Modelling the Leachability of Strontium and Barium from Stone Building Materials

Abstract

In order that the impact on the environment and human beings can be assessed, it may prove necessary for geochemical research work to entail determinations of concentrations of trace elements in building materials, and it is also likely that this will be a time-consuming and financially-demanding business. Additionally, once basic research has been carried out to determine the mineral composition and structural and textural features, it will then be important to determine concentrations of elements that affect the surrounding natural environment and the health of human beings. This paper thus describes mineralogical and geochemical analyses performed on the stone material that opoka rocks represent. Mineralogical studies have shown that the studied opoka rocks most often have cryptocrystalline silica dispersed among carbonate components. The texture of the rock is slightly porous. Silica in the form of type opal A and CT (cristobalite–tridymite) is the main mineral component of the opoka rocks. Carbonate minerals represented by calcite were an important component in the opoka rocks. Earlier geochemical studies focused on the concentration of Sr and Ba. However, the determination of the leachability of these elements as a function of time is a novelty in this study. Trace elements leached from the material matrix were made subject to determinations. The MATLAB program was used to assess leachability in the cases of both strontium and barium, by reference to the Mamdani–Assilian fuzzy algorithm. The presented work has thus sought to experiment with the use of statistical methods to monitor the effectiveness of geochemical processes taking place over time.