Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-vvkck Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T23:05:59.345Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Arsenic-bearing smectite from the geothermal environment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

C. Pascua ,
J. Charnock ,
D. A. Polya ,
T. Sato ,
S. Yokoyama  and
M. Minato
C. Pascua
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 9201192, Japan
J. Charnock
Affiliation:
CCLRC Daresbury Laboratory, Daresbury, Warrington WA4 4AD, UK School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences & Williamson Research Centre for Environmental Science, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
D. A. Polya
Affiliation:
School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences & Williamson Research Centre for Environmental Science, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
T. Sato*
Affiliation:
Institute of Nature and Environmental Technology, Kanazawa University, Japan
S. Yokoyama
Affiliation:
Ecomaterials Center, National Institute for Materials Science, Japan
M. Minato
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 9201192, Japan
*
*E-mail: tomsato@kenroku.kanazawa-u.ac.jp
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Arsenic-rich scales are widely associated with geothermal fields and constitute a potential hazard to human health. Such arsenic has hitherto been reported to be almost exclusively hosted by sulphide or oxide phases or occurring as surface species. We report here, however, the occurrence of an arsenic-rich (1500 to 4000 mg kg—1 As) smectite from geothermal precipitates from a geothermal field in northwestern Japan and present evidence that the arsenic is predominantly hosted within this silicate mineral.

Consistently ∼80% of the total arsenic determined in these geothermal precipitates was found by selective chemical extractions to be associated with an operationally defined clay mineral fraction, with lesser proportions being associated with operationally defined amorphous silica, Fe oxide and sulphide fractions. Analysis by XRD, ATR IR and XRF showed the clay fraction to be dominated by Mg-rich trioctahedral smectite.

Arsenic K-edge XAS spectra of the smectite suggested the dominance of As(III)-O coordinated species with significant contributions from As(V)-O coordinated species. Both XPS and a magnesium chloride chemical extraction indicated minimal adsorption of arsenic on smectite surfaces suggesting that the arsenic was predominantly either dissolved within the smectite or occurred within mineral occlusions. No such occlusions greater than 1 μm in size were observed in the As-rich smectites.

The potential occurrence of arsenic-bearing clays should be considered when determining remediation strategies for geothermal environments or evaluating risks associated with the industrial usage of geothermal precipitates.

Keywords

arsenicsmectitesXASgeothermalJapan
Type
Research Article
Information
Mineralogical Magazine , Volume 69 , Issue 5 , October 2005 , pp. 897 - 906
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arai, Y., Elzinga, E.J. and Sparks, D.L. (2001) X-ray absorption spectroscopic investigation of arsenite and arsenate adsorption at the aluminum oxide-water interface. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 235, 80–88.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ariki, K., Kato, H., Ueda, A. and Bamba, M. (2000) Characteristics and management of the Sumikawa geothermal reservoir, northeastern Japan. Geothermics, 29, 171–189.Google Scholar
Arnorsson, S. (2003) Arsenic in surface- and up to 90“C groundwaters in a basalt area, N-Iceland: processes controlling its mobility. Applied Geochemistry, 18, 1297–1312.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ballantyne, J. and Moore, J. (1988) Arsenic geochemistry in geothermal systems. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 52, 475–483.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Charlet, L. and Manceau, A. (1994) Evidence for the formation of clays upon sorption of Co(II) and Ni(II) on silicates. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 58, 2577–2582.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Criaud, A. and Fouillac, C. (1989) The distribution of arsenic (III) and arsenic (V) in geothermal waters: Examples from the Massif Central of France, the Island of Dominica in the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean, the Valles Caldera of New Mexico, U.S.A., and southwest Bulgaria. Chemical Geology, 76, 259–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dähn, R., Scheidegger, A.M., Manceau, A., Schlegel, M.L., Baeyens, B. and Bradbury, M.H. (2001) Ni clay neoformation on montmorillonite surface. Journal of Synchrotron Radiation, 8, 533—535.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ellis, A.J. (1977) Geothermal fluid chemistry and human health. Geothermics, 6, 175–182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Filatov, S.K., Krivovichev, S.V., Burns, P.C. and Vergasova, L.P. (2004) Crystal structure of filatovite, K[(Al,Zn)2(As,Si)2O8], the first arsenate of the feldspar group. European Journal of Mineralogy, 16, 537–543.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gallup, D.L., Sugiaman, F., Capuno, V. and Manceau, A. (2003) Laboratory investigation of silica removal from geothermal brines to control silica scaling and produce usable silicates. Applied Geochemistry, 18, 1597–1612.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gault, A.G., Polya, D.A., Charnock, J.M., Islam, F.S., Lloyd, J.R. and Chatterjee, D. (2003) Preliminary EXAFS studies of solid-phase speciation of As in a West Bengali sediment. Mineralogical Magazine, 67, 1183–1191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gault, A.G., Cooke, D.R., Townsend, A.T., Charnock, J.M. and Polya, D.A. (2005) Mechanisms of arsenic attenuation in acid mine drainage from Mount Bischoff, western Tasmania. Science of the Total Environment, 345, 219–228.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ianni, C., Ruggieri, N., Rivaro, P. and Frache, R. (2001) Evaluation and comparison of two selective extraction procedures for heavy metal speciation in sediments. Analytical Sciences, 17, 1273–1278.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Inoue, A., Utada, M. and Shimizu, M. (1999) Mineral-fluid interactions in the Sumikawa geothermal system, northeast Japan. Resource Geology, Special Issue, 20, 79–97.Google Scholar
Kato, K., Ueda, A., Mogi, K., Nakazawa, H. and Shimizu, K. (2003) Silica recovery from Sumikawa and Ohnuma geothermal brines (Japan) by addition of CaO and cationic precipitants in a newly developed seed circulation device. Geothermics, 32, 203–350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inoue, T. and Ueda, R. (1965) On the Hanakawa fault, Akita, Japan. Journal of the Mining College Akita University Serials A, III, 15–29.Google Scholar
Kumagai, N., Tanaka, T. and Kitao, K. (2004) Characterization of geothermal fluid flows at Sumikawa geothermal area, Japan, using two types of tracers and an improved multi-path model. Geothermics, 33, 257–275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Le Guern, C., Baranger, P., Crouzet, C., Bodenan, F. and Conil, P. (2003) Arsenic trapping by iron oxyhydroxides and carbonates at hydrothermal spring outlets. Applied Geochemistry, 18, 1313–1323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manceau, A. and Calas, G. (1986) Ni-bearing clay minerals. 2. X-ray absorption study of Ni-Mg distribution. Clay Minerals, 21, 341–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manceau, A., Calas, G. and Decarreau, A. (1985) Nickel-bearing clay minerals. 1. Optical spectroscopic study of nickel crystal chemistry. Clay Minerals, 20, 367–387.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manceau, A., Schlegel, M., Nagy, K.L. and Charlet, L. (1999) Evidence for the formation of trioctahedral clay upon the sorption of Co2+ on quartz. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 220, 181–197.Google Scholar
Manning, B.A., Fendorf, S.E. and Goldberg, S. (1998) Surface structure and stability of arsenic(III) on goethite: Spectroscopic evidence for inner-sphere complexes. Environmental Science and Technology, 32, 2383–2388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Okuma, S. (1998) Magnetic constraints on the subsurface structure of Akita-Yakeyama volcano, northeast Japan. Earth, Planets and Space, 50, 153–163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peralta, G.L., Graydon, J.W. and Kirk, D.W. (1996) Physicochemical characteristics and teachability of scale and sludge from Bulalo geothermal system, Philippines. Geothermics, 25, 17–35.Google Scholar
Polya, D.A., Lythgoe, P.R., Abou-Shakra, F., Gault, A.G., Brydie, J.R., Webster, J.G., Brown, K.L., Nimfopoulos, M.K. and Michailidis, K.M. (2003) IC-ICP-MS and IC-ICP-HEX-MS determination of arsenic speciation in surface and groundwaters: preservation and analytical issues. Mineralogical Magazine, 67, 247–261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pritchett, J.W., Garg, S.K., Maki, H. and Kubota, Y. (1989) Hydrology of the Sumikawa geothermal prospect, Japan. Energy Sources, 11, 251—262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowland, H.A.L., Gault, A.G., Charnock, J.M. and Polya, D.A. (2005) Preservation and Xanes determination of the oxidation state of solid phase arsenic species in shallow sedimentary aquifers in Bengal and Cambodia. Mineralogical Magazine, 69, 825–839.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sakai, Y., Kubota, Y. and Hatakeyama, K. (1986) Geothermal exploration at Sumikawa, north Hachimantai, Akita. Chinetsu, 23, 281–302.Google Scholar
Smedley, P.L. and Kinniburgh, D.G. (2002) A review of the source, behaviour and distribution of arsenic in natural waters. Applied Geochemistry, 17, 517–568.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tessier, A., Campbell, P.G.C. and Bisson, M. (1979) Sequential extraction procedure for speciation of paniculate trace metals. Analytical Chemistry, 51, 844–851.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ueda, A., Kubota, Y., Katoh, H., Hatakeyama, K. and Matsubaya, O. (1991) Geochemical characteristics of the Sumikawa geothermal system, northeast Japan. GeochemicalJournal, 25, 223–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Velde, B. (1992) Introduction to Clay Minerals: Chemistry, Origin, Uses and Environmental Significance. Chapman & Hall, London, 198 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vergasova, L.P., Krivovichev, S.V., Britvin, S.N., Burns, P.C. and Ananiev, V.V. (2004) Filatovite, K[(Al,Zn)2(As,Si)2O8], a new mineral species from the Tolbachik volcano, Kamchatka peninsula, Russia. European Journal of Mineralogy, 16, 533–536.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yora, M., Wakita, K. and Honda, S. (1973) Exploration of Onuma geothermal field, Northeastern Japan. Chinetsu, 10, 27–44.Google Scholar