Professor Peter May

Room: PhSc/2.014

Research

Solution Chemistry, Chemical Speciation, Computer Application

Projects

Chemistry of Aluminate Solutions

(In collaboration with Associate Professor Glenn Hefter)

The properties of concentrated caustic aluminate solutions are of great interest to the alumina industry as models for Bayer liquors. In recent years at Murdoch University we have developed world class facilities for studying the properties of such solutions under the sponsorhip of the Australian alumina industry and the AJ Parker Cooperative Research Centre for Hydrometallurgy. A wide range of techniques are now available including calorimetry, viscometry, potentiometry and spectroscopic techniques such as NMR, FTIR and Raman.

A variety of projects are available covering various aspects of aluminate chemistry including the following:

• The role of chemical speciation in the efficiency of the alumina crystallization process.
• Improved methods for the analysis of Bayer liquors.
• The behaviour of concentrated electrolyte solutions at high temperature.
• Modelling of concentrated electrolyte solutions

Concentrated electrolyte solutions are widely used in hydrometallurgy for the recovery and purification of many metals. However, our ability to model the behaviour of such solutions is limited by our understanding of their nature. New insights are being gained by the application of new experimental and theoretical techniques.

Cyanide in the Environment

Improving our current understanding of cyanide behaviour in the environment is needed to achieve best practice in waste management by the mining industry. The chemistry of metal complexation by cyanide and of cyanide volatization, oxidation and adsorptiion onto minerals determines cyanide ecotoxicity. This project will measure the quantitative data required for technical decision-making to minimise the adverse effects of cyanide in the environment. Modelling will play a key role in the interpretation of experiments and in predicting the environmental consequences of cyanide disposal.

Chelation in Biological Fluids

The interaction of drugs with metal ions in body fluids such as blood plasma, saliva and intestinal juice (either by design or as a side-effect) is of increasing concern in pharmaceutical research. Currently, emphasis is being given to experimental characterization of metal binding to macromolecules such as proteins using fulvic acid as a model system and to the development of a computer simulation of the physiological distribution and turnover of trace elements in mammalian systems.

Applied Chemical Speciation Studies

(In collaboration with Associate Professor Glenn Hefter)

Chemical speciation: the exact chemical form of an element, plays a dominant role in determining how that element interacts with its physical and biological environment. Such effects are of widespread importance in industry, the environment and medicine. The measurement of chemical equilibria, coupled to computer modelling techniques, provides the best method of studying chemical speciation phenomena. Present areas of interest are:

• complexing of iron in industrial process streams;
• cyanide complexes in gold processing and waste disposal; and
• Bayer process equilibria.

Solution Equilibria and Transport

The aim of these studies is to understand, and thus to control the equilibrium and kinetic processes which determine the chemical properties of biological, geological and industrial solutions. The work is highly interdisciplinary both in its theoretical and its experimental content. Strong emphasis is placed on the use of mainframe and microcomputers. Current areas of research include the following:

• The development of computer programs for improved analysis of data from thermodynamic experiments
• An international collaborative project for the sharing of thermodynamic and kinetic data.
• Application of recent progress in ion-selective-electrode technology to chemical analysis of multicomponent systems.
• Transport of both essential and toxic metal ions through soil solution and other natural waters.

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