Heterogeneous lithification across a legacy coastal slag bank: the creation of new sedimentary rock from anthropogenic material

Robin Hilderman; John MacDonald; Sammy Griffin; Charlotte Slaymark; Joshua Einsle; Andrew Monaghan

doi:10.57035/journals/sdk.2024.e21.1318

Authors

Robin Hilderman School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7256-4855
John MacDonald School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8609-804X
Sammy Griffin School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
Charlotte Slaymark School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
Joshua Einsle School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8263-8531
Andrew Monaghan School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.57035/journals/sdk.2024.e21.1318

Keywords:

Lithification, Calcite, Slag, Carbonation, Legacy waste

Abstract

Lithification of artificial ground comprising by-products of legacy iron and steel workings presents a range of opportunities including atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) storage. The natural environmental processes altering these waste sites can also pose challenges such as ecotoxic metal leaching, and so it is important to characterise these largely undocumented anthropogenically-derived rocks. This study documents the lithification mechanisms, as well as mineralogical and geochemical characteristics across a legacy coastal iron and steel slag deposit (in Warton, England). X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis of the slag deposit, as well as thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the cream-coloured material covering the deposit, shows lithification both on the top surface and the seaward side above the mean high-water mark (MHWM), which is the result of carbonate mineralisation. This process is driven by water weathering slag minerals (gehlenite, åkermanite, and pseudowollastonite), which release calcium (Ca). Ingassed and hydroxylated atmospheric CO₂reacts with the leached Ca to form calcite that is slightly to strongly depleted in ¹³C (δ¹³C values: -6.4 ‰ to -22.7 ‰), following partial dissolved inorganic carbonate (DIC) equilibrium. Calcium-silicate-hydrate (CSH) precipitation was responsible for lithifying the deposit where more frequent and abundant seawater washing prevents subsequent slag mineral dissolution and carbonate precipitation. This work shows that legacy iron and steel slag deposits are prone to lithification, particularly in coastal settings. This lithification can draw down atmospheric CO₂and has the potential to slow the release of toxic metals from CSH precipitation, enhancing the possibility for repurposing legacy industrial waste for CO₂ storage and coastal defence applications.

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