The removal of iron and various heavy-metal ions in waste water into stable ferrite-type precipitates at ambient temperature is a promising alternative to clean up large volumes of polluted effluents. In this study, quantitative evaluation of ferrite formation method from aqueous solutions containing iron and sulfate at ambient temperature was considered, toward future application of this method to the treatment of acid mine drainage containing iron. In order to evaluate suitable conditions of Fe
3O
4 formation quantitatively, these formation process was considered to be divided into two processes, i.e. oxidation process and aging process.
The reaction rate in the oxidation process was examined by aerial oxidation reaction test. The results showed that the oxidation rate of ferrous iron was determined by the mass transfer of oxygen from atmosphere to solution, so the yield of Fe
3O
4 in precipitation could be evaluated quantitatively by the total oxygen consumption which could be estimated from the oxygen transfer coefficient and the oxidation time.
The reaction rate in the aging process was also examined by solid-solid reaction test in which Fe(OH)
2 and FeOOH reacted directly in reduction atmosphere and at a fixed pH. At the initial stage of the reaction, the concentration change of FeOOH followed the first-order reaction concerning with FeOOH concentration. Surface complexation model which Fe(II) adsorbed to Fe(III) oxide could describe this phenomenon qualitatively.
Relation between quantitative indexes which investigated in this study and several reaction conditions such as pH, Fe concentration and stirring intensity agrees with the results of Fe
3O
4 forming reaction from aqueous solutions at 25 °c which have been investigated by us or other researchers. These quantitative indexes are useful to understand suitable conditions or mechanisms of ferrite formation.
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