用初始速率法模拟了钾长石的初始溶解动力学,计算得出的溶解速率表明钾长石在溶解初期主要为表面K~+的释放。使用缩核模型(shrink core model)和Hixson-Crowell模型对方解石溶解过程进行动力学解析,发现方解石的溶解主要受溶液中反应物内扩散的速率影响。这定量描述了两种矿物在有机酸溶液和纯水中的溶解差异。现有研究表明,有机配体和质子协同促...     

Electrochemical accumulation of visible gold on pyrite and arsenopyrite surfaces

In galvanic cell arrangements gold is electrochemically deposited on semiconducting sulfide minerals (pyrite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite) from aerated as well as H₂S-saturated, gold-bearing 1 M KCl solutions. Observed cell potential differences of about 0.4–0.6 V in setups with one sulfide in aerated (cathode) and the other in H₂S-saturated (anode) solutions are comparable with known self-potentials of natural sulfide ore bodies. Gold preferentially accumulates on the cathode, i.e. under oxidizing conditions. Linked sulfides of variable composition in the same environment, either oxidizing or reducing, yield potential differences up to 20 mV. Such assemblages simulate conditions typically occurring at surfaces of chemically inhomogeneous single crystals (e.g. zonation). Depending on chemical composition, sulfide minerals show either n- or p-type conductivity. Visible gold is preferentially accumulated on individual domains of sulfide surfaces that act as cathodes, i.e. p-type conductors in n-p junctions. The experimental results are discussed in view of electrochemical accumulation of visible gold on sulfides in nature. Arsenic is the most important element in establishing p-type conductivity of pyrite and arsenopyrite. This feature may explain why As is such a powerful pathfinder in gold exploration.     

Composition of arsenopyrite from topaz greisen veins in southeastern Missouri

Arsenopyrite occurs in greisen-sulfide veins hosted by unmetamorphosed Precambrian granite and rhyolite in the Silver Mine district of southeastern Missouri, Greisenization and sulfide mineralization appear to have been a continuous depositional sequence which recorded falling temperature in a near-surface vein environment. Textural criteria imply that equilibrium existed between arsenopyrite and pyrite and that this pair crystallized in an intermediate paragenetic position between the greisen and hydrothermal stages. Thirty-eight electron microprobe spot analyses of 15 arsenopyrite crystals from the Einstein and Gabriel veins failed to disclose chemical zoning of As/S. The compositional range of the analyzed arsenopyrites is 32. 9 to 31. 0 atomic % As. A range of arsenopyrite crystallization temperature from 485°C (±15°) to 455°C (±15°) is indicated for the Gabriel vein. In contrast, arsenopyrites from the Einstein vein record a lower and broader crystallization range of 440°C (±15°) to 368°C (±15°).     

Pristine and reacted surfaces of pyrrhotite and arsenopyrite as studied by X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy

Fe L-, S L-, and O K-edge X-ray absorption spectra of natural monoclinic and hexagonal pyrrhotites, Fe_1-xS, and arsenopyrite, FeAsS, have been measured and compared with the spectra of minerals oxidized in air and treated in aqueous acidic solutions, as well as with the previous XPS studies. The Fe L-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) of vacuum-cleaved pyrrhotites showed the presence of, aside from high-spin Fe²⁺, small quantity of Fe³⁺, which was higher for a monoclinic mineral. The spectra of the essentially metal-depleted surfaces produced by the non-oxidative and oxidative acidic leaching of pyrrhotites exhibit substantially enhanced contributions of Fe³⁺ and a form of high-spin Fe²⁺ with the energy of the 3d orbitals increased by 0.3–0.8 eV; low-spin Fe²⁺ was not confidently distinguished, owing probably to its rapid oxidation. The changes in the S L-edge spectra reflect the emergence of Fe³⁺ and reduced density of S s–Fe 4s antibonding states. The Fe L-edge XANES of arsenopyrite shows almost unsplit e_g band of singlet Fe²⁺ along with minor contributions attributable to high-spin Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺. Iron retains the low-spin state in the sulphur-excessive layer formed by the oxidative leaching in 0.4 M ferric chloride and ferric sulphate acidic solutions. The S L-edge XANES of arsenopyrite leached in the ferric chloride, but not ferric sulphate, solution has considerably decreased pre-edge maxima, indicating the lesser admixture of S s states to Fe 3d orbitals in the reacted surface layer. The ferric nitrate treatment produces Fe³⁺ species and sulphur in oxidation state between +2 and +4.