Safe disposal of nuclear waste is an important environmental challenge. Several countries are investigating deep geological disposal as a long-term solution for their high-level waste. In Belgium, the Oligocene Boom Clay is the reference host formation for research purposes and for the safety and feasibility assessment of the deep disposal of high-level and/or long-lived radioactive waste. The ...

ÐSorption and transformation of 1-naphthol by a K-smectite (K-SWy-2) were studied using batch sorption isotherms, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The sorbents included three preparations of the reference smectite clay (SWy-2): (1) whole clay containing naturally occurring carbonate impurities, (2) SWy-2 with the removal of carbonate impurities, and (...

This paper presents 53 well-documented cases of the short-term set-up of open-ended steel pipe piles driven at two fields in the North Sea. Increases in soil resistance during driving (set-up) were observed when pile driving was re-started after delays typically ranging between 24 h and 100 h. The soil encountered at the sites consisted of overconsolidated sands and clays, where the clays varie...

Reactions of organic molecules on Montmorillonite clay mineral have been investigated from various aspects. These include catalytic reactions for organic synthesis, chemical evolution, the mechanism of humus-formation, and environmental problems. Catalysis by clay minerals has attracted much interest recently, and many reports including the catalysis by synthetic or modified clays have been pub...

An emerging herbal product ‘Aloe vera’ is most widely utilized for skin treatments due to its gel-components of the plant are known heal from a variety minor ailments. In depth experimental attempts with Aloe vera (AV), MMT (Clay) and PVA (Poly vinyl alcohol) blend gel were prepared using solution cast method. AV very versatile plant, benefits well known. have gained popularity internal externa...

Iron-bearing phyllosilicate minerals help establish the hydrogeological and geochemical conditions of redox transition zones because of their small size, limited hydraulic conductivity, and redox buffering capacity. The bioreduction of soluble U(VI) to sparingly soluble U(IV) can promote the reduction of clay-Fe(III) through valence cycling. The reductive precipitation of U(VI) to uraninite was...

The soybean cyst nematode (SCN), Heterodera glycines Ichinohe, is a severe pest of soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr., in the United States. Nematode reproduction and the seed yield losses caused by this nematode are influenced by soil texture (3,5,6). Todd and Pearson (5) recovered higher numbers of SCN females and cysts from a sandy loam soil than from silty loams. Soybean yield also has been ne...

Particles with nanometer dimensions (nanoparticles) are all around us. The finest particles of sand are blown by the wind over thousands of kilometers. The finest particles of soils are either eroded by the wind in extremely dry conditions or by water under wet conditions and deposited hundreds of kilometers or more from the origin. The air contains nanoparticles of carbon, ice, and oxides and ...

X-ray analyses of the clay minerals from thousands of sediments indicate that any of the major clay minerals can occur in abundance in any of the major depositional environments and there is no consistent coincidence between specific clay minerals and specific depositional environments. It is concluded that the great majority of clay minerals in sedimentary rocks are detrital in origin, strongl...

Adsorption of organic cations on several clay minerals is reviewed with an emphasis on the effect of ionic strength and modeling. The clay exchanged with suitable organic cations forms a basis for ecologically acceptable formulations of herbicides with reduced leaching, ground water contamination and enhanced weed control efficacy. Incomplete neutralization of the clay surface charge by an orga...