Comparison of the influence of tannic acid and selected low-molecular-weight organic acids on precipitation products of aluminum

The crystallization and surface properties of hydrolytic reaction products of Al precipitated in the presence of 1.0 · 10^?6M and 1.0 · 10^?4M tannic acid from systems at the initial Al concentrations of 1.1 · 10^?4M and 1.1 · 10^?3M and OH/Al molar ratios of 2.0 or 3.0 were examined.X-ray diffraction analyses show that the structural distortion within the hydrolytic precipitation products of Al increases with the molar ratio of tannic acid to Al. The non-crystalline to poorly ordered hydrolytic precipitation products of Al, including pseudoboehmite, are formed in the presence of tannic acid and are shown by transmission electron micrographs to be fine, shapeless and hollow colloids which are deformed and aggregated. In contrast to low molecular weight organic acids (p-hydroxybenzoic, aspartic, malic, and citric acids), the influence of tannic acid on the surface reactivities of the precipitation products of Al cannot be solely explained on the basis of its chemical affinity towards Al. In addition to complexation, the physical adsorption of the tannic acid initially present at 1.0 · 10^?6M apparently promotes structural distortion in the precipitation products and thereby increases the specific surface and the formation of active sites for surface charge development and for phosphate and Ca retention to an extent even greater than that observed with the more strongly complexing malic acid. On the other hand, when the concentration of tannic acid is increased to 1.0 · 10^?4M, the physical adsorption of the tannic acid, while enhancing Ca retention through its ability to ionize and provide negative charges, hampers phosphate retention by masking some of the active sites.