A study on the formation of smectite in silica scales precipitated from geothermal water: The effect of magnesium

Silica scales containing large amounts of smectite were recently found in the pipelines for geothermal water at a geothermal power plant. To elucidate the mechanism of smectite formation, seven silica scale samples were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, chemical analysis and ²⁷Al MAS NMR. Smectite was present in samples with MgO levels above 10 wt% and Al₂O₃ levels below 10 wt%. In ²⁷Al MAS NMR spectra, peaks assigned to both tetrahedrally and octahedrally coordinated aluminum (Al(4) and Al(6)) were observed for Mg-rich samples, whereas a peak due to Al(4) alone appeared in Mg-poor samples. From these observation and comparison between ²⁷Al MAS NMR spectra for synthesized precipitates of Al₂O₃-SiO₂ containing MgO and not containing MgO, it is concluded that magnesium plays an important role in the stabilization of Al(6), and results in the formation of smectite.