BACKGROUND Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) has been used as analytical tool in chemistry for many years. In addition, FTIR can also be applied as a rapid and non-invasive method to detect and identify microorganisms. The specific and fingerprint-like spectra allow - under optimal conditions - discrimination down to the species level. The aim of this study was to develop a fast an...

The mineral composition of the microbial mats at La Banya spit was studied. The spit is formed by a narrow sand bar and a peninsula and is located south of the main body of the Ebro Delta (Tarragona, Spain). Although quartz was the predominant mineral component in all sampling sites, clay, feldspars, calcite, aragonite, halite, dolomite and gypsum were also found. An increase in both the fine m...

The accurate calculation of clay mineral formulae from chemical analyses is important because the identity of the mineral as well as its exchange properties can be readily determined from its formula (Jackson 1969). Unfortunately, many mathematical steps, all fraught with possible errors, are required to carefully convert the data from either an oxide or metal basis to the structural formula. F...

FT-IR, UV-visible, and X-ray diffraction analyses were used to investigate the nature of organic matter in three fractions of soil humic substances (humin, HU; humic acid, HA; and fulvic acid, FA) extracted at a depth of 0–10 cm from the soil under rye grass (Lolium perenne) culture. FT-IR and XRD analyses showed that the extracted HAs still contained the clay matrix, but the extracted FAs, whi...

traditional production of grape syrup in iran inaugurated by addition of natural clay in order to decrease the acidity for subsequent heating. the presence of some mineral residues and sand in the final product which is mainly due to clay impurity might cause and adverse effect. in this study, eleven samples of traditionally produced grape syrup were collected randomly from different regions of...

[1] The role of phyllosilicate fabrics in fault gouge is a poorly understood component of the mechanical and hydrologic behavior of brittle fault zones. We present 90 fabric intensity measurements using X-ray texture goniometry on 22 natural clay-rich fault gouges from low-angle detachment faults (Death Valley area detachments, California; Ruby Mountains, Nevada; West Salton Detachment Fault, C...

Fired clay minerals rehydroxylate after firing, a phenomenon that causes the long-term mass gain and expansion seen in archaeological ceramics. During rehydroxylation, fired clay minerals react with H2O to form structural hydroxyl (OH). Recent models propose that rehydroxylation is described by a quartic root (t1/4) time dependence, which has led to a dating method based on the process (RHX, re...