Table 2.
Carbon Dioxide, Sulfur Dioxide, and Theoretical Oxygen Production per Milligram of Sample during Individual Pyrolysis Runs of the Natural Jarosite Clay
| Temperature (°C) | Mass SO2 (mg) | Theoretical mass of O2 release during sulfate decompositiona(mg) | Mass CO2 (mg) | C/O2 molar ratiob |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 400 | 0 | 0 | 0.0021 | — |
| 500 | 0.0020 | 0.0010 | 0.0057 | 4.2 |
| 550 | 0.0104 | 0.0052 | 0.0099 | 1.4 |
| 600 | 0.0155 | 0.0078 | 0.0112 | 1.0 |
| 700 | 0.0190 | 0.0095 | 0.0110 | 0.8 |
| 800 | 0.0224 | 0.0112 | 0.0089 | 0.6 |
| 900 | 0.0228 | 0.0114 | 0.0085 | 0.5 |
| 1000 | 0.0217 | 0.0109 | 0.0087 | 0.6 |
a
During sulfate decomposition SO2 release is twice that of O2 (Holt and Engelkemeir, 1970).
b
Moles of carbon in CO2 detected divided by the moles of O2 released by sulfate decomposition. If the C/O2 ratio is at or below one, then there is theoretically enough O2 produced by sulfate decomposition to generate all the CO2 by oxidation of organic matter.