Mineral species control of aluminum solubility in sulfate-rich acidic waters

Abstract: The identification of the mineral species controlling the solubility of Al in acidic waters rich in sulfate has presented researchers with several challenges. One of the particular challenges is that the mineral species may be amorphous by X-ray diffraction. The difficulty in discerning between adsorbed or structural sulfate is a further complication. Numerous studies have employed theoretical calculations to determine the Al mineral species forming in acid sulfate soil environments. The vast majority of these studies indicate the formation of a mineral species matching the stoichiometry of jurbanite, Al(OH)SO4·5H2O. Much debate, however, exists as to the reality of jurbanite forming in natural environments, particularly in view of its apparent rare occurrence. In this work the use of Al, S and O K-edge XANES spectroscopy, in combination with elemental composition analyses of groundwater precipitates and a theoretical analysis of soluble Al concentrations ranging from pH 3.5 to 7, were employed to determine the mineral species controlling the solubility of Al draining from acid sulfate soils into Blacks Drain in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. The results indicate that a mixture of amorphous Al hydroxide (Al(OH)3) and basaluminite (Al4(SO4)(OH)10·5H2O) was forming. The use of XANES spectroscopy is particularly useful as it provides insight into the nature of the bond between sulfate and Al, and confirms the presence of basaluminite. This counters the possibility that an Al hydroxide species, with appreciable amounts of adsorbed sulfate, is forming within these groundwaters. Below approximately pH 4.5, prior to precipitation of this amorphous Al(OH)3/basaluminite mixture, our studies indicate that the Al3+ activity of these acidic sulfate-rich waters is limited by the availability of dissolved Al from exchangeable and amorphous/poorly crystalline mineral species within adjacent soils. Further evidence suggests the Al3+ activity below pH 4.5 is then further controlled by dilution with either rainwater or pH 6–8 buffered estuarine water, and not a notional Al(OH)SO4 mineral species. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]