Hostname: page-component-5c6d5d7d68-wtssw Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-08-16T01:07:16.949Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Variations of Wyoming Bentonite Beds as a Function of the Overburden

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

F. J. Williams ,
B. C. Elsley  and
D. J. Weintritt
F. J. Williams
Affiliation:
Baroid Sales Division, National Lead Company, Houston, Texas, USA
B. C. Elsley
Affiliation:
Baroid Sales Division, National Lead Company, Houston, Texas, USA
D. J. Weintritt
Affiliation:
Baroid Sales Division, National Lead Company, Houston, Texas, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The colloidal properties and base-exchange characteristics of five deposits in four different areas were determined. The variations of the clay were, in general, a function of the amount of overburden and have been related to that dimension.

From the standpoint of appearance, two types of clay were found in these areas. The highest grade clay has a yellow color whereas the other type, a blue clay, is customarily found to be of lower grade.

Differential thermal studies of the yellow and blue clay, when correlated with variations in colloidal properties, strongly suggest that the change from blue to yellow is due to oxidation of iron.

The primary cause for variation in properties is due to the Na/Ca ratio in the exchange positions regardless of whether the iron in the clay is in the ferrous or ferric state. Examination of purified clays indicates that the exchangeable base ratio of the field bentonites lies in a zone of instability. This zone occurs when the divalent ions amount to 40 to 60 percent of the base-exchange capacity.

Type
Article
Information
Clays and Clay Minerals (National Conference on Clays and Clay Minerals) , Volume 2: Publication 327, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, October 15-17, 1953 , February 1953 , pp. 141 - 151
Copyright
Copyright © Clay Minerals Society 1953

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

AIME (1952) Problems of clay and laterite genesis: Symposium, The Maple Press, York, Pa., 244 p.Google Scholar
API Code 29 (1950) Recommended practice for standard field procedure for testing drilling fluids with Appendix: Manual of procedures for laboratory evaluation of drilling mud materials, American Petroleum Institute, Dallas, Texas, p. 1–17.Google Scholar
Baver, L. D. (1940) Soil physics: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 370 p.Google Scholar
Brindley, G. W. (Ed.) (1951) X-ray identification and crystal structures of clay minerals: Mineralogical Society of Great Britain Monograph, 345 p.Google Scholar
Kelley, W. P. (1948) Cation exchange in soils: Reinhold Publishing Corp., New York, 144 p.Google Scholar
Kelley, W. P. (1951) Alkali Soils: Reinhold Publishing Corp., New York, 176 p.Google Scholar
Lyon, T. L., and Buckman, H. O. (1947) The nature and property of soils: MacMillan Co., New York, 127 p.Google Scholar
Marshall, C. E. (1949) The colloid chemistry of the silicate minerals: Academic Press, New York, 180 p.Google Scholar
Peech, M. (1941) Determination of exchangeable bases in soils: Ind. Eng. Chem., Anal. Ed., v. 13, p. 436–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, F. J., Neznayko, M., and Weintritt, D. J. (1953) The effect of exchangeable bases on the colloidal properties of bentonite: Jour. Phys. Chem., v. 57, p. 6–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar