Hazardous Minerals

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Crystallography and Physical Chemistry of Minerals & Nanominerals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 July 2021) | Viewed by 7857

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Pennsylvania, 251 Hayden Hall, 240 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6316, USA
Interests: state-of-the-art transmission electron microscopy; medical mineralogy; environmental mineralogy; biogeochemistry; electron microscopy; electron energy-loss spectroscopy; nanominerals; mineral fibers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Geological Sciences, University of Roma Tre, Largo San Leonardo Murialdo 1, Roma, Italy
Interests: PM pollution; asbestos; gas sensing; environmental mineralogy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Unitec Institute of Technology | Te Whare Wānanga o Wairaka, Private Bag 92025, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Earth Sciences and Interdepartmental Centre for Studies on Asbestos and Other Toxic Particulates, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
Interests: asbestos and asbestiform fibres; inorganic particulate; synthetic vitreous fibres; physicochemical characterization; transmission and scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive spectrometer; detection in air, water, soil, rocks; pollution; presence in organs and interaction with living being

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Natural processes can produce hazardous minerals via different pathways, harming the environment and the organisms through several mechanisms. Massive rocks, as well as mineral particle populations, may represent a hazard and act accordingly to their physical and chemical characteristic to harm a specific target or a broad spectrum of targets. Different chemical–physical characteristics of the minerals (and their anthropogenic uses) affect their accessibility to a certain environment and determine their harmfulness. After dispersion in the environment, these minerals may accumulate into human and animal organs, triggering toxic or carcinogenic effects. The capability of the mineral in interacting with the surrounding environment or organisms is determined by the bulk composition, the surface physicochemical state and topology, the released elements and solubility, dimensionality, as well as the transport of other contaminants that can bind to their surface.

This issue welcomes a broad range of contributions regarding:

  • Hazardous mineral identification and geological settings, and contextualization in the involved environments and organisms;
  • Hazardous mineral complete characterization using multi-analytical techniques;
  • Studies on the interaction of hazardous minerals with simulated biofluids or environmental fluids, and/or cell cultures (e.g., dissolutions study, ROS release, cell viability, DNA damages);
  • Analytical methods, protocols, data analysis, and algorithms aiming to perform a complete characterization of hazardous mineral, dimensional distributions, and particle populations;
  • Studies on the capability of the hazardous mineral to surface-bind and transport hazardous elements, surface-sorbed compounds (e.g., PAH), bacteria, and viruses attached to the mineral particulate surface;
  • Exposure pathways of hazardous minerals, activity which releases mineral particulates (providing a characterization of the produced mineral particles); the industrial, safety, and health consequences of this activity.

Contributions with a scope similar to the ones listed above will be carefully considered for publication.

Dr. Ruggero Vigliaturo
Prof. Dr. Giancarlo Della Ventura
Prof. Dr. Terri-Ann Berry
Prof. Dr. Elena Belluso
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • radioactivity
  • metal ores
  • asbestos and asbestiform minerals
  • biosphere
  • heavy metals

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

13 pages, 2797 KiB  
Article
Crystal Chemical and Structural Characterization of Natural and Cation-Exchanged Mexican Erionite
by Karla Quiroz-Estrada, Alessandro Pacella, Paolo Ballirano, Miguel Ángel Hernández-Espinosa, Carlos Felipe and Marcos Esparza-Schulz
Minerals 2020, 10(9), 772; https://doi.org/10.3390/min10090772 - 31 Aug 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3049
Abstract
In this work, the chemical structural characterization of the erionite-type zeolite from Agua Prieta, Sonora, México, was performed on both pristine and Na, Ca, and Mg exchanged samples in order to identify the various modifications due to cation exchange. The samples investigated were [...] Read more.
In this work, the chemical structural characterization of the erionite-type zeolite from Agua Prieta, Sonora, México, was performed on both pristine and Na, Ca, and Mg exchanged samples in order to identify the various modifications due to cation exchange. The samples investigated were those that showed the best behaviour of CO2 and CH4 adsorption at zero coverage levels and the higher values of surface area reported in our previous studies. According to the crystal-chemical formula (Na3.44K1.96Mg0.63Ca0.62)[Al8.21Si27.79O71.85]·29.63H2O, the pristine sample has been classified as erionite-Na. Morphological FE-SEM investigation performed on both pristine (ERIN) and Na-exchanged samples (ERINa3) showed a similar range of fiber diameters (27–37 nm). The chemical analyses of the ion-exchanged samples evidenced the upload of Ca and Mg following ion exchange with Na. Rietveld analysis results allowed the identification of the chemical structural modification caused by the ion exchange process, occurring mainly at the Ca1 site. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hazardous Minerals)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Review

Jump to: Research

15 pages, 1339 KiB  
Review
Secondary Sulfate Minerals from Thallium Mineralized Areas: Their Formation and Environmental Significance
by Fengqi Zhao and Shangyi Gu
Minerals 2021, 11(8), 855; https://doi.org/10.3390/min11080855 - 8 Aug 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3780
Abstract
Thallium is a highly toxic metal and is predominantly hosted by sulfides associated with low-temperature hydrothermal mineralization. Weathering and oxidation of sulfides generate acid drainage with a high concentration of thallium, posing a threat to surrounding environments. Thallium may also be incorporated into [...] Read more.
Thallium is a highly toxic metal and is predominantly hosted by sulfides associated with low-temperature hydrothermal mineralization. Weathering and oxidation of sulfides generate acid drainage with a high concentration of thallium, posing a threat to surrounding environments. Thallium may also be incorporated into secondary sulfate minerals, which act as temporary storage for thallium. We present a state-of-the-art review on the formation mechanism of the secondary sulfate minerals from thallium mineralized areas and the varied roles these sulfate minerals play in Tl mobility. Up to 89 independent thallium minerals and four unnamed thallium minerals have been documented. These thallium minerals are dominated by Tl sulfosalts and limited to several sites. Occurrence, crystal chemistry, and Tl content of the secondary sulfate minerals indicate that Tl predominantly occurs as Tl(I) in K-bearing sulfate. Lanmuchangite acts as a transient source and sink of Tl for its water-soluble feature, whereas dorallcharite, Tl-voltaite, and Tl-jarosite act as the long term source and sink of Tl in the surface environments. Acid and/or ferric iron derived from the dissolution of sulfate minerals may increase the pyrite oxidation process and Tl release from Tl-bearing sulfides in the long term. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hazardous Minerals)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop