Olivine dissolution from Indian dunite in saline water.

Abstract

The rate and mechanism of olivine dissolution was studied using naturally weathered dunite FO98.21(Mg1.884Fe0.391SiO4) from an Indian source, that also contains serpentine mineral lizardite. A series of batch dissolution experiments were carried out to check the influence of temperature (30-75 ∘C), initial dunite concentration (0.5 and 20 g/L), and salinity (0-35 g/L NaCl) under fixed head space CO2 pressure (P[Formula: see text] = 1 barg) on dunite dissolution. Dissolved Mg, Si, and Fe concentrations were determined by inductive coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. End-product solids were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Initially, rates of dissolution of Si and Mg were observed to be in stoichiometric proportion. After 8 h, the dissolution rate was observed to decline. At the end of the experiment (504 h), an amorphous silica-rich layer was observed over the dunite surface. This results in decay of the dissolution rate. The operating conditions (i.e., salinity, temperature, and mineral loading) affect the dissolution kinetics in a very complex manner because of which the observed experimental trends do not exhibit a direct trend.