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Thermal stability of crandallite CaAl3(PO4)2(OH)5·(H2O)

A ‘Cave’ mineral from the Jenolan Caves

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Abstract

Thermogravimetry combined with evolved gas mass spectrometry has been used to characterise the mineral crandallite CaAl3(PO4)2(OH)5·(H2O) and to ascertain the thermal stability of this ‘cave’ mineral. X-ray diffraction proves the presence of the mineral and identifies the products of the thermal decomposition. The mineral crandallite is formed through the reaction of calcite with bat guano. Thermal analysis shows that the mineral starts to decompose through dehydration at low temperatures at around 139 °C and the dehydroxylation occurs over the temperature range 200–700 °C with loss of the OH units. The critical temperature for OH loss is around 416 °C and above this temperature the mineral structure is altered. Some minor loss of carbonate impurity occurs at 788 °C. This study shows the mineral is unstable above 139 °C. This temperature is well above the temperature in the caves of 15 °C maximum. A chemical reaction for the synthesis of crandallite is offered and the mechanism for the thermal decomposition is given.

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Acknowledgements

The financial and infra-structure support of the Queensland University of Technology, Chemistry discipline is gratefully acknowledged. The Australian Research Council (ARC) is thanked for funding the instrumentation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemistry Discipline, Faculty of Science and Technology, Queensland University of Technology, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, QLD, 4001, Australia

    Ray L. Frost & Sara J. Palmer

  2. Mineralogy and Petrology Section, Australian Museum, 6 College St., Sydney, NSW, 2010, Australia

    Ross E. Pogson

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  1. Ray L. Frost
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  2. Sara J. Palmer
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  3. Ross E. Pogson
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Correspondence to Ray L. Frost.

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Frost, R.L., Palmer, S.J. & Pogson, R.E. Thermal stability of crandallite CaAl3(PO4)2(OH)5·(H2O) . J Therm Anal Calorim 107, 905–909 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-011-1578-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-011-1578-6

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