JEO 580E - Clay Minerology

Course Objectives

1 To teach crystal structure of clay minerals, fundamental concepts, classification and interpretation of analytical data,
2 To teach identification of clay minerals using X-ray diffraction methods
3 To teach clay mineral diagenesis, hydrothermal alteration, organic-clay interactions, physical and chemical properties and their industrial applications,
4 To teach sample preparation techniques, using SEM, TEM, FTIR, DTA and other methods for the identification of clay minerals.

Course Description

X-ray diffraction (XRD), evaluation of tetrahedral and octahedral structures, layer charge and exchangeable charge, determination of layer charge, reaction of polar organic molecules, classification of clay minerals, interpretation of XRD data, separation of particle sizes, chemical processes, chemical coordination of phillosilicates, poly-types, identification of formula structures, sample preparation techniques, investigation of clay minerals using SEM, TEM, DTA, FTIR, TG and EPMA analytical instruments, mineral equilibrium relations