The partition of minor transition metals between manganese oxides and seawater

The behavior of transition metals (Co, Ni, Cu and Zn) on precipitation of manganese oxides from seawater pumped up from a well at the site of the Marine Science Museum, Tokai University, and collected from several tanks along the water supply system to an aquarium was investigated. The distribution coefficients of cobalt and nickel between manganese oxides and seawater were different at different sampling points along the water supply system. At sampling points with high rates of manganese oxide precipitation, the distribution coefficients were about one order of magnitude smaller than those at the points with low precipitation rates, while there were no remarkable differences in the distribution coefficients of copper and zinc among the sampling points. The distribution coefficients of minor transition metals, with the exception of copper, observed at the points with low precipitation rates were comparable to those measured experimentally using manganese dioxides.