Abstract—Schwertmannite (Fe
8 O
8 (O
H)
6SO
4) is a cr
iti
cally important Fe(III) mineral in acid–mine drainage environments because of its widespread occurrence and high reactivity towards toxic oxyanions, such as arsenate. The present study investigates the effect of Fe(II) and Cu(II) on the transformation of schwertmannite to goethite. The transformation experiments were conducted by suspending schwertmannite in the solution containing various concentrations of Fe(II) and Cu(II) under acidic pH (3-4) at 65˚C. Results indicate that Fe(II) has significant effect on the stability of schwertmannite; transformation of schwertmannite to goethite occurred within 1 h in the presence of >50 mM Fe(II). The transformation was retarded by the addition of Cu(II) concentration. When schwertmannite were suspended in solution containing 100 mM Fe(II) and >50 mM Cu(II), there was no transformation occurred. This indicates that Cu(II) has the ability to retard or inhibit the Fe(II)-catalyzed transformation of schwertmannite to goethite under such conditions.
Index Terms—Schwertmannite, transformation, Fe(II), Cu(II).
The authors are with Division of Sustainable Resources Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Kita 13, Nishi 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-8628 Japan (e-mail: h.sengpasith@gmail.com).
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Cite: Sengpasith Houngaloune, Naoki Hiroyoshi, and Mayumi Ito, "Effect of Fe(II) and Cu(II) on the Transformation of Schwertmannite to Goethite under Acidic Condition," International Journal of Chemical Engineering and Applications vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 32-37, 2015.
