Geophagy of multani mitti (MM) clay is very common in central Pakistan especially amongst women. It was therefore mandatory to establish baseline levels of toxic elements in this clay for its safe dietary consumption by consumers of different genders, age groups and physical states. Instrumental neutron activation analysis and atomic absorption spectrometry techniques were used to determine the...

Early Mars (>3 Ga) underwent aqueous alteration as evidenced by fluvial/lacustrine morphologies and the recent discovery of widespread hydrous clays. Despite compelling evidence for diverse and localized aqueous environments, the possibility for sustained liquid water globally on the martian surface and over geological timescales is still highly debated. Instead, a durably cold and dry Mars sce...

Soft clays are defined as cohesive soil whose water content is higher than its liquid limits. Thus, soil-cement mixing is adopted to improve the ground conditions by enhancing the strength and deformation characteristics of the soft clays. For the above mentioned reasons, a series of laboratory tests were carried out to study some fundamental mechanical properties of cement stabilized soft clay...

Compacted clay liners (CCLs) are the main materials used in waste disposal landfills due to their low permeability. In this study, the effect on the shear resistant of clays with inorganic salt solutions as permeate fluid was experimentally investigated. For this purpose, NaCl inorganic salt solution at concentrations of 2, 5, 10% and deionized water were used. Laboratory direct shear and Vane ...

Many soils have clay-enriched horizons that are thought to result from pedogenic processes. Various hypotheses are proposed for expected clay size-distributions in soil profiles. The average size of clay crystallites determined by the amount of broadening of x-ray diffraction peaks ranged from 160 to >2000A 0 , but the lack of trends in four loess-de• rived soils did not permit the hypotheses t...

In the last years, several methods have been used to enhance bone repair and new bone formation. Numerous researches have been focused on possibilities of healing bone defect by using biomaterial implants. Clay cement may represent an important bone substitute and could be used for the treatment of multiple fractures and after bone tumor resection. The aim of this study is to investigate biocom...

Liquid laboratory waste containing osmic acid and cacodylic acid was mixed with potter's clay or hydraulic cement. The clay-waste product was kneaded into blocks and baked in a klin (1,200-1,400 degrees C). The cement-waste product was allowed to harden into concrete blocks. Some of the baked clay blocks and concrete blocks were ground, and immersed in 1 N NaOH or 10% HCI solutions for 3-6 mont...

The important characteristics of polymer/clay nanocomposites are stability, barrier properties and in the case of polyvinyl chloride also plasticizer migration into other materials. Therefore, the permeation properties of polymer/clay nanocomposites are discussed in this paper. The attention was focused to the polyethylene (PE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Natural type of montmorillonite MMTNa...

The model system consisted of bacteriophage MS-2, bentonite clay, and hypochlorous acid (HOC1). Factors that influenced association of the bacterial virus with bentonite were the titer of unadsorbed viruses, clay concentration, cation concentration, temperature, stirring rate, and the presence of soluble organics. Variation of the kinetic adsorption rate constant with stirring speed indicates t...

Lining systems render a significant role in ensuring that waste materials are safely separated from the environment. Despite the advent of modern lining systems, compacted clay barriers or liners are regarded as one of the very significant components of lining system and are being used as a waste containment system in landfills which require insignificant infiltration. Compacted clay barriers m...