Developing Effective Separation of Feldspar and Quartz While Recycling Tailwater by HF Pretreatment

Occurrence, distribution, and composition of black sand along the Red Sea, Egypt

Black sand along the Red Sea is often composed of volcanic minerals and heavy minerals. The Red Sea region is known for its unique geological features, and black sand beaches can be found in various areas along its shores. The study presents a comprehensive semi-quantitative chemical analysis of black sand samples collected from various locations along the red sea, revealing significant variations in their elemental compositions. The main oxides were identified in each sample, determined through X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses, indicate diverse mineralogical compositions. The spatial distribution of minerals at each site is depicted through mapping. Additionally, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra offer information on the functional groups present in the samples, revealing the existence of hydroxyl groups, aliphatic compounds, and adsorbed water molecules. For Qusier-Elsharm Alqbly, Safaga, Marsa Alam, Gabal Alrosass, Hurghada Titanic, Hurghada Elahiaa, Gemsa, and Ras Elbehar samples, the results highlight the presence of various minerals, such as Quartz, Calcite, Titanium Dioxide, Magnetite, Hematite, Aluminum Oxide, Zirconium Dioxide, Chromium (III) Oxide, and others, providing insights into the geological characteristics of each location. The differences in mineral content among the examined sites are linked to the geological and mineralogical makeup of the source rocks upstream and midstream in the basins that discharge into the surveyed regions. So, variations in black sand concentrations among different locations offer insights into the geological and mineralogical diversity of the studied areas along the Red Sea coast. This study addresses the existing knowledge gap by focusing on the preliminary exploration and description of the occurrence, distribution, and composition of black sand along the Red Sea in Egypt. whereas the results provide valuable insights into the geological diversity of black sand deposits in the surveyed areas, underscoring the need for additional research and interpretation of these variations. Therefore, the in-depth examination of mineralogical composition and crystal structures establishes a foundation for future investigations in the field of geology and earth sciences.

Trace Element Concentrations and Mineralogy of Quartz Vein Deposits from Southeastern Hubei Province, China

Hydrothermal quartz samples collected from the Fujiashan and Yipanqiu quartz deposits in southeastern Hubei Province, China have been investigated by analytical combination of optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, in conjunction with conventional beneficiation processing to evaluate their potential as sources of high purity quartz (HPQ) from a commercial perspective. Microscopy efforts reveal that major mineral impurities associated with quartz are K-feldspar, muscovite, iron oxides, rutile with accessory kaolinite. Bulk trace element concentrations of the processed quartz products demonstrate that the Fujiashan-II quartz vein with cumulative impurities of less than 50 μg g−1 with <30 μg g−1 Al and <10 μg g−1 Ti fits with the lattice-bound criteria for HPQ, meeting the requirement by a HPQ deposit. However, the Yipanqiu quartz deposits are not promising for HPQ production due to high fluid inclusion contents, intimate intergrowth texture with highly variable crystal size, and probably high lattice-bound element contents. The early Neoproterozoic Fujiashan quartz deposits have likely been experienced long-term retrograde metamorphism-related recrystallisation which might contribute to high-purity quartz formation. Due to a much younger crystallization age compared to the Fujiashan deposits, quartz grains in the middle Cretaceous Yipanqiu quartz vein retain high trace elements, leading to exclusion of being a HPQ deposit.

Physical and chemical properties of dust in the Pre-Aral region of Uzbekistan

The aim of this work is study of physical and chemical properties of dust of the Pre-Aral region of Uzbekistan such as Karakalpakstan and Khorezm that are located near the three deserts such as the Aralkum, Karakum, and Kyzylkum. The dust particles fell on glass have been collected in Karakalpakstan and Khorezm and studied systematically by employing wide range of methods. Particle volume vs size distribution has been measured with maximum around 600 nm and ~ 10 µm. The major and minor constituent materials present in the dust have been studied systematically by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray diffraction, and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. Main characteristic absorption bands corresponding to Si-O, Si-O-Si bonding in quartz and Fe-O bonds in hematite Fe₂O₃ have been identified by infrared and Raman spectroscopy. Quartz, hematite, lime, corundum, magnesia, and several other trace minerals have been identified in the dust particles. X-ray diffraction peaks corresponding to quartz, hematite, and corundum are sharp and are found to be more crystalline with some level of disorder. Analysis of the particle size and crystallinity on human being has been performed: disordered or crystalline quartz can create the lung disease; the particles in the size of 0.5-0.7 µm may produce diseases such as chronic silicosis, silicosis, and silica tuberculosis whereas hematite might create lung disease. Dust particles worsen optical transmittance of glass of the panels.

Sorption of Cs+ and Eu3+ ions onto sedimentary rock in the presence of gamma-irradiated humic acid

The influence of humic acid (HA) and its radiological degradation on the sorption of Cs⁺ and Eu³⁺ by sedimentary rock (obtained from the Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory in Japan) was investigated to understand the sorption process of metal ions and humic substances. Aldrich HA solution was gamma-irradiated assuming a strong radiation from a highly radioactive waste to be disposed of in deep geological formations. Batch sorption experiments were performed to evaluate the effect of gamma-irradiated HA on the sorption of Cs⁺ and Eu³⁺ ions. The addition of non-irradiated HA weakened the Eu sorption because of the lower sorption of the negatively charged Eu-HA complexes compared with free Eu ions. The sorption of Cs ions was barely affected by the presence of HA and its gamma irradiation. The concentration ratio of metal complexed and non-complexed species in the solid and liquid phases was evaluated by sequential filtration and chemical equilibrium calculations. The ratios were low in both phases for Cs and supported the minimal contribution of HA to Cs sorption. However, the concentration ratio for Eu³⁺ in the liquid phase was high, indicating that the complexing ability of HA to Eu³⁺ was higher than that of HA to Cs⁺.

Structure and Strength of Artificial Soils Containing Monomineral Clay Fractions

Structure and strength are responsible for soil physical properties. This paper determines in a uniaxial compression test the strength of artificial soils containing different proportions of various clay-size minerals (cementing agents) and silt-size feldspar/quartz (skeletal particles). A novel empirical model relating the maximum stress and the Young’s modulus to the mineral content basing on the Langmuir-type curve was proposed. By using mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), bulk density (BD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), structural parameters influencing the strength of the soils were estimated and related to mechanical parameters. Size and shape of particles are considered as primary factors responsible for soil strength. In our experiments, the soil strength depended primarily on the location of fine particles in respect to silt grains and then, on a mineral particle size. The surface fractal dimension of mineral particles played a role of a shape parameter governing soil strength. Soils containing minerals of higher surface fractal dimensions (rougher surfaces) were more mechanically resistant. The two latter findings appear to be recognized herein for the first time.