Clays and Clay Minerals最新文献

Accurate diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis is largely based on sputum smear microscopy, culture, and GeneXpert MTB/RIF tests; culture being the gold standard. All these diagnostic tests require sputum sample to be positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, while many active TB patients often do not present with M. tuberculosis positive sputum. Biochemical markers play an important role in early diagnosis, disease prevention, and drug response in tuberculosis. This study aims to find the association of serum adenosine deaminase (a biomarker) with the various microbiological parameters like sputum smear microscopy, culture and CBNAAT in pulmonary tuberculosis patients. A total of 40 cases were collected from November 2019 to October 2021, and the presumptive cases of pulmonary tuberculosis diagnosed by Ziehl-Neelsen staining for acid fast bacilli and/or CBNAAT were recruited. Serum adenosine deaminase levels were estimated.The following variables were significantly associated (p < 0.05) with serum adenosine deaminase levels: age, sputum smear microscopy findings, time to culture positivity, CBNAAT category and Ct value (Mean).This study does witness few significant correlations between serum adenosine deaminase levels and various microbiological parameters used in diagnosis of TB, which can be further explored and utilised in diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Abstract

Phyllosilicates are hypothesized to be primarily of pedogenic origin in shallowly buried paleosols (≤3 km depth), regardless of the age of the paleosol. To test this hypothesis, this work evaluates the possible presence of detrital and diagenetic phyllosilicates in middle and upper Pennsylvanian paleosols, collected from three drill cores along a north–south transect in the Illinois Basin. The abundances of 2M₁ muscovite, quartz, and K-feldspar are greater in a morphologically immature Protosol from the southernmost core; 1M_d illite and interstratified illite-smectite with R1 and R0 stacking orders are more abundant in the more mature Vertisols of the central and northern cores. K-Ar age values of multiple clay-size fractions from each paleosol averaged ~260 Ma in the northern core, 270 Ma in the central core, and 295 Ma in the southern core. While considering the complex tectonic and thermal history of the Illinois Basin, detrital minerals are more abundant in immature paleosols that experienced relatively greater maximum burial depths and thus greater sediment supply whereas illitization in more mature paleosols was probably initiated primarily during protracted burial diagenesis. As the present study found evidence for diagenetic and detrital minerals in clay-size fractions of shallowly buried, deep-time paleosols, caution is advised when using paleosol minerals for ancient climate and environment reconstructions.

Alumina is produced from bauxite, which contains a mixture of various oxides, such as aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), silicon (Si), and titanium (Ti). Bauxite can also be considered a source of several other valuable metals, such as scandium (Sc), vanadium (V), and gallium (Ga). The composition and mineralogy of alumina determine their economic value, but their characteristics vary by locality. The physicochemical characteristics of bauxites can also be influenced largely by weathering processes, even within the same locality. For this reason, the present study was undertaken with the objective of comparing the characterization data of three bauxite samples collected, which will be referred to as D, E, and F, from the Cruz Alta do Pará plateau in northern Brazil. The samples were solubilized by multi-acid digestion and fusion with lithium metaborate to quantify their metal compositions by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The mineralogical characterization was conducted by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the phase changes of minerals in bauxite were detected by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA/DTG). The total organic carbon (TOC) technique was used to quantify the C in the samples, and the moisture content was also measured. Alumina was 30 wt.% on average for all samples, good for producing high-purity alumina by hydrometallurgical processes. The results, however, showed high (~20 at.%) silica concentrations in two samples and ~3 wt.% Fe in one sample, which can pose a challenge in the Bayer process. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that gibbsite (Gbs), kaolinite (Kln), anatase (Ant), and hematite (Hem) were the major mineral phases in these samples. The study showed that the samples from the same mine vary in their metal content, especially with regard to Si, and they, thus, need to be processed selectively to maximize their economic value.

Natural clays are often employed as substrates for heterogeneous catalysts. However, the direct use of raw clays as catalysts has received less research attention. The objective of the present study was to help fill this gap by investigating catalytic properties of raw pelagic clays (PC) collected from the Indian Ocean. The raw PC were discovered to be efficient catalysts in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) in the presence of NaBH₄. The effects of parameters including pH values, dosages of PC, and initial concentration of 4-NP and NaBH₄ on the conversion or degradation rate of 4-NP have been investigated. The 4-NP was observed to be completely degraded within 480 s under conditions of 0.10 mM 4-NP, 25.0 mM NaBH₄, and 0.20 g/L PC at an initial pH value of 7.0. The apparent rate constant was evaluated to be 27.53 × 10^–3 s^–1. Unlike previous pseudo-first order kinetics experiments, the induction period and degradation stages were observed to occur simultaneously during the PC catalysis. The S-shaped kinetics for 4-NP conversion was found to be perfectly matched by Fermi's function, and the enzyme-like catalysis by PC was appointed to describe the kinetics. Species of Fe(III), Mn(IV), and Mn(III) in PC were found to be essential, and were partly reduced to Fe(0) and Mn(II) by NaBH₄ in our reaction, contributing to rapid conversion of 4-NP to 4-aminophenol (4-AP). The raw PC was converted to magnetic PC (m-PC) particles, which made PC particles separate easily for cycling use. This discovery would also have applications in continuous flow-fluid catalysis.

Muscovite has been used increasingly as a substrate in flexible electronics and fillers in high-performance nanocomposites. Muscovite-based interfacial interactions play a crucial rule in material fabrication. Hansen solubility parameters (HSPs) have proven useful in characterizing molecular interactions within/between condensed phases. The present study aimed to determine the HSPs of raw muscovite (RM) and to investigate solvent dispersion mechanisms of RM. To achieve this, the solubilities of RM in 17 solvents were evaluated by dispersion tests, and the HSPs of RM were calculated as the center of the optimal solubility rotated-ellipsoid in HSP space, which included all good solvents, had the smallest number of outliers, and had the smallest volume. The resulting dispersion, polar, and hydrogen bonding components of RM were 18.301, 2.366, and 3.727 MPa^1/2, respectively. By considering the HSPs and Kamlet-Taft's solvatochromic parameters of solvents, we concluded that the low polarity of RM is due to hindered K⁺/H⁺ exchange on the RM surface, resulting from limited water/moisture contact. For solvent dispersion of RM, essential conditions include strong dispersion forces and weak polar forces, finely tuned to match the surface property of RM at a certain hydration level. The HSPs of RM determined from dispersion tests were restricted to predicting/characterizing RM-based interfacial phenomena in an environment with strictly controlled water/moisture content. The HSP calculation method proposed herein was applicable to any clay mineral.

The Dolná Ves K-bentonite deposit is one of a few known economic accumulations of illite-smectite in the world. Several studies have been done on the illite-smectitic component isolated from the Dolná Ves K-bentonite, but there is a shortage of analytical data on the K-bentonite itself. The main goal of the present study was to perform mineralogical and physico-chemical characterizations of various technological types of K-bentonites from the Dolná Ves deposit to better understand the relationships between the various qualitative types and their properties. The type I (high-grade) K-bentonite contains 88–91 wt.% of illite-smectite. The type II (low-grade) K-bentonite contained substantially less illite-smectite, ranging from 37 to 63 wt.%. The illite-smectites isolated from the type I K-bentonites displayed greater expandability, contained more octahedral Mg and less octahedral Fe, had greater cation exchange capacity (CEC), smaller thickness of fundamental particles, and thinner illite-smectite crystals in comparison with illite-smectites from the type II K-bentonites. The LOI (loss-on-ignition) and Al₂O₃ content increased with increasing amount of illite-smectite. The increase in the expandability by 10% corresponded to an increase in CEC by ~10 meq/100 g. The type I K-bentonites had much greater mass loss at <250°C due to greater expandability. The best tilemaking performance was expected for the type I K-bentonite. This raw material could also be potentially valuable for the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries. Overall, the results showed that the studied technological types of K-bentonites from the Dolná Ves deposit differ not only in terms of illite-smectite contents but also in terms of the nature of the illite-smectites.

The colluvium and saprolite deposits in the Fran Ali area (Oued Laou, northern Morocco) constitute the main source of raw materials used in traditional pottery. These materials are becoming scarce, however, so alternative materials with the same characteristics are needed; this would ensure the sustainability of pottery activities in the area. The objective of the present study was to examine ten representative samples of clayey materials extracted from the Fran Ali area, i.e. the Ikhadimene, Dar Haddoune, Ihadounene, Aqqbat Ajjoua, and Isalahene sites. The geological materials consist mainly of grayish to brownish phyllites, thin layers of yellowish clay, thicker intervals of reddish-yellow soils ranging in depth from 1 to 4 m, and reddish colluvium soils. The physical properties of these materials were determined using semi-wet sieving and Atterberg limit tests, while chemical, mineralogical, and thermal properties were obtained from the methylene blue test (MBT), the calcimetry test, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric and differential thermal (TGA/DTGA) analysis. The results suggest that the soils contain 21–35% clay, 28–34% silt, and 37–52% sand. They are moderately plastic, with methylene blue adsorption capacities ranging from 3 to 7% and minimal CaCO₃ carbonate contents (1–4%). Samples are dominated by SiO₂ (51–57%), Al₂O₃ (17–21%), and Fe₂O₃ (8–10%). Mineralogically, they are composed of illite (19–27%), chlorite (0–22%), kaolinite (5–9%), and quartz (29–32%). Thermal analysis showed a relatively large mass loss of ~10%. The samples are deemed to be moderately plastic. The results indicate that this raw material is acceptable for pottery fabrication, given the small proportion of irregular interlayer content and its average geotechnical properties. In addition, extraction of the colluvium material is not sustainable because of the relative scarcity of the material. Given the mineralogical similarity between the weathered layers (colluvium) and their parent rock (shales), the present results suggest that the latter is a suitable alternative to the former.