Kieserite, or magnesium sulfate monohydrate, is a hydrous magnesium sulfate mineral with formula (MgSO4·H2O).

Kieserite
General
CategorySulfate minerals
Formula
(repeating unit)
MgSO4·H2O
IMA symbolKsr[1]
Strunz classification7.CB.05
Dana classification29.6.2.1
Crystal systemMonoclinic
Crystal classPrismatic (2/m)
(same H-M symbol)
Space groupC2/c
Unit cella = 7.51 Å, b = 7.61 Å
c = 6.92 Å; β = 116.17°; Z = 4
Identification
ColorColorless, grayish-white or yellowish
Crystal habitMassive, granular; rarely as pyramidal crystals
TwinningContact on {001}, polysynthetic about [110]
Cleavage{110} and {111} perfect
FractureUneven
TenacityFragile
Mohs scale hardness3.5
LusterVitreous to dull
StreakWhite
DiaphaneityTransparent to translucent
Specific gravity2.57
Optical propertiesBiaxial (+)
Refractive indexnα = 1.520 nβ = 1.533 nγ = 1.584
Birefringenceδ = 0.064
2V angle55°
Dispersionr > v, moderate
SolubilityIn water
References[2][3][4]

It has a vitreous luster and it is colorless, grayish-white or yellowish. Its hardness is 3.5 and crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system. Gunningite is the zinc member of the kieserite group of minerals.[5]

Etymology

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It is named after Dietrich Georg von Kieser (Jena, Germany 1862).

Occurrence

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Kieserite commonly occurs in marine evaporites and rarely in volcanic environments as a sublimate. It occurs in association with halite, carnallite, polyhalite, anhydrite, boracite, sulfoborite, leonite, epsomite and celestine.[4]

Mars

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In early 2005, Mars Express, a European Space Agency orbiter, discovered evidence of kieserite in patches of Valles Marineris (the largest canyon on Mars), along with gypsum and polyhydrated sulfates. This is direct evidence of Mars's watery past and augments similar discoveries made by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity in 2004.

Moons of Jupiter

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Kieserite might also be a rock-forming mineral in the icy mantle of the outer three Galilean moons (Europa, Ganymede, Callisto). At pressures higher than 2.7 GPa, kieserite transforms to a triclinic crystal structure.[6]

Uses

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It is used in the production of Epsom salt and as a fertilizer, the overall global annual usage in agriculture in the mid 1970s was 2.3 million tons.[7]

 
Crystal structure of kieserite

Kieserite is also used for cleaning hard water deposits from tiles, stones, and other pool and fountain lining materials. Due to its hardness, which is greater than hard water deposits but less than tiles and other water feature linings, it is blasted at the hard water deposits to remove them.

When used as a fertilizer, response to kieserite is likely where:

  • Soil Mg levels are low
  • pH is high
  • Intensive liming occurs to raise the pH
  • Nitrogen is applied as ammonium, as this can lead to an antagonism between ammonium and magnesium
  • Compacted soils exist
  • There is a period of wet/cold weather
  • Dry weather occurs, leading to low magnesium mobility in the soil profile.[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM...85..291W. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43. S2CID 235729616.
  2. ^ "Kieserite data on Webmineral". Archived from the original on 2009-12-08. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  3. ^ "Kieserite on Mindat.org". Archived from the original on 2009-03-19. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  4. ^ a b "Kieserite in the Handbook of Mineralogy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-04-09. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  5. ^ "Kieserite group on Mindat". Archived from the original on 2019-09-04. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  6. ^ Meusburger, Johannes M.; Ende, Martin; Matzinger, Philipp; Talla, Dominik; Miletich, Ronald; Wildner, Manfred (2020-01-15). "Polymorphism of Mg-monohydrate sulfate kieserite under pressure and its occurrence on giant icy jovian satellites". Icarus. 336: 113459. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2019.113459. ISSN 0019-1035. S2CID 209977442.
  7. ^ Industrial Inorganic Chemistry, Karl Heinz Büchel, Hans-Heinrich Moretto, Dietmar Werner, John Wiley & Sons, 2nd edition, 2000, ISBN 9783527613335
  8. ^ "Magnesium".