TY - JOUR A1 - Wanner, C. A1 - Poethig, R. A1 - Carrero, S. A1 - Fernandez-Martinez, A. A1 - Jäger, Christian A1 - Furrer, G. T1 - Natural occurrence of nanocrystalline Al-hydroxysulfates: Insights on formation, Al solubility control and As retention N2 - Nanocrystalline basaluminite [Al4OH10(SO4)(H2O)3–5] and Aggregation of the e-Keggin polyoxocation [Al12(AlO4)(OH)24(H2O)12]7+, referred to as Al13, have both been described to form in acid mine Drainage environments. Although the chemical composition is quite similar, their crystalline varieties significantly differ, demonstrating that various types of Al-hydroxysulfates can form under similar conditions and that their respective formation is not fully understood yet. Here, we report the occurrence of nanocrystalline precipitates that form naturally in a small alpine catchment in Switzerland where an acidic mountainous stream (pH 4) is neutralized successively after mixing with several neutral tributaries. The stepwise neutralization in conjunction with the large amount of precipitates provide an ideal setting for obtaining new insights into (i) the structure of naturally forming Al-hydroxysulfates, (ii) their formation mechanism, (iii) their role in controlling the solubility of Al, and (iv) their ability to lower the mobility of As. Synchrotron-based high-energy X-ray diffraction and subsequent pair distribution function analyses demonstrate that these precipitates are structurally identical to basaluminite samples obtained from acid mine drainage sites. In contrast, only minor amounts of tetrahedrally coordinated Al, as present in Al13, were identified by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The precipitates are further characterized by elevated As concentrations up to 600 lg/g, whereas other heavy metals are at background concentrations only. Given the low As concentrations in the stream from which precipitation occurs (<0.03 mg/L), high As concentrations confirm that basaluminite serves as a highly efficient As sink, which is attributed to its high anion-exchange capacity. Chemical analysis of streamwater samples in combination with geochemical modeling show that precipitation occurs instantaneously upon mixing with neutral streams. Moreover, our data reveal that the precipitation of basaluminite exerts a strong solubility control on dissolved Al concentrations as manifested by the quasi-constant basaluminite ion activity product observed during neutralization from pH 5 to pH 5.9. We hypothesize that in our field system, high fluoride and sulfate concentrations on the order of 100 and 1–2 mg/L, KW - Basaluminite KW - Al13 KW - Acid rock drainage KW - Arsenic retention KW - Aluminum KW - Anion exchange PY - 2018 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2018.06.031 SN - 0016-7037 SN - 1872-9533 VL - 238 SP - 252 EP - 269 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-46164 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sturm, Patrick A1 - Gluth, Gregor A1 - Jäger, Christian A1 - Brouwers, H.J.H. A1 - Kühne, Hans-Carsten T1 - Sulfuric acid resistance of one-part alkali-activated mortars N2 - One-part alkali-activated (geopolymer) mortars based on three different silica-rich starting materials and sodium aluminate, with and without ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) addition, were tested regarding sulfuric acid resistance according to DIN 19573:2016-03 (70 days at pH = 1). Corresponding pastes were characterized by XRD, SEM, chemical analysis, 29Si MAS NMR and 1H-29Si CPMAS NMR after water storage and after acid exposure. The mortars exhibited a high resistance against sulfuric acid attack, with the best ones conforming to the requirements of DIN 19573:2016-03. The analytical results showed that this was due to precipitation of silica gel at the acid-mortar interface, which formed a mechanically stable layer that protected the subjacent mortar and thus inhibited further degradation. The addition of GGBFS decreased the acid resistance via formation of expansive calcium sulfate phases. KW - Alkali activated materials KW - Acid resistance KW - Nuclear magnetic resonance KW - One-part geopolymers PY - 2018 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2018.04.009 SN - 0008-8846 VL - 109 SP - 54 EP - 63 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-44722 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Greiser, Sebastian A1 - Gluth, Gregor A1 - Sturm, Patrick A1 - Jäger, Christian T1 - 29Si{27Al}, 27Al{29Si} and 27Al{1H} double-resonance NMR spectroscopy study of cementitious sodium aluminosilicate gels (geopolymers) and gel-zeolite composites N2 - The influence of starting materials and synthesis route on the properties and the structure of cementitious sodium aluminosilicate gels is not fully understood, partly due their amorphous nature and the fact that they often contain residual reactants, which can make the results of single-pulse NMR spectroscopy applied to these materials difficult to interpret or ambiguous. To overcome some of these limitations, 29Si{27Al} TRAPDOR NMR as well as 27Al{29Si} and 27Al{1H} REDOR NMR spectroscopy were applied to materials synthesized by the one-part alkali-activation route from three different amorphous silica starting materials, including rice husk ash. The latter led to formation of a fully amorphous sodium aluminosilicate gel (geopolymer), while the materials produced from the other silicas contained amorphous phase and crystalline zeolites. Application of the double-resonance NMR methods allowed to identify hydrous alumina gel domains in the rice husk ash-based material as well as significantly differing amounts of residual silica in the three cured materials. Four-coordinated Al existed not only in the aluminosilicate gel framework but also in a water-rich chemical environment with only a small amount of Si in proximity, likely in the alumina gel or possibly present as extra-framework Al in the aluminosilicate gel. The results demonstrate how the employment of different silica starting materials determines the phase assemblage of one-part alkali-activated materials, which in turn influences their engineering properties such as the resistance against chemically/biologically aggressive media. KW - Alkali-activated materials KW - Solid-state NMR KW - Aluminium hydroxide KW - Rice husk ash PY - 2018 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-469353 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/C8RA09246J SN - 2046-2069 VL - 8 IS - 70 SP - 40164 EP - 40171 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) CY - London AN - OPUS4-46935 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -