La composition minéralogique de la phase <2 µm de la croûte d'altération de teinte pâele et de quelques millimétres d'épaisseur, développée sur les faces des prismes basaltiques de Roudadou, près d'Aurillac, Cantal, a été étudiée par plusieurs techniques: RX, analyse thermique différentielle, thermogravimétrie, spectroscopie infra-rouge entre 600 et 200 cm−1, mesure des surfaces totales. Cette phase fine est constituée d'une fraction non cristalline relativement réduite et surtout de minéraux argileux cristallisés, parmi lesquels l'imogolite est largement dominante (50%), accompagnée de l'halloysite (30%). Parfois une smectite compléte ce cortège argileux. A notre connaissance, l'imogolite n'avait jamais été identifiée parmi les produits d'altération superficielle des roches volcaniques du Massif Central.

The search for sufficiently high-quality clays for use in the tile industry represents a significant challenge. This study aimed to prepare Muttalip green clay tiles with flexural strengths adhering to the TS EN 1304:2016 standard. Muttalip green clay was subjected to sieving, vacuum pressed, dried and then baked to obtain galette tiles. The tiles were analysed subsequently using optical techniques, including X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and field-emission scanning electron microscopy. The influence of various firing temperatures (900, 950 and 1000°C) on the flexural strength of the tiles was also investigated. The tiles obtained at 950°C exhibited a maximum flexural strength of 153.91 kg cm–2. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that the tiles reflect ultraviolet A radiation and absorb infrared radiation. Muttalip green clay is a suitable material for preparing tiles for roofing applications.

The matric potential of water in gels of five-sixths neutralized aluminium montmorillonite (bentonite) and aluminium kaolinite changes during periods of shear and periods of rest. Shear increases the potential of water in bentonite gels, and in kaolinite gels containing little water, but decreases the potential in kaolinite gels containing more water. All these effects can be explained by changes in the curvature of water films at the gel-air interface. The difference between thixotropic and dilatant behaviour is the increasing and decreasing of the water potential on shearing. In dilatant pastes of silt-size particles, and for which the effects of electric charges are small, the pressure deficiency can reach large values after an increase in pore space, and this suffices to explain the characteristic features of dilatant behaviour.

Aung et al. (2014, 2015) described the activation of kaolin samples to remove coloured pigments from rice-bran oil, the effects of various treatments on their decolourization capacity, and the characterization of these kaolin samples by physical methods. This research used a kaolin sample from Ranong in southern Thailand, and investigated the effects of grinding and heat treatment prior to acid activation of the mineral. The various activated mineral phases were then characterized by a combination of X-ray diffraction, Fourier-Transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence. This work represented an extension of research reported previously by Worasith et al. (2011a), in which various samples of the same Ranong kaolin were characterized after grinding and acid activation, and their capacities to decolourize rice-bran oil evaluated (Worasith et al., 2011b). However, despite the similarities in the experiments, there are some important differences in the results presented in these two sets of publications, which raise questions concerning the conduct of this type of research and the generality of any conclusions derived.

L'étude de la conductivité hydraulique sous de faibles charges de pâtes et de gels d'hectorite-Na, montre que:

• 1. La loi de Darcy peut être appliquée,

• 2. Le rayon hydraulique moyen qui est probablement relié à la distance moyenne entre les particules d'hectorite varie linéairement avec la teneur en eau et est très sensible à la présence d'électrolyte dans la suspension.

Silicification and illitization due to diagenesis result in the modification of porosity and permeability in many North Sea reservoirs, including Greater Alwyn. A good estimation of the mineral composition is required as input/output data for geochemical modelling modes intended to reproduce these effects. Using sedimentological studies to determine laterally equivalent facies, three facies were chosen. ‘Initial states’ for modelling were thus defined as the present-day composition of less-evolved laterally-equivalent facies, ‘final states’ as the present-day composition in the most evolved part of the basin. Precise actual mineral compositions were calculated using a reconciliation program, DATREC. Average compositions calculated for each facies in each field provided data useful in constraining input/output values used in modelling, and gave insights into depositional variation. Arithmetic tests assuming isochemical transformations, constraining the chemical compositions of ‘initial states’ to fit actual mineralogical compositions of ‘final states’, were run using this software. They show that, from an arithmetical point of view, if the assumption of equivalent facies holds, isochemical reactions can occur in some, but not in all facies, thereby demonstrating the importance of checking equivalence of facies and diagenesis hypotheses by quantitative calculations.

The surface properties of wet-ground muscovite were studied by thermodynamics of water adsorption. The surface appears to be covered by contaminating material, probably organic, which is strongly held; it was not removed at 350° C and under a vacuum of 10−4 torr. Attention is directed to the difficulty of maintaining freshly made silicate surfaces without contamination and to the importance of surface conditions in the interpretation of silicate properties which involve surface phenomena.

The objective of this research was to study the cellulose addition effect on the geopolymerization of heated clay. The clay, composed of illite, plagioclase and kaolinite, was heated at 700°C for 2 h and mixed with cellulose (up to 10 mass%). The mixtures were NaOH-activated, and shaped samples were aged at 83°C for 30 days. The cured samples were investigated by using X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The influence of the cellulose addition on the mechanical/physical properties was also evaluated. The results showed that zeolite ZK-14, hydrosodalite, sodium carbonate and a geopolymer composed of poly(sialate) units were formed in all cured samples. The relative amounts of zeolite and metakaolin evolved antagonistically, whereas that of illite slightly decreased with increasing cellulose content. Metakaolin and illite were involved in the geopolymerization process. Cellulose addition led to the improvement of the flexural strength of the samples and to porosity reduction. By contrast, water absorption was increased. The positive effect of cellulose on sample performance is explained on the basis of hydrogen bonding between the functional moieties of cellulose and the active sites of sample constituents, namely zeolites, metakaolin, illite and the geopolymer. As a filler, zeolite probably contributed to sample strengthening, and the detrimental impact of Na-carbonate was insignificant. Based on the results obtained, the composites could be used as binders for brick manufacturing or as lightweight mortars.

The mineral present in most clays used in the fine ceramics industries is kaolinite. Both china clays and ball clays consist essentially of this mineral in association with quartz and some form of mica. There is some evidence for the presence of traces of montmorillonite in certain of the Cornish china clays (Clark, 1950) and a method of estimating this has been reported (Parker, Warren and Morcom, 1951). Work at the British Ceramic Research Association has shown that many Dorset ball clays are largely composed of a disordered kaolinite similar to Brindley and Robinson's fireclay mineral (1947); such clays are frequently more plastic than other ball clays and show high mechanical strength. Other ball clays contain normal kaolinite of finer particle size than the average china clay and in exceptional cases may show strengths equalling those of the disordered kaolinite.

The flat-layer method of X-ray diffraction and conditions for focusing are discussed.