REE (rare earth element) distribution coefficients (Kd) between the aqueous phase and montmorillonite surface were obtained to investigate the relation between the REE distribution patterns and the species of REE sorbed on the solid-water interface. It was shown that the features in the REE patterns, such as the slope of the REE patterns, the tetrad effect, and the Y/Ho ratio, were closely rela...

The feasibility of constructing polymer/clay nanocomposites with polypeptides as the matrix material is shown. Cationic poly-L-lysine HBr (PLL) was reinforced by sodium montmorillonite clay. The PLL/clay nanocomposites were made via the solution-intercalation film-casting technique. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy data indicated that montmorillonite layers intercalated wi...

Amorphous hydrous manganese oxide (HMO) is an important mineral in soils and sediments influencing the mobility and bioavailability of metal contaminants. In this study, nickel and lead sorption to discrete HMO and HMO-coated montmorillonite was investigated mechanistically. The effect of pH and concentration revealed that when normalized to the mass of oxide present, the HMO-coated montmorillo...

Pharmaceuticals have gained significant attention in recent years due to the environmental risks posed by their versatile application and occurrence in the natural aquatic environment. The transportation and distribution of pharmaceuticals in the environmental media mainly depends on their sorption behavior in soils, sediment–water systems and waste water treatment plants, which varies widely a...

The photodebromination of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) adsorbed onto six different solid matrixes was investigated in sunlight and by irradiation with 350 +/- 50 nm lamps (four lamps at 24 W each). After 14 days of lamp irradiation, BDE-209 degraded with a half-life of 36 and 44 days, respectively, on montmorillonite or kaolinite, with much slower degradation occurring when sorbed on organ...

Brittleness and other properties such as low thermal stability, medium gas barrier properties and low solvent resistance (e.g., against water) of the pure biopolymer film are often insufficient for food packaging applications. The nanoscale distribution of nanoclays (such as montmorillonite, saponite or hectorite), with a high aspect ratio (100-1,500) and extremely high surface-to-volume ratio ...

A fuller's earth worker developed signs of pneumoconiosis. Pathological examination of the lung tissues showed interstitial collections of dust laden macrophages associated with mild fibrosis. Mineralogical analysis showed a high content of montmorillonite. This study shows that a pneumoconiosis can result from prolonged heavy exposure to calcium montmorillonite (fuller's earth) in the absence ...

The design of clay plugs used for sealing access galleries to a radioactive waste repository built with concrete structures in a deep clayey formation must take into consideration their chemical evolution over time. Diffusion of an alkaline plume from concrete into bentonite was therefore modeled over a 100,000-year period with the PHREEQC geochemical code in order to determine, as a function o...