A controlled greenhouse experiment was conducted to study the fraction, uptake and fixation of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in three soils with contrasting characteristics. The experiment was carried out in two phases, viz., sorghum-Sudangrass depletion and test crop experiment with maize with three levels of fertility status (depleted, original and fertilized with 40 mg kg-1 P and K) and t...

The mechanical and electrical characteristics of films, buckypapers and fiber materials from combinations of clay, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and chitosan are described. The rheological time-dependent characteristics of clay are maintained in clay-carbon nanotube-chitosan composite dispersions. It is demonstrated that the addition of chitosan improves their mechanical characteristics, but decrease...

The development of pore and fracture networks at the nano-scale as a response to heating can reveal coupled physical relationships relevant several energy applications. A combination time-lapse 3D imaging finite-element modelling (FEM) was performed on two typical thermally immature shale samples, Kimmeridge Clay Akrabou shale, investigate thermal nm-scale for first time. Samples were imaged us...

The influence of clay preparation methods on the sorption and hydrolysis of carbaryl (1-naphthyl, N-methyl carbamate) by K+-saturated reference smectite SWy-2 was studied. Four methods were utilized: (1) The reference (or specimen) clay used as received was K+-saturated (hereafter referred to as whole clay). (2) High-speed centrifugation (3295g) of whole clay resulted in a pellet with three dis...

Clay ball is a pavement surface defect which refers to a clump in which clay or dirt is 8 mixed with hot asphalt mixture. Clay ball is typically caused by a combination of aggregate 9 contamination of clay or soil, high aggregate moisture, and low production temperature at the 10 asphalt plant. It usually appears a few weeks or months after paving under traffic load, after being 11 liquefied an...

The vertical migration of M. incognita juveniles introduced at 20 cm from the roots was studied in five natural soils, 100% silica sand, 95% silica sand with 5% clay, 90% silica sand with 10% clay, and 95% silica sand with 5% clay as a concentrated layer. In natural soils the percentage of juveniles capable of migrating 20 cm and penetrating the roots decreased when the percentage of clay and s...

Clay minerals have been used in medicinal applications since Aboriginal times (Carretaro, 2002; Wilson, 2003). Clay poultices are used to heal wounds; people eat clays to coat stomach linings and soothe indigestion; animals eat clay containing trace elements (e.g., As) that can kill worms. The reasons that various clay minerals are effective as medicines may be as variable as the ailment, but b...

Composites based on high density polyethylene (HDPE), pine flour, and organic clay were made by melt compounding and then injection molding. The influence of clay on crystallization behavior, mechanical properties, water absorption, and thermal stability of HDPE/pine composites was investigated. The HDPE/pine composites containing exfoliated clay were made by a two-step melt compounding procedu...

Clay from deposit Bilalovac, Central Bosnia, was characterized by chemical, IR, XRD and DTA/TG analysis. The major mineral components are kaolinite, illite, muscovite and quartz. Raw clay may be used for pottery products and terracotta. Clay was beneficiated by wet method removing fraction over 20 μm. Beneficiation process increased content of kaolinite and decreased content of quartz. Benefici...