Abstract
Despite the ubiquity of applications for germanium, there is a lack of practically useful solubility data in acidic solutions. Previous studies were done at ambient temperature and only for commonly used acids (H2SO4, HCl). Hence, an investigation of the solubility of GeO2 in different acids was undertaken. Several inorganic and organic acids were studied in the concentration range of 1–11 mol/L and at 23, 40, and 60 °C. In the case of H2SO4 and HCl previous data was confirmed. Lower acidity resulted in a higher solubility for Ge at all tested temperatures. Tests done at 40 and 60 °C and low to moderate acidity levels, gave slightly increased solubility values at higher temperatures compared to 23 °C. This wasn’t the case at higher acidity levels, i.e., the solubility curves at different temperatures converge at high acidity. Lastly, a relationship of water activity and GeO2 solubility in different acid media was established.
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Acknowledgements
The helpful support of the HydroMET laboratory of McGill University is gratefully acknowledged for helping the authors to perform the thermodynamic modelling with OLI Streamanalyzer v9.5. The helpful support of Jean-Philippe Masse of École Polytechnique de Montréal with the XRD analysis is gratefully acknowledged.
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Feldmann, T., Nosrati, S., Bélanger, F. (2018). Solubility of Germanium Dioxide in Commonly Used Acids—Effect of Acid Strength, Temperature, and Water Activity. In: Davis, B., et al. Extraction 2018. The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95022-8_209
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