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Formation of Dioctahedral Vermiculite in Virginia Soils

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

C. I. Rich  and
M. G. Cook
C. I. Rich
Affiliation:
Agronomy Department, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
M. G. Cook
Affiliation:
Agronomy Department, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
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Abstract

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The weathering of micas to form the dioctahedral analogue of vermiculite is a common process in acid soils. Laboratory weathering of the micaceous 5–2μ fraction of parent materials of certain Virginia soils resulted in a product similar in character (whether mixtures of vermiculite and regularly and randomly interstratified mica—vermiculite, or vermiculite only) to those formed by natural weathering processes. The formation of vermiculite rather than (or, in addition to) kaolinite is attributed to substitution of Na and other ions for K, other structural imperfections, and the small size of the original mica flakes.

The low cation exchange capacity and stability, in contraction and expansion, of the 14Å product is attributed partly to retention of hydroxy-Al and Fe groups in the interlayer spaces. The removal of these interlayers by natural or laboratory processes results in a product that contracts easily but may or may not expand to 18 Å on glycerol solvation. This may be associated with the original charge of the mica as evidenced by its K and Na content.

Type
Symposium on Occurrence and Origin of Vermiculite
Information
Clays and Clay Minerals (National Conference on Clays and Clay Minerals) , Volume 10 , February 1961 , pp. 96 - 106
Copyright
Copyright © Clay Minerals Society 1961

Footnotes

The research was supported in part from allotments from the Hatch Act for Regional Project S-14.

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