This study aimed at demonstrating complementary roles offered by both Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometry and x-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) techniques in characterizing clay size fraction of kaolins. The clay size fraction of kaolin samples obtained from Kgwakgwe, Makoro, Lobatse and Serule kaolin occurrences and deposits in Botswana were characterized using laser diffraction ...

Behavioral and electroantennogram responses of plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), adults were tested for several methanolic plant extracts and organically approved insecticides. Plant extracts were evaluated for their potential as antifeedants or oviposition deterrents. These extract responses were also compared to those elicited by the non-neurotoxic, o...

Water-repellent soils have a potential as alternative construction materials that will improve conventional geotechnical structures. In this study, the potential of chemically treated water-repellent kaolin clay as a landfill cover material is explored by examining its characteristics including hydraulic and mechanical properties. In order to provide water repellency to the kaolin clay, the sur...

Lime stabilization is one of the techniques that can be used for improving the engineering properties, particularly the strength, of soft clays. This paper aims to investigate the effect of hydrated lime on the strength and microstructure of lime treated clays. In order to illustrate such effect, a series of laboratory tests were conducted. Atterberg limits, compaction tests, unconfined compres...

Modified fillers consisting of kaolin particles encapsulated by starch have recently been demonstrated in mill trials to achieve significant filler loading levels without accompanying strength losses. In this work, laboratory experiments were conducted to explore the potential advantages of using starch-treated pigment for strength increases by application of surface coating. It is found that a...

Sodium titanate nanobelt was synthesized by treating titanium dioxide hydrothermally in concentrated sodium hydroxide solution. The product was characterized by SEM analysis and zeta potential measurements. It served as a microparticle to constitute a microparticle retention system with cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM), while the microparticle system was employed to induce the flocculation of kao...

ABS~CT Particle-size analyses of brickearth and Clay-with-flints from Kent, England, are presented. A calcareous sample of brickearth is comparable to loess. In th~ clay fraction, there is more illite (or glauconite) than kaolin; and there is some chlorite. The clay fraction of the Clay-withflints consists of smectite, illite and quartz and is probably derived directly from the Chalk. Black san...

The surface area of the individual phyllosilicates (clay minerals) in Athabasca oil sands determined from XRD crystallite size measurements was found to be comparable to the bulk surface area measured by ethylene glycol monoethyl ether adsorption. The primary phyllosilicates are kaolin and illite but the large surface area is imparted by varying degrees of smectitic interstratifications in the ...

Despite occurring in a wide variety of taxa, deliberate soil consumption (geophagy) is a poorly understood behavior. In humans, geophagy is sometimes considered aberrant or a sign of metabolic dysfunction. However, geophagy is normally assigned an adaptive function in nonhuman primates and various other organisms. One hypothesis submits that clay-rich soil adsorbs intestinal insults, namely pla...