Material Properties of Marine Hydrogenous Ferromanganese Crust and Its Performance in Desulfurization

Abstract

Abstract Marine hydrogenous ferromanganese crust, an important metal resource in the future, has significant potential in various applications as a type of natural nano-structured material. By employing scanning electronic microscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm measurement, X-ray fluorescence spectrometer and X-ray diffraction methods, the micro-structure, surface properties and chemical composition of several plate-like ferromanganese crusts sampled from the northwestern Pacific were investigated comprehensively. Although obvious differences were observed from different layers, the crust is a typical porous material with high specific surface area, unique pore structure and abundant transition elements. Furthermore, the performance of natural crust in desulfurization process was preliminarily tested in laboratory experiments. The sulfur capacities of the crust are 13.1% and 18.1% at room temperature and 350°C, respectively. The crust can be used not only as a metal resource, but also as an environmental material.