Ecological effects of the microbial weathering of silicate minerals

1 Introduction Global climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humankind in the 21st century.Studying,and utilising,the carbon sink caused by the weathering of silicate minerals has been a key research focus for

Dye removal using some surface modified silicate minerals

The objective of this work is to study the efficiency of some surface modified phyllosilicate minerals （bentonite and glauconite） in the removal of dyes from textile waste water. It is found that complete dye removal was achieved by using 10-25g modified glauconite from solutions having a dye concentration of 10-50 mg/L. Adsorption data were modeled using Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherms. Adsorption capacities and optimum adsorption isotherms were predicted by linear regression method. The analysis of experimental isotherms showed that Langmuir isotherm reasonably fit the experimental data in the studied concentration range for the adsorption of dye onto glauconite mineral surface where Freundlich isotherm fit the experimental data for the adsorption of dve onto bentonite mineral surface.

Interactions between Bacillus mucilaginosus and silicate minerals(weathered adamellite and feldspar):Weathering rate,products,and reaction mechanisms

Bacillus mucilaginosus is a common soil bacterium,and usually used as a model bacterium in studying microbe-mineral interactions.Several reaction mechanisms of B.mucilaginosus weathering silicate minerals were proposed.However,the molecule mechanisms and detailed processes were still unclear.In this paper,bacterium-mineral interactions were studied in terms of variations in pH value over the experimental period,variations in mineral composition,weathering rates of silicate minerals and volatile metabolites in the culture medium,etc.,to further explore the bacterium-mineral interaction mechanisms.The results showed that B.mucilaginosus could enhance silicate mineral weathering obviously.The weathering rates were quite different for various kinds of silicate minerals,and the weathering rate of weathered adamellite could reach 150 mg/m2/d.Although B.mucilaginosus produced little acidic substance,pH in the microenvironment of bacterium-mineral complex might be far lower than that of the circumjacent environment;a large amount of acetic acid was found in the metabolites,and was likely to play an important role as a ligand.These results appear to suggest that acidolysis and ligand degradation are the main mechanisms of B.mucilaginosus dissolving silicate minerals,the formation of bacterium-mineral complexes is the necessary condition for the bacteria weathering silicate minerals,and extracelluar polysaccharides played important roles in bacterium-mineral interaction processes by forming bacterium-mineral complexes and maintaining the spe-cial physicochemical properties of microenvironment.

Recovery of scandium from silicate minerals by high-pressure leaching in sulfuric acid

This study investigated the leaching of scandium from a Sc-bearing silicate ore.The Sc concentrate obtained by beneficiation pre-enrichment has 1.03×10^(−4) wt%Sc and 14.66 wt%Fe.The main Sc-bearing minerals are limonite,chlorite,sericite,and hornblende,in the form of isomorphism.High-pressure leaching(HPL)with sulfuric acid(98 wt%)and NaF was used to dispose this samples.The Sc leaching efficiency of 91.82%was obtained under the optimum conditions,which are pressure of 5.0×10^(5) Pa,A/O value of 1.1,L/S value of 1.8,NaF dosage of 2 wt%,at 130℃ for 6 h.The X-ray diffraction(XRD)and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)results show that the residue is mainly quartz phase in the multihole shape.Compared with ordinary leaching for silicate,high-pressure leaching has significant advantages in saving acid and energy consumption.

Hydration effects on crystal structures and equations of state for silicate minerals in the subducting slabs and mantle transition zone

There are potentially huge amounts of water stored in Earth's mantle, and the water solubilities in the silicate minerals range from tens to thousands of part per minion(ppm, part per million). Exploring water in the mantle has attracted much attention from the societies of mineralogy and geophysics in recent years. In the subducting slab, serpentine breaks down at high temperature, generating a series of dense hydrous magnesium silicate(DHMS) phases, such as phase A, chondrodite, clinohumite, etc. These phases may serve as carriers of water as hydroxyl into the upper mantle and the mantle transition zone(MTZ). On the other hand, wadsleyite and ringwoodite, polymorphs of olivine, are most the abundant minerals in the MTZ, and able to absorb significant amount of water(up to about 3 wt.% H_2O). Hence, the MTZ becomes a very important layer for water storage in the mantle, and hydration plays important roles in physics and chemistry of the MTZ. In this paper, we will discuss two aspects of hydrous silicate minerals:(1) crystal structures and(2) equations of state(Eo Ss).

Principle of Hydrogen Isotope Geochemistry Paleo-altimeter and its Potential in Reconstructing Paleo-elevation of the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau

The reconstruction of paleo-elevation serves a dual purpose to enhance our comprehension of geodynamic processes affecting terrestrial landforms and to contribute significantly to the interpretation of atmospheric circulation and biodiversity.The oxygen(δ~(18)O_w)and deuterium(δD_w)isotopes in atmospheric precipitation are systematically depleted with the increase of altitude,which are typical and widely applicated paleo-altimeters.The utilization of hydrogen isotope of hydrous silicate minerals within the shear zone system,volcanic glass,and plant leaf wax alkanes offers valuable insights for addressing evaporation and diagenesis.In this paper,we review the principle,application conditions,and influencing factors of the hydrogen isotope paleo-altimeter.In addition,we discuss the feasibility of utilizing this technique for quantitatively estimating the paleo-elevation of the southeastern Tibetan Plateau,where multiple shear zones extend over hundred kilometers parallel to the topographic gradient.

Microstructure and properties of mullite-based porous ceramics produced from coal fly ash with added Al_2O_3

Using coal fly ash slurry samples supplemented with different amounts of Al2O3, we fabricated mullite-based porous ceramics via a dipping-polymer-replica approach, which is a popular method suitable for industrial application. The microstructure, phase composition, and compressive strength of the sintered samples were investigated. Mullite was identified in all of the prepared materials by X-ray diffraction analysis. The microstructure and compressive strength were strongly influenced by the content of Al2O3. As the Al/Si mole ratio in the starting materials was increased from 0.84 to 2.40, the amount of amorphous phases in the sintered microstructure decreased and the compressive strength of the sintered samples increased. A further increase in the Al2O3content resulted in a decrease in the compressive strength of the sintered samples. The mullite-based porous ceramic with an Al/Si molar ratio of 2.40 exhibited the highest compressive strength and the greatest shrinkage among the investigated samples prepared using coal fly ash as the main starting material. © 2017, University of Science and Technology Beijing and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Surface modification of wollastonite by the mechano-activated method and its properties

Surface modification of wollastonite particles using titanate as a modification agent incorporated by simultaneous wet ultra-fine grinding in a laboratory stirred mill was investigated.The physical,physic-chemical and application properties of the modified wollastonite were measured and evaluated.The results showed that grinding intensity markedly influences the modification effect because of the mechano chemical effect.The hydrophilic surface of wollastonite was turned into a hydrophobic one after modification.The interaction between titanate and wollastonite under wet grinding circumstances was studied.It was suggested that physical adsorption and chemical adsorption of titanate coexisted on the wollastonite surface.The mechanical properties of polyethylene（PE） filled with the modified wollastonite powder were markedly improved.

Effect of Fe_2O_3 on the crystallization behavior of glass-ceramics produced from naturally cooled yellow phosphorus furnace slag

CaO–Al2O3–SiO2(CAS) glass-ceramics were prepared via a melting method using naturally cooled yellow phosphorus furnace slag as the main raw material. The effects of the addition of Fe2O3on the crystallization behavior and properties of the prepared glass-ceramics were studied by differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The crystallization activation energy was calculated using the modified Johnson–Mehl–Avrami equation. The results show that the intrinsic nucleating agent in the yellow phosphorus furnace slag could effectively promote the crystallization of CAS. The crystallization activation energy first increased and then decreased with increasing amount of added Fe2O3. At 4wt% of added Fe2O3, the crystallization activation energy reached a maximum of 676.374 kJ·mol−1. The type of the main crystalline phase did not change with the amount of added Fe2O3. The primary and secondary crystalline phases were identified as wollastonite (CaSiO3) and hedenbergite (CaFe(Si2O6)), respectively. © 2017, University of Science and Technology Beijing and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Aragonite from Mulanshan Glaucophane Schist: Implications for Regional Evolution of Southwestern Dabie Mountains, Central China

The aragonite, an index mineral of glaucophane schist facies, has not been confirmed in the Dabie Mountains high pressure and ultrahigh pressure metamorphic belts. The Mulanshan glaucophane schist in Huangpi County, Hubei Province is located in the southwestern Dabie Mountains, Central China. The micron sized intergranular aragonite is confirmed with optical microscope (OM) and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) in the glaucophane schist. The submicrometer sized ellipse aragonite inclusion is observed by using bright field image (BFI), X ray energy damage spectrograph (EDS) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) with transmission electron microscope in the quartz lens of glaucophane albite epidote chlorite schist from Mulanshan. The presence of aragonite indicates not only the average geothermal gradient of the Mulanshan glaucophane schist less than 10 ℃/km, which is very close to that of eclogite in the Dabie Mountains metamorphic belts, but also the relatively higher concentration of CO2 during the metamorphic process. In addition, the glaucophane schist free of such index minerals as lawsonite, prehnite and pumpellyite, has been attributed to the effect of CO2 on the stability of calcium aluminum silicate minerals during the low grade metamorphism. EDS and SAED analysis results show that the host of aragonite inclusion is amorphous SiO2. The occurrence of amorphous SiO2 indicates a quick cooling process during the exhumation of the Mulanshan glaucophane schist. These results suggest that the rapid exhumation mechanism of the glaucophane schist, the same as that of eclogite in the Dabie Mountains metamorphic belts, occurred in the geodynamic context of subduction obduction.

Typical roles of metal ions in mineral flotation:A review

In flotation,metal ions possess significant roles that are usually fulfilled by either selectively activating or depressing the target minerals.Despite that tremendous efforts have been made to address the roles of metal ions in flotation,it still lacks a comprehensive review,especially to compare various ions instead of focusing on a specific one.This review begins by elaborately categorizing the factors involved in affecting the roles of metal ions in flotation.After that,well-accepted mechanisms are updated and discussed from the ore type.Furthermore,typical approaches to explore the underlying mechanisms are emphasized,including traditional techniques such as micro-flotation,contact angle measurement,zeta potential measurement,and other recent prevailing methodologies,like computational method,solution chemistry calculation,and cyclic voltammetry.This work will pave the way to promote flotations via activities like selectively adding/reducing metal ions,choosing reagents,and regulating the slurry chemistry.

High resolution X-ray spherically bent crystal spectrometer for laser-produced plasma diagnostics

A new high spectral resolution crystal spectrometer is designed to measure very low emissive X-ray spectra of laser-produced plasma in 0.5-0.9 nm range. A large open aperture （30 ×20 （mm）） mica （002） spherically bent crystal with curvature radius R = 380 mm is used as dispersive and focusing element. The imaging plate is employed to obtain high spectral resolution with effective area of 30 × 80 （mm）. The long designed path of the X-ray spectrometer beam is 980 mm from the source to the detector via the crystal. Experiment is carried out at a 20-J laser facility. X-ray spectra in an absolute intensity scale is obtained from Al laserproduced plasmas created by laser energy of 6.78 J. Samples of spectra obtained with spectral resolution of up to E/△E - 1500 are presented. The results clearly show that the device is good to diagnose laser high-density plasmas.

Detection of the X-ray spectra of imploding neon Z-pinch with elliptically bent mica crystal spectrometer

A wide variety of X-ray and extreme ultraviolet diagnostics are being developed to study on Yang accelerator. An elliptically bent crystal spectrometer is designed with a focal length of 1350 mm. A mica crystal with an interplanar spacing of 1.984 nm bent onto an elliptical substrate with eccentricity of 0.9485 is used. The crystal analyzer covers the Bragg angle range from 30° to 60°. The mica crystal can efficiently reflect radiation in multiple orders, covering the entire spectral range from 0.1 to 1.73 nm except for a gap from 0.86 to 1.0 nm. The application experiment is performed on Yang accelerator using the bent mica crystal analyzer. Spectra of neon-puff Z-pinch plasmas are recorded with a X-ray film, showing the H-like and the He-like lines of neon. Each spectrum has been identified and used for the wavelength calibration, and most of the line radiation is contained in the He-α and the L-α lines. The experimental results have demonstrated that the spectral resolution approximates 379.