Minerals surfaces

Articles dealing with the structure and chemistry of solid and crystal surfaces include Tabor (1981) and Forty (1983), who discusses metals and catalysts in particular. The surface of diamond is discussed by Pate (1986), metal oxides by Henrich (1985), transition-metal compounds by Langell and Bernasek (1979), and transition-metal oxides by Henrich (1983). Some of these articles deal with the electronic structures of the surfaces as well as the surface atom geometry the volume edited by Rhodin and Ertl (1979) on the nature of the surface chemical bond and the review paper by Tsukada et al. (1983) on the electronic structure of oxide surfaces concentrate on this aspect. One of the few reviews directed specifically towards minerals is that of Berry (1985). 

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This interface is critically important in many applications, as well as in biological systems. For example, the movement of pollutants tln-ough the enviromnent involves a series of chemical reactions of aqueous groundwater solutions with mineral surfaces. Although the liquid-solid interface has been studied for many years, it is only recently that the tools have been developed for interrogating this interface at the atomic level. This interface is particularly complex, as the interactions of ions dissolved in solution with a surface are affected not only by the surface structure, but also by the solution chemistry and by the effects of the electrical double layer [31]. It has been found, for example, that some surface reconstructions present in UHV persist under solution, while others do not. 

Surface sizing Surfaces, mineral Surface tension... 

Chemical Bond Formation (Chemisorption). This is the mechanism that leads to the formation of the strongest bonds between coUectors and mineral surfaces. Chemically adsorbed reagents usuaUy form surface compounds at the active waU sites. The flotation of calcite (CaCO ) and... 

Electrochemical processes at some sulfide mineral surfaces lead to the formation of oxidation products as in the case of the hydrophobization of... 

Volatilization. The susceptibility of a herbicide to loss through volatilization has received much attention, due in part to the realization that herbicides in the vapor phase may be transported large distances from the point of application. Volatilization losses can be as high as 80—90% of the total applied herbicide within several days of application. The processes that control the amount of herbicide volatilized are the evaporation of the herbicide from the solution or soHd phase into the air, and dispersal and dilution of the resulting vapor into the atmosphere (250). These processes are influenced by many factors including herbicide application rate, wind velocity, temperature, soil moisture content, and the compound s sorption to soil organic and mineral surfaces. Properties of the herbicide that influence volatility include vapor pressure, water solubility, and chemical stmcture (251). 

Collectors ndFrothers. Collectors play a critical role ia flotation (41). These are heteropolar organic molecules characterized by a polar functional group that has a high affinity for the desired mineral, and a hydrocarbon group, usually a simple 2—18 carbon atom hydrocarbon chain, that imparts hydrophobicity to the minerals surface after the molecule has adsorbed. Most collectors are weak acids or bases or their salts, and are either ionic or neutral. The mode of iateraction between the functional group and the mineral surface may iavolve a chemical reaction, for example, chemisorption, or a physical iateraction such as electrostatic attraction. 

Asphalt-coated glass fiber venting base sheet with fine mineral surfacing on the top side and coarse granules on the bottom side perforated/embossed or not. The coarse granules provide an open, porous channel in the horizontal plane (5,11). 

Performance of coupling agents in reinforced composites may depend as much on physical properties resulting from the method of appHcation as on the chemistry of the organofunctional silane. Physical solubiUty or compatibiUty of a siloxanol layer is determined by the nature and degree of siloxane condensation on a mineral surface. 

Aetivators. These are used to make a mineral surface amenable to collector coating. Copper ion is used, for example, to activate sphalerite (ZnS), rendering the sphalerite surface capable of absorbing a xanthate or dithiophosphate collector. Sodium sulfide is used to coat oxidized copper and lead minerals so that they can be floated by a sulfide mineral collector. 

Fig. 20. Schematic representation of the hydrolysis of silane coupling agents and their subsequent interaction with hydroxylated mineral surfaces.

Conceivably, many compounds of inorganic elements have chemical reactivity that could contribute to improved adhesion to mineral surfaces. A fairly wide range of compounds, not restricted to any particular group in the periodic table, have been proposed as coupling agents as is shown in the following list ... 

Coupling to a mineral surface requires the presence of active hydroxyls on the substrate. The coupling reaction is a multi-step process that proceeds from a state of physisorption through hydrogen bond formation to actual covalent bond formation through condensation of surface hydroxyls with silanols ... 

Wachtershanser has also suggested that early metabolic processes first occurred on the surface of pyrite and other related mineral materials. The iron-sulfur chemistry that prevailed on these mineral surfaces may have influenced the evolution of the iron-sulfur proteins that control and catalyze many reactions in modern pathways (including the succinate dehydrogenase and aconitase reactions of the TCA cycle). 

Eberl, D. D., Srodon, J., and Northrop, H. R. (1986). Potassium fixation in smectite by wetting and drying. In "Geochemical Processes at Mineral Surfaces," pp. 296-325. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, ACS Symposium Series 323. 

Phosphorus is the tenth most abundant element on Earth with an average crustal abundance of 0.1% and may be found in a wide variety of mineral phases. There are approximately 300 naturally occurring minerals in which PO4 is a required structural component. Phosphate may also be present as a trace component in many minerals either by the substitution of small quantities of POt into the crystal structure or by the adsorption of P04 onto the mineral surface (Nriagu and Moore, 1984 Slansky, 1986). 

Inorganic reactions in the soil interstitial waters also influence dissolved P concentrations. These reactions include the dissolution or precipitation of P-containing minerals or the adsorption and desorption of P onto and from mineral surfaces. As discussed above, the inorganic reactivity of phosphate is strongly dependent on pH. In alkaline systems, apatite solubility should limit groundwater phosphate whereas in acidic soils, aluminum phosphates should dominate. Adsorption of phosphate onto mineral surfaces, such as iron or aluminum oxyhydroxides and clays, is favored by low solution pH and may influence soil interstitial water concentrations. Phosphorus will be exchanged between organic materials, soil inter-... 

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