Adsorption of prebiotically essential molecules on oxide minerals

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16H04074
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Petrology/Mineralogy/Economic geology
• Research Institution: Tokyo Institute of Technology
• Principal Investigator: Norio Kitadai 東京工業大学, 地球生命研究所, 研究員 (80625723)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 福士 圭介 金沢大学, 環日本海域環境研究センター, 准教授 (90444207)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 表面錯体モデリング

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Adsorption is among the most fundamental reactions in natural aqueous systems from soils to oceans, controlling a variety of geochemical processes including the migration of ions, metals, and trace or radioactive elements, the formation of low-crystalline oxyhydroxides, ice nucleation on mineral aerosols, and ion uptake by plants. To predict the geochemical impact of adsorption in natural waters, here we evaluated adsorption behaviors of biologically important ions (e.g., sulfate, phosphate, and carbonate) on a wide variety of oxide minerals over a full range of environmental conditions by using the extended triple-layer model (ETLM). The obtained dataset should significantly contribute to a better understanding of the geochemical processes, including the origin of life, occurring at the mineral-water interface.

Free Research Field

地球惑星科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究で使用した吸着理論であるETLMは，一般に広く利用されている地球化学モデルプログラム（例えばvisual-MINTEQ, PHREEQC, MINTEQL+, GEOSURF）で利用できます．また淡水や海水，採鉱過程で排出された水など，幅広い水質条件に適用可能です．このため，本研究で得られた吸着反応式やパラメータは，天然水を対象とする様々な評価に活かすことができると考えられます．