Geology of Clay Minerals

Introduction

Dr. Ir. I Wayan Warmada

Laboratorium Bahan Galian
Jurusan Teknik Geologi
Fakultas Teknik UGM
http://warmada.staff.ugm.ac.id
What is clay & clay minerals?

 What do you think about clay?

 What are the common usage of clay?

 What is the definition of clay?

 What is the distinction between clay and clay

minerals?
What is clay & clay minerals?
What is clay & clay minerals?
What is clay & clay minerals?
Introduction – terminology

 The term clay is somewhat ambiguous unless

specifically defined, because it is used in three
ways:
 As a diverse group of fine-grained minerals
 As a rock term
 As a particle size term

 As a rock term, clay is difficult to define

because of the wide variety of materials that
comprise it; therefore, the definition must be
general.
Introduction – terminology

 As a particle size term, clay is used for the

category that includes the smallest particles.

 The maximum size particles in the clay size

grade are defined differently on various grade
scales.

 Soil investigators and mineralogists generally

use 2 μm as the maximum size, wereas the
widely use scale by engineers (Wentworth,
1922) defines clay as material finer than
approximately 4 μm.
Clay minerals

 According to AIPEA Nomenclature Committee (Brindley

& Pedro, 1972; vide Bailey, 1980), “Clay minerals belong
to the family of phyllosilicates and contain continuous
two-dimensional tetrahedra sheets of composition T2O5 (T
= Si, Al, Be, ...) with tetrahedra linked by sharing three
corners of each, and with the fourth corner pointing in
any direction. The tetrahedra sheets are linked in the unit
structure to octahedral sheets, or to groups of
coordinated cations, or individual cations.”
 The term ’clay mineral’ is difficult to define. As a first
approximation, the term signifies a class of hydrated
phyllosilicates making up the fine-grained fraction of
rocks, sediments, and soils.
Clay minerals
 The definition that the JNC’s have proposed is “...
phyllosilicate mienrals and minerals which impart
plasticity to clay and which harden upon drying or firing”
(Guggenheim and Martin, 1995).
 Grim (1962) defined clay as a fine-grained, natural,
earthy, argillaceous material.
 The particle size of clays is very fine and is generally
considered to be about 2 μm or less by most clay
scientist.
 These minerals are hydrous silicates composed mainly of
silica, alumina, and water.
 Several of these minerals also contain appreciable
quantities of magnesium, iron, alkalis, and alkaline
earths.
Clay minerals - distinction

Clay Clay mineral

Natural Natural and synthetic
Fine-grained (<2μm or <4μm) No size criterion
Phyllosilicates as principal May include
constituents nonphyllosilicates
Plastica Plastic
Hardens on drying and firing Hardens on drying and
firing
awith some exceptions like flint clays
Source: Bergaya & Lagaly (2006, p. 8).
Clay mineral properties
 a layer structure with one dimension in the nanometer
range; the thickness of the 1:1 (TO) layer is about 0.7 nm,
and that of the 2:1 (TOT) layer is about 1 nm,
 the anisotropy of the layers or particles,
 the existence of several types of surfaces: external basal
(planar) and edge surfaces as well as internal (interlayer)
surfaces,
 the ease with which the external, and often also the
internal, surface can be modified (by adsorption, ion
exchange, or grafting),
 plasticity, and
 hardening on drying or firing; this applies to most (but not
all) clay minerals.
Kaolin minerals
 The basic kaolin mineral structure comprising the
minerals kaolinite, dickite, nacrite, and halloysite is a
layer of a single tetrahedral sheet and a single
octahedral sheet.
 The structural formula for kaolinite is Al4Si4O10(OH)8
and the theoredical chemical composition is SiO2,
46.54%; Al2O3, 39.50%; and H2O, 13.96%.
 Only two-thirds of the octahedral positions are filled
by an aluminum atom. The aluminum atoms are
surrounded by four oxygens and eight hydroxyls.
Smectite minerals
 The major smectite minerals are: Na–
montmorillonite, Ca–montmorillonite, saponite (Mg–
montm), nontronite (Fe–montm), hectorite (Li–
montm), and beidellite (Al–montm).
 Smectite minerals are composed of two silica
tetrahedral sheets with a central octahedral sheet
and are designated as a 2:1 layer mineral.
 The theoretical formula is (OH)4Si8Al4O20·nH2O
(interlayer) and the theoretical composition without
the interlayer material is SiO2, 66.7%; Al2O3, 28.3%;
and H2O, 5%.
Illite minerals
 Illite is a clay mineral mica, which was named
by Grim et al. (1937). The structure is a 2:1 layer
in which the interlayer cation is potassium.
 The size, charge, and coordination number of
potassium is such that it fits snugly in the
hexagonal ring of oxygens of the adjacent
silica tetrahedral sheets.
 A simple way of thinking about illite is that it is a
potassium smectite.
 Illite is commonly associated with many kaolins
and smectites.
Chlorite minerals
 Clay mineral chlorites differ from wellcrystallized
chlorites in that there is random stacking of the
layers and also some hydration.
 Chlorite is a 2:1 layer mineral with an interlayer
brucite sheet (Mg(OH)2).
 There is quite a range of cation substitutions in
chlorites, most commonly Mg2+, Fe2+, Al3+, and
Fe3+.
 The composition of chlorite is generally shown as
(OH)4(Si,Al)8(Mg,Fe)6O20. The brucite-like sheet in
the interlayer position has the general composition
(Mg,Al)6(OH)12.
Palygorskite (attapulgite)
 The terms palygorskite and attapulgite are
synonymous, but the International
Nomenclature Committee has declared that
the preferred name is palygorskite.
 The term attapulgite is still used, particularly by
those that mine, process, and use this clay
mineral.
 Palygorskite and sepiolite are 2:1 layer silicates.
Both of these clay minerals are magnesium
silicates, but palygorskite has a higher alumina
content.
Palygorskite (attapulgite)
 A general formula for palygorskite is (OH2)4
(OH2)Mg5Si8O20·4H2O. A general formula for
sepiolite is (OH2)4(OH)4Mg8Si12O30·8H2O.
Further readings
 Bergaya, F., Theng, B.K.G., Lagaly, G. (eds) Handbook of
Clay Sciences. Devel in Clay Sci, Vol. 1, Elsevier,
Amsterdam, 1224p.
 Kogel, J.E., Trivedi, N.C., Barker, J.M., Krukowski, S.T. (eds)
(2006) Industrial Minerals & Rocks, 7th Edition, SME, Inc.,
Colorado, 1548p.
 Meunier, A. (2005) Clays. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 472p.
 Moore, D.M. & Reynolds, R.C., Jr. (1997) X-Ray Diffraction
and the Identification and Analysis of Clay Minerals. 2nd
Ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford, 378p.
 Murray, H.H. (2007) Applied Clay Mineralogy. Devel in
Clay Sci, Vol. 2, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 180p.