A series of high-density polyethylene/Cloisite 20A/graphite nanocomposites were prepared via melt blending for the production of polymeric pipes for natural gas transfer. The microstructural, mechanical, thermal, electrical and barrier properties of prepared nanocomposites were investigated. An intercalated morphology was observed for prepared nanocomposites. Improved mechanical properties ...

Tropical forests include a diversity of habitats, which has led to specialization in plants. Near Iquitos, in the Peruvian Amazon, nutrient-rich clay forests surround nutrient-poor white-sand forests, each harboring a unique composition of habitat specialist trees. We tested the hypothesis that the combination of impoverished soils and herbivory creates strong natural selection for plant defens...

-Near-infrared (NIR) reflectance spectra for mixtures of ordered kaolinite and ordered dickite have been found to simulate the spectral response of disordered kaolinite. The amount of octahedral vacancy disorder in nine disordered kaolinite samples was estimated by comparing the sample spectra to the spectra of reference mixtures. The resulting estimates are consistent with previously published...

We investigated the mineralogy of basalt weathering rinds and fresh basaltic rocks using visible/near-infrared (VNIR) (λ=0.4– 2.5 μm) and thermal emission (λ=6–30 μm) spectroscopy to 1) constrain the effects of chemical weathering on rock spectra, and 2) further understand the context of infrared spectra ofMars,whichmay contain evidence for weathered rocks and particulates derived from them. VN...

In India, bricks as building materials are mainly prepared by clay using the deposited sediments of rivers, and the radionuclide contents in bricks and brick-making clays should vary with origin and geological condition. Primordial radionuclides in building materials are one of the sources of radiation hazard in dwellings made of these materials. It is important to measure the natural radioacti...

We have identified a natural clay mixture that exhibits in vitro antibacterial activity against a broad spectrum of bacterial pathogens. We collected four samples from the same source and demonstrated through antibacterial susceptibility testing that these clay mixtures have markedly different antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)...

• Water P and the PIT index were higher in unimpacted clay than non-clay rivers. TP was less bioavailable rivers Natural water increases with catchment cover. The good/moderate class boundary species composition of benthic algae changes as phosphorus concentrations increase, these can be used for ecological status assessment according to Framework Directive. background streams that are unaffect...

the effect of temperature on the adsorption of heavy metals on not only natural bulk clay, but also for the individual phases that composed the bulk clay sample, was investigated. combined adsorption- sequential extraction analysis (casa) for pb, cu, zn and cd were conducted under various temperatures that ranged from 150c to 550c. as a result, it was found that heavy metals adsorption for b...