Iron Oxide

Magnetic soils can seriously hamper the performance of electromagnetic sensors for the detection of buried land mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). Soils formed on basaltic substrates commonly have large concentrations of ferrimagnetic iron oxide minerals, which are the main cause of soil magnetic behavior. Previous work has shown that viscous remanent magnetism (VRM) in particular, which is caused by the presence of ferrimagnetic minerals of different sizes and shapes, poses a large problem for electromagnetic surveys. The causes of the variability in magnetic soil properties in general and VRM in particular are not well understood. In this paper we present the results of laboratory studies of soil magnetic properties on three Hawaiian Islands: O"ahu, Kaho"olawe, and Hawaii. The data show a strong negative correlation between mean annual precipitation and induced magnetization, and a positive correlation between mean annual precipitation and the frequency dependent magnetic behavior. Soil erosion, which reduces the thickness of the soil cover, also influences the magnetic properties.

While non-point nutrient loads are important determinants of biological productivity in Southeastern Piedmont impoundments, productivity can be attenuated by concomitant sediment loads that reduce the biological availability of these nutrients. A biogeochemical model is proposed ...

The interaction of organic compounds with the mineral phase is considered as one stabilization mechanism for organic carbon (OC) in soils. The objective of this study is to assess the role of mineral surfaces for the long-term stabilization of OC in arable soils, with special emphasis on iron oxides. Soil samples were taken from two contrasting treatment types, i.e. fertilized plots and C-depleted plots, in long-term agroecosystem experiments. The soil organic carbon pool of the C-depleted plots is considered to show a lower contribution of labile compounds and consequently to be relatively enriched in refractory compounds compared with the fertilized counterparts. In fractions <6 μm, OC was studied in relation to total mineral surface area, surface area contributed by oxides and silicates, and the content and type of iron oxides (dithionite and oxalate extractable iron, Fed and Feo). In two sandy soils, OC contents were linearly related to total mineral surface area and the content of the two iron oxide fractions (Fed and Feo). The surface area developed by the silicates was low and thus the surface area contribution from oxides was dominant in fractions <6 μm. In contrast to the sandy soils, in a loamy soil OC was not correlated with surface area or the iron oxide content. However, the different soils agreed with respect to the behavior of C in density fractions: losses of OC occurred mainly from the light fraction (⩽2 g cm−3), whereas C in the heavy fraction (>2 g cm−3) proved to be stable. For the sandy soils, mineral surface area appears to control the storage of OC in fine fractions. Given the dominant surface area contribution from oxides, OC storage here primarily depends on the oxides. The C-depleted plots in particular show that surface area controls the accumulation of refractory C. The interaction of organic compounds with the mineral phase, mainly with the surface of oxides, seems to be a major mechanism for the long-term stabilization of OC in these sandy soils. An interaction with minerals seems to be important for stabilizing OC also in the loamy soil, although this is not reflected by a proportional relation between OC and surface area across the fractions.

Designing pores of nanoscale dimension into a magnetic material can engineer the surface nanostructure, resulting in a mesoporous material with unique physicochemical properties. Here we report a simple soft-templating approach for the synthesis of new mesoporous iron oxide materials having semi-crystalline pore wall by using an anionic surfactant sodiumdodecylsulfate as the structure-directing agent (SDA) or template at low temperature. On removal of the SDA molecules through solvent extraction the mesostructure is preserved and the material shows considerably high BET surface area and type IV isotherms corresponding to the mesopores. This mesoporous Fe2O3 material showed superparamagnetic behavior and hence this template-assisted synthesis of mesoporous Fe2O3 can find its potential utility in designing magnetic nanostructured materials.

Stainless steel pipes with different degrees of rouging and a Teflon®-coated rupture disc with severe corrosion were thoroughly investigated by combining multiple surface analytical techniques. The surface roughness and iron oxide layer thickness increase with increasing rouge severity, and the chromium oxide layer coexists with the iron oxide layer in samples with various degrees of rouging. Unlike the rouging observed for stainless steel pipes, the fast degradation of the rupture disc was caused by a crevice corrosion environment created by perforations in the protective Teflon coating. This failure analysis clearly shows the highly corrosive nature of ultrapure water used in the manufacture of pharmaceutical products, and demonstrates some of the unexpected corrosion mechanisms that can be encountered in these environments.

The barium oxide impregnated iron(III) oxide (BaO/Fe2O3) adsorbent was synthesized by an ultrasonic-assisted method. The adsorbent was calcined at 200-500 °C and its adsorption capacity was measured. The ultrasonic-assisted synthesis generated well-dispersed of BaO on Fe2O3 by giving none of the BaO peaks were observed through the XRD pattern. The most efficient adsorbent of BaO/Fe2O3200 was calcined at 200 °C with adsorption capacity for physisorption and chemisorption of 5.01 and 88.81 mg/g respectively. Besides other carbonate species, it was believed the presence of the hydroxyl group could enhance the sorption by forming bicarbonate upon CO2 chemisorption. It is also possessed a lower desorption range compared to BaO and Fe2O3 alone. The experimental CO2 adsorption isotherm at 25 °C fit better with the Freundlich isotherm model. It implies a favorable adsorption process with multilayer adsorption occurs onto the heterogeneous surface.