Aggregation iron-silica complexes

FA can interact with clay minerals and are known to form stable complexes with metal ions and hydrous oxides [59,61]. The operational technique for isolation of HA involves a pH-induced precipitation and it is likely that accessory minerals may be associated with the precipitation process. Complexes of HA and clay minerals are also formed, the increased ash content of HA suggesting that amorphous silica, iron hydroxides, and clay may aggregate with the HA fraction [58,60,61]. 

Similar effects were observed by Stigter e< al. (185) with silica and aluminum chloride. The assumption of hydrolytic adsorption is supported by an observed increase of conductivity upon addition of silica to aluminum chloride solutions. Kautsky and Wesslau (240) observed hydrolytic adsorption of Th + ions. The reaction scheme given above is a simplification since, in reality, solutions of basic iron or aluminum salts contain polynuclear complexes. The size of the aggregates depends on pH and concentration. Chromatographic separation of various metal ions on silica gel columns was first described by Schwab and Jockers (241). The role of hydrolytic adsorption in column chromatography on silica gel was stressed by Umland and Kirchner (242). The use of this technique in analytical separations was investigated in detail by Kohlschiitter and collaborators (243-246). An application to thin-layer chromatography was described by Seiler (247). 

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