Removal of barite from zircon using an aqueous solution of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid and potassium carbonate
-
Aaron J. Martin
and
Claudia L. Rocha-Estopier
Abstract
In most geologic applications, if barite is present, it must be separated from zircon to enable analysis of the zircon. Current methods of barite removal include mechanical comminution in a ball mill or conversion to barium carbonate by boiling in an aqueous solution of sodium carbonate. Both procedures have potentially serious drawbacks. We optimized an alternative technique for barite removal to avoid these shortcomings. In repeated experiments, boiling in an aqueous solution of 0.1 M diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) and 6 wt% potassium carbonate for one hour dissolved about 90% of sand-size barite grains. Examination of barite after boiling in DTPA solution revealed evidence for attacks on crystal surfaces in the form of microscopic scallops and pits. In contrast, zircon crystal surfaces were not detectably altered at the microscopic scale by a boiling solution of DTPA and potassium carbonate. The DTPA and potassium carbonate solution procedure may be superior to the other two barite removal methods in two ways. First, it might not introduce bias into the sample, in contrast to both of the other two methods. Second, it requires less time than the sodium carbonate solution technique. If future research shows that the DTPA and potassium carbonate solution technique does not affect isotopic systems in zircon, this method appears to be a favorable alternative to both milling and boiling in sodium carbonate solution.
Acknowledgments
Ana Iris Pena-Maldonado facilitated the acquisition of the scanning electron microscope images. Citlali Cortes-Ortega, Felix Gallegos-Cervantes, and Carlos Torres-Cardona separated the barite and zircon mixture from the El Alamar Formation sandstone sample. CONACYT supported Rocha-Estopier during work on her Master’s degree and IPICYT funded part of the research. Nadia Martinez-Villegas and Sanjeet Verma provided valuable suggestions about the technical aspects of the project. Helpful reviews by Alex Pullen and an anonymous reviewer improved the manuscript; we also thank Associate Editor Fang-Zhen Teng for editorial handling.
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Articles in the same Issue
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Articles in the same Issue
- Alumino-oxy-rossmanite from pegmatites in Variscan metamorphic rocks from Eibenstein an der Thaya, Lower Austria, Austria: A new tourmaline that represents the most Al-rich end-member composition
- Fluorine partitioning between quadrilateral clinopyroxenes and melt
- Multi-stage magma evolution recorded by apatite and zircon of adakite-like rocks: A case study from the Shatanjiao intrusion, Tongling region, Eastern China
- The physical and chemical evolution of magmatic fluids in near-solidus silicic magma reservoirs: Implications for the formation of pegmatites
- Texture, geochemistry, and geochronology of titanite and pyrite: Fingerprint of magmatic-hydrothermal fertile fluids in the Jiaodong Au province
- Polytypism in semi-disordered lizardite and amesite by low-dose HAADF-STEM
- Peralkalinity in peraluminous granitic pegmatites. I. Evidence from whewellite and hydrogen carbonate in fluid inclusions
- Peralkalinity in peraluminous granitic pegmatites. II. Evidence from experiments on carbonate formation in spodumene-bearing assemblages
- Ab initio study of structural, elastic and thermodynamic properties of Fe3S at high pressure: Implications for planetary cores
- Removal of barite from zircon using an aqueous solution of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid and potassium carbonate
- Improving grain size analysis using computer vision techniques and implications for grain growth kinetics
- Crystal chemistry of arsenian pyrites: A Raman spectroscopic study
- Formation of the Maoniuping giant REE deposit: Constraints from mineralogy and in situ bastnäsite U-Pb geochronology
- Amphibole as a witness of chromitite formation and fluid metasomatism in ophiolites
- Ferro-papikeite, ideally NaFe2 2+(Fe32+Al2)(Si5Al3)O22(OH)2, a new orthorhombic amphibole from Nordmark (Western Bergslagen), Sweden: Description and crystal structure
- Letter
- HP-PdF2-type FeCl2 as a potential Cl-carrier in the deep Earth
- New Mineral Names: Alteration Products
- American Mineralogist thanks the 2021 reviewers
