A hydrothermal apparatus for x-ray absorption spectroscopy of hydrothermal fluids at DESY

Abstract

We present a new autoclave that enables in situ characterization of hydrothermal fluids at high pressures and high temperatures at synchrotron x-ray radiation sources. The autoclave has been specifically designed to enable x-ray absorption spectroscopy in fluids with applications to mineral solubility and element speciation analysis in hydrothermal fluids in complex compositions. However, other applications, such as Raman spectroscopy, in high-pressure fluids are also possible with the autoclave. First experiments were run at pressures between 100 and 600 bars and at temperatures between 25 °C and 550 °C, and preliminary results on scheelite dissolution in fluids of different compositions show that the autoclave is well suited to study the behavior of ore-forming metals at P-T conditions relevant to the Earth's crust.