Chemical characterization of mineralized holocene plant from Camocim, Ceará, Brazil

Abstract

This research focused on analyzing and identifying the chemical composition of plants remains mineralized by burial, present in eolianites, from the Camocim coastal zone, in order to find qualitative and quantitative ways of preserving these materials’ mineral identity. The analyses were made by Energy Dispersive X ray Spectrometer technique in electronic microscope, a qualitative and semi-quantitative method used for materials elemental identification. We also prepared five samples following the Physics degree’s Central Analytica utilization norms of Universidade Federal do Ceará, where analyses were made; the samples were fragmented to the limit of 1 cm, following sputter coating by gold, later observed in scanning electronic microscope Inspect S50 FEI, that has an Energy Dispersive X ray Spectrometer. Results revealed that these five samples didn’t present significant variations between their chemicals compositions, being primarily made of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), which represent more than 90% of the composition in each one, deriving from plentiful marine bioclasts in sedimentary contents of Camocim coastal zone. Trace elements like magnesium, silicon, aluminum, iron and chlorine were present as well, and their presence may be related to diverse diagenetic compositional origin of deposited sediments at the coastland.