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Phosphine from rocks: mechanically driven phosphate reduction?

Dietmar Glindemann1, Marc Edwards, Peter Morgenstern

  • 1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, 418 Durham Hall, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA. dglindem@vt@aol.com

Environmental Science & Technology
|November 22, 2005
PubMed
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Pulverizing rocks releases phosphine (PH3) through mechanochemical weathering, a process mimicking natural geological forces. This discovery offers new insights into phosphine

Area of Science:

  • Geochemistry
  • Mineralogy
  • Environmental Science

Background:

  • Natural rocks and minerals can release phosphine (PH3) during acid dissolution.
  • The quantity of phosphine released is often trace, making its geological origins a subject of study.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the release of phosphine from various rock types under mechanical stress.
  • To explore the role of mechanochemical weathering in phosphine production.
  • To establish a link between rock hardness, pulverization energy, and phosphine yield.

Main Methods:

  • Dissolution of natural rock and mineral samples in mineral acid.
  • Pulverization of rock samples (basalt, gneiss, granite, clay, quartzitic pebbles, marble) to increase surface area and mechanical energy.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analysis of released phosphine (PH3) using gas chromatography.
  • Artificial reproduction of mechanochemical weathering by rubbing apatite-coated quartz rods.

    • Main Results:

    • Pulverized rock samples released significantly more phosphine (average 1982 ng PH3/kg rock) compared to intact samples.
    • Phosphine release correlated positively with rock hardness and the energy required for pulverization.
    • Mechanochemical reduction of phosphate within rocks, particularly at quartz and calcite inclusions, was identified as the likely pathway.
    • Artificial tribochemical weathering of apatite produced substantial amounts of phosphine (over 70,000 ng/kg PH3).

    Conclusions:

    • Mechanochemical weathering, or tribochemistry, is a significant pathway for phosphine production from phosphate-bearing rocks.
    • This geological process may contribute to atmospheric phosphine levels, analogous to phosphine generation from electrical discharges.
    • Tectonic forces and rock processing play a crucial role in this geochemical cycle.