The surface of sulfide minerals
Oxidation/dissolution reactions at the surface of sulfide minerals of environmental interest
Sulfide minerals such as enargite (Cu3AsS4), arsenopirite (FeAsS) or tennantite (Cu12As4S13) present a potential environmental impact when dissolved in natural environ-ments, not only by release toxic arsenic or associated heavy metals but also due to a recuction in pH resulting in acid mine waters.
In this research work, the surface reactivity of arsenic containing sulfide minerals is studied by “in situ” electrochemical and “ex situ” surface analytical methods such as XPS and XAES (X-ray excited Auger spectrospcopy) in aerated and deaerated aqueous environments of different pH.
The chemical state of the elements of enargite (and other sulfide minerals) was determined based on the chemical state plot. In enargite, arsenic… More >>>
Arsenic in complex environmental samples (mine tailings, scorodite) was found to be As(V)… More >>>
Combining solution analysis and XPS surface analysis allowed to propose a model for the initial stages of enargite disso- lution similar to binary metal alloys. More >>>
The surface of enargite after exposure to acidic ferric solutions simulating acid mine drainage environment …. More >>>