wAbstract
@Arsenopyrite dissolution was studied by means of long-term, stirred
and non-stirred flow-through experiments in the pH range of 1
to 9 at 25, 50 and 70 and at different input dissolved-O2 concentrations (from 0.2 to 8.7 mg L-1).
@At pH lower than 4, aqueous iron, which is mainly in the ferrous
form, and arsenic are stoichiometrically released. Sulphur concentrations
released were lower than stoichiometrically expected (S/As1).
X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and MicroRaman Spectroscopy
surface analyses on reacted and unreacted samples showed an enrichment
of the reacted arsenopyrite surface in sulphur and arsenic under
acidic conditions.
@In the light of these results, the steady-state dissolution rates
were estimated by the release of arsenic at pH4 and were used
to derive an empirical dissolution rate law expressed as:
@Rarsenopyrite (mol m-2 s-1)2510-7.41}0.47EaO20.76}0.11EaH+-0.12}0.07
where aO2 and aH+ are the activities of
hydrogen ions and dissolved oxygen, respectively and their exponents
were estimated from multiple linear regression of the dissolution
rates. Temperature increase from 25 to 70 yields an apparent
activation energy for the arsenopyrite oxidation by dissolved
oxygen of 18.5}1.6 kJ mol-1.
@At pH6, aqueous iron is mainly in the ferric form and is depleted
as it precipitates as Fe-oxyhydroxide onto arsenopyrite surfaces,
yielding Fe/As and Fe/S less than one; between pHs 7 and 9, iron
depletion is complete, and sulphur released is more abundant than
arsenic released, which is precipitated as As-O phases, as confirmed
by MicroRaman spectroscopy. At pHs 6-9 iron-oxyhydroxide phases
and arsenic oxide phases upon the arsenopyrite surface provide
an effective layer that reduces diffusion of dissolved oxygen
and arsenopyrite dissolution. As coating on the arsenopyrite surface
becomes the rate-limiting step, the Shrinking Core Model (SCM)
allows quantification of the surface dissolution rate, especially
from data obtained where the effect of coating was still negligible.
The SCM also allowed us to calculate the effective coefficient
for oxygen diffusion through the coating, which can vary from
10-17 to 1.5E10-16 m2 s-1.
The formation of such a coating produced a decrease in arsenic
and sulphur release over time and a final surface passivation.
Keywords: Arsenic; Arsenopyrite; Dissolution; Kinetics; Iron coatingx
1. Introduction
2. Materials and methods
@2.1. Characterization of arsenopyrite
@2.2. Solutions and analysis
@2.3. Flow-through experiments
@2.4. Calculation of dissolution rates at pH6
@2.5. Calculation of dissolution rates at pH6
3. Results
@3.1. Results based on solution chemistry
@3.2. Results based on arsenopyrite surface spectroscopy
4. Discussion
@4.1. Evolution of the arsenopyrite surface during dissolution
@4.2. The effect of pH on dissolution rates
@4.3. The effect of dissolved oxygen on dissolution rates
@4.4. The effect of temperature on the dissolution rate
@4.5. Arsenopyrite dissolution rates
5. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References