Study of the Stacking Sequences of an Irregular Mixed-Layer Illite/Smectite (I/S) Clay Mineral—with a Discussion on the Existence of Minerals with Two-Dimentional Lattice and One-Dimentional Quasi-Lattice

There are two aspects in the study of irregular mixed-layer clay minerals: one is the kinds and ratios of their basic structural unit layers and the other is the junction probabilities of the unit layers. Irregular mixed-layer illite/smectite clay minerals (I/S) are widespread in nature. While studying the clay minerals from the Permian-Triassic (P/T) boundary bed, the authors found that I/S clay minerals are developed in all P/T boundary clay layers in areas from the northwest to southeast of China. Systematic mineralogical studies of the I/S clay minerals from Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan and Zhejiang were made by means of X-ray, infrared spectroscopic, electron microscopic and chemical analyses and a deepened study of the stacking sequences of their structural unit layers was conducted by the MacEwan one—dimentional direct Fourier transform. It was found that the stacking of the illite and smectite crystal layers along the c axis can be derived from Fibonacci sequences. Hence, the authors propose that such I/S clay minerals are possessed of two—dimentional crystal lattice and one—dimentional quasicrystal lattice.

Flow and Ductility of Smectite Clay for Skin Treatment

It is important that pastes and creames for skin treatment have suitable rheological properties and ability to establish a?good contact with the tissues while retaining their tightness. Thixotropy is desired for providing fluidity when agitated and a suitably degree of stiffening thereafter. This requires low shear resistance in the coating phase and microstructural reorganization when leaving the paste to rest. Following the principle of using only mineral components for skin treatment,?use?of expandable hydrophilic clay minerals should be considered. They sorb?cations and positively charged organic molecules and are impermeable to fluids and gas under low pressure, hence providing oxygen-free micro-environment. They can balance pH and are excellent agents for cleaning skin.

Clay mineral distribution characteristics of surface sediments in the South Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Clay minerals are usually considered as important indicators to identify sources in both terrigenous and marine sediments.In particular,clay minerals in metalliferous sediments(MS)have long been studied in global oceans except in South Mid-Atlantic Ridge(SMAR)due to limited explorations.Thus,32 MS and 34 non-MS(NMS)samples were analyzed to clarify the distribution characteristics and mineral compositions of clay minerals.All the sediments were collected along the SMAR between 12°S and 27°S.After removal of organic matter and carbonate,clay fractions(<2μm)were investigated by Xray diffraction(XRD)analysis.Results show that clay mineral assemblages of surface MS consist dominantly of smectite,less abundant illite,chlorite,and kaolinite in average weight percentage of 30%,21%,18%,and 16%,respectively.On the other hand,clay mineral assemblages in the NMS consist mainly of illite,less abundant kaolinite,chlorite,and very scarce smectite in average weight percentage of 47%,29%,24%,and 0.2%,respectively.The clay fractions in MS are mainly composed of amorphous or poorly crystallized Fe/Mn oxyhydroxides,clay mineral,quartz,and plagioclase.However,the counterparts in the NMS are mainly composed of well-crystallized clay minerals,quartz,and plagioclase without the presence of Fe/Mn oxyhydroxides.It is suggested that most of the illite,kaolinite,and chlorite in both MS and NMS are likely aeolian dust in origin from South Africa continent.In addition,the abundance of kaolinite dominates the clay mineral assemblage at low latitudes,where the intensive chemical weathering of continental source rocks facilitating the formation of kaolinite.In terms of smectite,it is indicated of authigenic origin in consideration of only smectite is available in several MS and the absence in NMS.Moreover,the MS samples with only smectite available are always accompanied by goethite.Therefore,it is assumed that most of smectite occurred in studied area is the results of interaction between hydrothermal Fe-oxyhydroxide,silica,and seawater.

Characterization of Clay Materials from Ivory Coast for Their Use as Adsorbents for Wastewater Treatment

In order to contribute to the valorisation of the clay materials of Ivory Coast in the depollution of wastewater, the physicochemical and mineralogical characterization of three clay samples taken in Agboville (AGB), Bingerville (BIN) and Katiola (KAT) was carried out. The objective of this work was to compare the properties of the clays in order to identify the one that is likely to have interesting adsorptive capacities to clean up contaminated water. These clays were studied by chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and thermal analysis. In addition, their specific surface areas and cation exchange capacities were determined. The AGB clay is composed of 75.51% kaolinite, 14.20% illite and 9.26% quartz. The BIN clay contains 52.21% kaolinite, 6.23% illite, 17.50% quartz and 15.71% goethite. As for the KAT clay, it contains 48.08% kaolinite, 3.55% illite, 20.14% smectite, 6.11% quartz and 16.86% goethite. Their thermal behavior and microstructure are in agreement with their mineralogy. The measured specific surface areas and cation exchange capacities are consistent with literature values. The KAT clay has the highest specific surface and cation exchange capacity. In the light of the results obtained, the KAT clay appears to be more effective in depolluting water than the BIN and AGB clays.

Characterization of Soil Clay Minerals of the River Nile Sediments, Sohag Region, Egypt： Decomposition of X-Ray Diffraction Patterns

Up till now all the clay mineral studies on the soils of the River Nile flood plain in Egypt could not trace the very rapid mineral change observed in these soils. So, the clay mineralogy of the River Nile flood plain soils in Sohag region, Egypt, has been studied using the method of numerical analysis of X-ray diffraction recordings （curve decomposition） as a new, powerful tool for precise mineral identification. The X-ray patterns of the studied soil clay fraction show that 2：1 clay minerals are much more abundant than kaolinite and that this clay fraction contains fair amounts of K-feldspar and quartz. XRD pattems obtained on the 〈 2 μm fraction of the River Nile sediments indicate the presence of smectite, mixed-layer illite-expanding minerals, kaolinite, mica-illite and chlorite. The decomposed XRD patterns reveal significant changes in the mineralogy of the clays. The major clay phases present in the 4-11 20 range are well crystallized illite （10 A）, poorly crystallized illite （10.2-10.4 A）, two mixed-layer I-S （illite/smectite） minerals, one with a peak near 13.5 A （rich-smectite） and the other near 11 A （rich-illite）.

Synthesis of Faujasite from Egyptian Clays: Characterizations and Removal of Heavy Metals

Three clay samples with different mineral compositions (kaolinite, smectite-kaoline, and smectite-rich) were used for zeolite synthesis using the method of hydrothermal reactions after fusion with NaOH. The conditions of hydrothermal crystallization (zeolitization) were found to be at temperature of 100°C, and time span between 72 h and 96 h for kaoline and smectite-rich samples, while 48 h for the smectite-kaolinite sample. The results indicate that zeolites began to crystallize from clay samples after 48 h, and crystallization increased with increasing time. The synthetic materials have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermogravimetric (DTA/TGA) analysis. The results indicate that low silica NaX-faujasite type with well-developed octahedral and cubic crystals was synthesized from the three samples. No big difference in the characterization between the three synthetic materials was detected, but smectite-kaolinite sample as raw material was relatively better in crystallization of synthetic zeolite. Applications of the synthetic materials in the removal of heavy metals proved that the synthetic faujasite has strong effect for removing of Cr3+, Co2+, Ni2+ and Mn2+ from aqueous solution.

From illite/smectite clay to mesoporous silicate adsorbent for efficient removal of chlortetracycline from water

A series of mesoporous silicate adsorbents with superior adsorption performance for hazardous chlortetracycline（CTC） were sucessfully prepared via a facile one-pot hydrothermal reaction using low-cost illite/smectite（IS） clay,sodium silicate and magnesium sulfate as the starting materials.In this process,IS clay was ＂teared up＂ and then ＂rebuilt＂ as new porous silicate adsorbent with high specific surface area of 363.52 m^2/g（about 8.7 folds higher than that of IS clay） and very negative Zeta potential（- 34.5 mV）.The inert Si- O- Si（Mg,Al） bonds in crystal framework of IS were broken to form Si（Al）- O^- groups with good adsorption activity,which greatly increased the adsorption sites served for holding much CTC molecules.Systematic evaluation on adsorption properties reveals the optimal silicate adsorbent can adsorb 408.81 mg/g of CTC（only 159.7 mg/g for raw IS clay） and remove 99.3%（only 46.5%for raw IS clay） of CTC from 100 mg/L initial solution（pH 3.51;adsorption temperature 30℃;adsorbent dosage,3 g/L）.The adsorption behaviors of CTC onto the adsorbent follows the Langmuir isotherm model,Temkin equation and pseudo second-order kinetic model.The mesopore adsorption,electrostatic attraction and chemical association mainly contribute to the enhanced adsorption properties.As a whole,the high-efficient silicate adsorbent could be candidates to remove CTC from the wastewater with high amounts of CTC.

Assessment of alterability of basalt used for riprap by petrographic examination

All engineering projects consist of several steps, and one of the main tasks is to identify and characterize the most important features of rock types that will be excavated, crushed, or mined for any particular usage purpose, from a single residential building to major works of infrastructure. Laboratory investigation on engineering geology is thus conducted in order to determine the most relevant rock properties when designing structures such as mining shafts, tunnels, buildings, or reservoir dams to be built in sites associated with rocks. A wide range of laboratory tests is available, making the correct choice of test methods greatly relevant to determine the key property for the planned use of the rock. This paper is an illustrative case of laboratory testing of basaltic rocks to be used as riprap in a reservoir dam. It shows the important role of the petrographic study carried out to analyze the distribution pattern of smectite clay minerals. Test results are explained for the assessment of rock alterability, an essential aspect for the selection of the most suitable basalt variety for the envisaged conditions of use.

Clay Addition to Sandy Soil Influence of Clay Type and Size on Nutrient Availability in Sandy Soils Amended with Residues Differing in C/N ratio

Addition of clay-rich subsoil to sandy soil results in heterogeneous soil with clay peds （2-mm） or finely ground （〈 2 mm） clay soil （FG）, which may affect the nutrient availability. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of clay soil particle size （FG or peds） and properties on nutrient availability and organic C binding in sandy soil after addition of residues with low （young kikuyu grass, KG） or high （faba bean, FB） C/N ratio. Two clay soils with high and low smectite percentage, clay and exchangeable Fe and A1 were added to a sandy soil at a rate of 20% （weight/weight） either as FG or peds. Over 45 d, available N and P as well as microbial biomass N and P concentrations and cumulative respiration were greater in soils with residues of KG than FB. For soils with KG residues, clay addition increased available N and initial microbial biomass C and N concentrations, but decreased cumulative respiration and P availability compared to sandy soil without clay. Differences in measured parameters between clay type and size were inconsistent and varied with time except the increase in total organic C in the 〈 53 μm fraction during the experiment, which was greater for soils with FG than with peds. We concluded that the high exchangeable Fe and A1 concentrations in the low-smectite clay soil can compensate a lower clay concentration and proportion of smectite with respect to binding of organic matter and nutrients.

Sorption of Water-Extractable Organic Carbon in Various Clay Subsoils: Effects of Soil Properties

Clay-rich subsoils are added to sandy soils to improve crop yield and increase organic carbon （C） sequestration; however, little is known about the influence of clay subsoil properties on organic C sorption and desorption. Batch sorption experiments were conducted with nine clay subsoils with a range of properties. The clay subsoils were shaken for 16 h at 4 ℃with water-extractable organic C （WEOC, 1 224 g C L-1） from mature wheat residue at a soil to extract ratio of 1：10. After removal of the supernatant, the residual pellet was shaken with deionised water to determine organic C desorption. The WEOC sorption was positively correlated with smectite and illite contents, cation exchange capacity （CEC） and total organic C, but negatively correlated with kaolinite content. Desorption of WEOC expressed as a percentage of WEOC sorbed was negatively correlated with smectite and illite contents, CEC, total and exchangeable calcium （Ca） concentrations and clay content, but positively correlated with kaolinite content. The relative importance of these properties varied among soil types. The soils with a high WEOC sorption capacity had medium CEC and their dominant clay minerals were smectite and illite. In contrast, kaolinite was the dominant clay mineral in the soils with a low WEOC sorption capacity and low-to-medium CEC. However, most soils had properties which could increase WEOC sorption as well as those that could decrease WEOC sorption. The relative importance of properties increasing or decreasing WEOC sorption varied with soils. The soils with high desorption had a low total Ca concentration, low-to-medium CEC and low clay content, whereas the soils with low desorption were characterised by medium-to-high CEC and smectite and illite were the dominant clay minerals. We conclude that WEOC sorption and desorption depend not on a single property but rather a combination of several properties of the subsoils in this study.