Acid Mobilization of Aluminum from Minerals and Rocks

Abstract

The leaching of aluminum with acidified riverine waters from minerals (hornblende, biotite, muscovite, microcline, labradorite, and albite) and rocks (granite, tuffosandstone, and crystalline schist) was studied experimentally. The relationship between the aluminum concentration and solution acidity was found: log[Al] = A–BpH, where the angular coefficient B was approximately equal for all the samples, 0.74 ± 0.06. It was concluded that polymeric hydroxocomplexes of aluminum prevailed in the solutions. The pH value below which the content of dissolved aluminum should exceed the maximum allowable concentration for fishery water bodies is 6.6 ± 0.3.