Effect of BaCl2 on the Release and Kinetics of Potassium in the Selected Silicate K-bearing Minerals

Aluminosilicates such as K-feldspar and micaceous minerals are the main source of potassium in soils. The objectives of this study were to investigate the release of K from micaceous minerals (biotite, phlogopite, muscovite) and K-feldspars (Zanjan and Yazd) using sequential extraction by 0.05 M BaCl2 and determine the effect of mineral grain size and application of kinetic models to describe K release. For this purpose, sequential extraction with BaCl2 was conducted on two sizes of 50-100 and less than 50 micron for the periods of 2-600 hours. The amount of K released into the solution was measured by flame photometer. The results indicated that after 13 times of extraction, in the both sizes, biotite and muscovite had the highest and lowest values of K release, respectively. Meanwhile, the released K increased by decreasing the mineral size. The kinetics of K release from minerals consisted of two phases, the first phase was relatively rapid and then continued with a slow rate to end of the experiment. Regarding the high determination coefficient (R2) and low standard error of the estimate (SE), parabulic diffusion and exponential function equations could reasonably describe the K release kinetics. Therefore, it may be concluded that the release of K is controlled by diffusion process from the surface of the study minerals.