Textural complications of banded iron formation and the potential production of nano-magnetite: a case study from the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt
Abstract The current work makes integrated value-added, geological and chemical studies on the texturally intricate banded iron formation “BIF” that is represented here, as a case in point, by the Um Nar BIF located in the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt. Geologically, the Um Nar BIF is composed mai...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-42058-5 |
| _version_ | 1797559640093884416 |
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| author | Mahmoud Abdel-Hakeem Galal El-Habaak |
| author_facet | Mahmoud Abdel-Hakeem Galal El-Habaak |
| author_sort | Mahmoud Abdel-Hakeem |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The current work makes integrated value-added, geological and chemical studies on the texturally intricate banded iron formation “BIF” that is represented here, as a case in point, by the Um Nar BIF located in the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt. Geologically, the Um Nar BIF is composed mainly of oxide-rich facies and silicate-rich facies mostly expressed as bands of variable thickness (90–730 µm). Magnetite, martite, goethite, and quartz are detected as the main components of the oxide-rich facies, while epidote, stilpnomelane, and garnet occupy the other facies type. The studied ore can be classified as a low-grade iron ore containing 51.23 wt.% Fe2O3 and 39.64 wt.% SiO2 along with considerable phosphorous content (1.01 wt.% P2O5). These elemental concentrations do not match the recommended benchmarks for iron and steelmaking (e.g.75.78–95.8 wt.% Fe2O3, 5–7 wt.% SiO2, and 0.04 wt.% P2O5). Moreover, the studied BIF has a poor liberation behavior on crushing and grinding due to the complex interlocking of magnetite with quartz and stilpnomelane expressed as a sieve-like texture. This textural complication directed the current work to investigate the potential exploitation of the Um Nar BIF as a precursor of nano-magnetite that is commonly synthesized by ferrous and ferric chlorides. Accordingly, HCl-based agitation leaching followed by co-precipitation was carried out, resulting in ultrafine mesoporous nano-magnetite (2.47–4.27 nm particle size, 120 m2g−1 surface area, 0.55 cm3g−1 pore volume, and 4.88 nm pore diameter) expected to serve in water treatment as an effective adsorbent for heavy metals. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:48:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b7908b42e164444bbe42bc703b890691 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:48:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-b7908b42e164444bbe42bc703b8906912023-11-20T09:27:32ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-09-0113111510.1038/s41598-023-42058-5Textural complications of banded iron formation and the potential production of nano-magnetite: a case study from the Central Eastern Desert of EgyptMahmoud Abdel-Hakeem0Galal El-Habaak1Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, South Valley UniversityDepartment of Geology, Faculty of Science, Assiut UniversityAbstract The current work makes integrated value-added, geological and chemical studies on the texturally intricate banded iron formation “BIF” that is represented here, as a case in point, by the Um Nar BIF located in the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt. Geologically, the Um Nar BIF is composed mainly of oxide-rich facies and silicate-rich facies mostly expressed as bands of variable thickness (90–730 µm). Magnetite, martite, goethite, and quartz are detected as the main components of the oxide-rich facies, while epidote, stilpnomelane, and garnet occupy the other facies type. The studied ore can be classified as a low-grade iron ore containing 51.23 wt.% Fe2O3 and 39.64 wt.% SiO2 along with considerable phosphorous content (1.01 wt.% P2O5). These elemental concentrations do not match the recommended benchmarks for iron and steelmaking (e.g.75.78–95.8 wt.% Fe2O3, 5–7 wt.% SiO2, and 0.04 wt.% P2O5). Moreover, the studied BIF has a poor liberation behavior on crushing and grinding due to the complex interlocking of magnetite with quartz and stilpnomelane expressed as a sieve-like texture. This textural complication directed the current work to investigate the potential exploitation of the Um Nar BIF as a precursor of nano-magnetite that is commonly synthesized by ferrous and ferric chlorides. Accordingly, HCl-based agitation leaching followed by co-precipitation was carried out, resulting in ultrafine mesoporous nano-magnetite (2.47–4.27 nm particle size, 120 m2g−1 surface area, 0.55 cm3g−1 pore volume, and 4.88 nm pore diameter) expected to serve in water treatment as an effective adsorbent for heavy metals.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-42058-5 |
| spellingShingle | Mahmoud Abdel-Hakeem Galal El-Habaak Textural complications of banded iron formation and the potential production of nano-magnetite: a case study from the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt Scientific Reports |
| title | Textural complications of banded iron formation and the potential production of nano-magnetite: a case study from the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt |
| title_full | Textural complications of banded iron formation and the potential production of nano-magnetite: a case study from the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt |
| title_fullStr | Textural complications of banded iron formation and the potential production of nano-magnetite: a case study from the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt |
| title_full_unstemmed | Textural complications of banded iron formation and the potential production of nano-magnetite: a case study from the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt |
| title_short | Textural complications of banded iron formation and the potential production of nano-magnetite: a case study from the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt |
| title_sort | textural complications of banded iron formation and the potential production of nano magnetite a case study from the central eastern desert of egypt |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-42058-5 |
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