Analysis of precipitates from reactions of hyperalkaline solutions with soluble silica

Abstract

Cancrinite, sodalite, and zeolite A have been found to form upon contacting hyperalkaline simulated tank waste (STW) with vadose zone sediments from the Hanford Reservation. Here, soluble silica and STW are used to study mineral formation and transformation. Two Hanford sediment fractions (diameters <50 and >50 μm instead of soluble silica) are also used as silica sources for comparison. A series of batch experiments at 50 °C and 25 days duration were conducted by reacting 0.026 mol/kg soluble Si with 6 different STW solutions. The STW solutions differed in NaOH and Al concentrations. Cancrinite, sodalite, and zeolite A formed when soluble Si was used as the Si source. The minerals were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and 27Al and 29Si magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS-NMR). Larger NaOH and Al concentrations favored formation of the more compact structures of cancrinite and sodalite. At larger NaOH concentration more Al for Si substitution occurred in the tetrahedral sites. A greater Al(4)/Al(6) ratio in the solids was found for the higher Si/Al ratio solutions based on NMR results. Mixtures of cancrinite and sodalite were characterized by particles with lepispheric morphology. At low Al concentration, increasing NaOH resulted in distinct hexagonal, prismatic particles common to crystalline cancrinite. At low Al/Si ratio, the characteristic cubic morphology of zeolite was observed in addition to cancrinite and sodalite.