A new occurrence of barium silicates has been found in unmetamorphosed sedimentary rocks of central North Greenland. Two different barium minerals have been identified, the Ba-feldspar hyalophane, and an unknown and hitherto undescribed hydrated Ba-silicate with an anhydrous chemical composition identical to cymrite but with about 4 moles of water in the mineral structure. Both silicates are found in a black organic-rich chert sequence in close association with baryte. No replacement textures are observed between the three Ba-minerals.

The hydrated Ba-silicate in the unmetamorphosed rock sequence of the Navarana Fjord area is considered to represent a member in a sequence of Ba-silicates from the unknown Ba-silicate with four H2O in the structure (BaAl2Si2O8·4H2O), through cymrite with one H2O (BaAl2Si2O2O8·H2O) to celsian with none (BaAl2Si2O8). This sequence might reflect the continuous release of water during prograde diagenesis and metamorphism. The association between chert and Ba minerals in the sedimentary rocks of the Navarana Fjord area is believed to reflect an addition of silica and barium by hydrothermal solutions.

In situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiments were used to study the effect of trace amounts of a commercial inhibitor on the (001) baryte surface during growth. The additive tested was a copolymer, used as a scale inhibitor in oil recovery (maleic acid/allyl sulfonic acid copolymer with phosphonate groups, partial sodium salt). The morphology of the growth was used to gain a better understanding of the inhibition mechanism. Without an inhibitor, barium sulfate growth occurred by 2D island nucleation and spreading. The addition of a small amount (0.1 ppm and 0.5 ppm) of copolymer inhibitor enhances 2D nucleation but blocks growth. Just 1 ppm of inhibitor blocks nucleation and growth by adsorption of a copolymer layer onto the baryte surface. Similarly in 3D studies, small amounts of inhibitor seem to act on growth and not on nucleation and larger amounts of copolymer act on both by adsorption of the copolymer to all baryte surfaces keeping the particles in their embryo stage.

The thermodynamic solubility product for baryte, determined at standard conditions, from data in commonly used compilations, was compared with published experimental solubility products for baryte and with the solubility products from databases used by the PHREEQC geochemical speciation code and MultiScale, which is often used by oil companies to predict or describe baryte scaling. The values in the various databases agree well with experimental data (10–10.05–10–9.96; Melcher, 1910; Neuman, 1933; Templeton, 1960; Davis and Collins, 1971; Blount, 1977; Felmy et al., 1990), which agree within uncertainty with the values presented in the compilations of Robie et al. (1979), Wagman et al. (1982), Lide (2005), Raju and Atkinson (1988), as well as Nordstrom and Munoz (1994), whose values have the least uncertainty. In solutions of 50% seawater mixed with 50% reservoir formation waters, the data predict baryte supersaturation, both at standard temperature and at the temperatures expected in the reservoir, completely consistent with field observations. This provides confidence that the Pitzer approach for activity correction and the database is valid for investigations of baryte precipitation rates in high ionic strength solutions.

The development of the morphology of baryte crystals grown in a silica gel medium is related to the changes in supersaturation. Nucleation occurs when the supersaturation in the system exceeds a threshold value which depends on the supersaturation rate, i.e. the rate at which the supersaturation is changing at the nucleation site. During growth the supersaturation decreases, although a high level of supersaturation is maintained throughout. These experimental results compare well with the morphological development predicted from theoretical models based on the periodic bond chain theory. The ontogeny of natural harytes corresponds, in considerable detail, to the experimental observations made here and strongly suggests that similarly high supersaturations have prevailed in nature. This correspondence indicates that the technique of crystal growth in a porous silica gel medium provides a good experimental model of studying natural growth processes.

Arsenic(V) removal from aqueous solution following addition of either a mixture of synthetic hydroxylapatite and baryte or bone-char is discussed. Arsenic concentrations of 4, 10 and 100 mg/l were investigated and additions of 0.2—10 g/l of solid (hydroxylapatite, baryte or bone-char) were tested, at an initial pH of either 5 or 7. Although the mixture of hydroxylapatite and baryte had a small influence on arsenic concentrations, bone-char was found to be a very effective sorbing agent for arsenic(V). Packed-column studies to investigate the bone-char capacity, followed by leaching tests were carried out. The capacity of bone-char was found to be superior to that of granular activated carbon. The experiments presented here indicate that the mechanism involved is adsorption rather than co-precipitation.

Ba-rich and Si-rich phlogopites occur in the talc-bearing rocks of the La Creuse sulfide ore deposit in Beaujolais, France. They form a group of compositions completely separated from the common Al-rich phlogopites that occur in the surrounding talc-free metasiltites and metarhyolites, with higher Ba and Mg and lower Al contents. The Ba-rich phlogopites have a relatively narrow compositional range (0.24 to 0.80 Ba per formula unit, for 44 valencies) with high and constant Si (5.8 atoms per formula unit, apfu) and Mg + Fe (5.6 apfu), probably buffered by the presence of talc. Compared to low-Al phlogopites from talc-free rocks, the excess charge introduced by the BaK–1 substitution is compensated by interlayer vacancies. Such a high level of interlayer vacancy (0.56 pfu), related to the talc-producing metasomatic conditions, is essential for the stability of this special group of Ba-rich and Si-rich phlogopites.

Single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses were performed. Ba-rich and Si-rich phlogopite is monoclinic, space group C2/m, (R = 5.31%) with a = 5.3185(5), b = 9.2136(9), c = 10.1349(11) Å and β = 100.131(11)°. The occupancies of Mg/Fe and K/Ba were refined exploring different vacancies. The solutions giving the best R factor (4.77%) and goodness-of-fit (1.06) are obtained with 15% < vacancy < 40% at the interlayer site.