Sources of metasilicate in mineral water of Jingyu County, northeastern China

Abstract

The source of metasilicate in mineral water of Jingyu County. located in Changbai Mountains of northeastern China, was analysed through two groups of water-rock interaction experiments. One is a hydrolysis immersion experiment using basalt and the other is an immersion experiment utilizing a mixture of soil, scoria, and clastic basalt under the same conditions. Results indicate that the metasilicate in mineral water is mainly derived from the hydrolysis of silicates and silica in the basalt, scoria, and soil. In the first immersion experiment, the release of metasilicate is linear, with dissolved metasilicate increasing continuously through time at a stable release rate of about 0.01 mg/(kg·day). The second experiment indicates that the contribution of soil and scoria to metasilicate in mineral water is higher than that of clastic basalt under the same conditions.