ZEOLITE-CONTAINING TRIPOLI OF KHOTYNETS DEPOSIT (OREL REGION): MINERAL COMPOSITION, SORPTION PROPERTIES AND FORMATION CONDITIONS

Abstract

Link for citation: Belousov P.E., Karelina N.D., Morozov I.A., Rudmin M.A., Milyutin V.V., Nekrasova N.A., Rumyantseva A.O., Zakusina O.V., Krupskaya V.V. Zeolite-containing tripoli of Khotynets deposit (Orel region): mineral composition, sorption properties and formation conditions. Bulletin of the Tomsk Polytechnic University. Geo Аssets Engineering, 2023, vol. 334, no. 5, рр.70-84.In Rus. The relevance of the work is caused by the need to develop the mineral resource base of high-quality sorption materials in Russia, as well as to study the properties of natural sorbents with a view to their further application in practice. The aim of the work is to study the features of the geological structure, conditions of formation, mineral composition and sorption properties of zeolite-containing tripoli from the Khotynets deposit. The object of the study is the Khotynets deposit of zeolite-containing tripoli, studied by the field team of the Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Sciences RAS in 2019–2020. Methods: XRD, XRF, FTIR, optical and scanning electron microscopy, determination of SSA and pore size distribution, CEC, experiments on the sorption of cesium, strontium and copper. The paleotectonic reconstruction was carried out as well. Results. The productive strata of the Khotynets deposit consists of three benches, the main useful components of which are minerals of the zeolite, opal-cristobalite and smectite group. Their total content reaches 80 %. The formation of the deposit occurred in three stages and is associated with the primary accumulation of biochemogenic silica in coastal sea waters, the removal of terrigenous clay material from the nearby land, their further compaction, and processing of the accumulated material at the diagenesis stage. The formation of clinoptillolite is associated with an increase in pH and the dissolution of the opal-cristobalite and clay material as a result of the secondary impact of low-temperature deep solutions. The performed experiments showed that this mineral material has high sorption characteristics with respect to cesium and copper and can be used as a component of sorption mixtures for the purification of polluted waters.

Keywords

• tripoli
• zeolite
• clay minerals
• sorption
• genesis
• Khotynets deposit