PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF CLAY Clay particles are smaller than 2 micron (2 x 10- mm), and such particles can

only be seen with an electron microscope. Electron micrographs show that clay particles have the shape of thin sheets. This shape and small size combine to give clay a very large surface area for a given volume of solid, making surface effects dominant which it can hold more water and nutrients. They are an example of a colloid. Changes in water content of some clay give rise to swelling and shrinkage of soil volume. This can be seen by the presence of cracks which develop as the clay soil dries and shrinks. The cracks close when there is enough of moisture. Clay may also exhibit the property of plasticity where shear strength and compressibility are closely related to water content.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF CLAY MINERALS

Kaolinite
Kaolinite are residues from extensive weathering in high-rainfall, acidic soils. It is white, greyish white, or slightly coloured. Kaolinite is made up of tiny, thin, pseudohexagonal, flexible sheets of triclinic crystal with a diameter of 0.212 m. It has only one sheet of silica tetrahedra per sheet of alumina octahedra per layer. Thus, it is a 1:1 lattice clay. It has a density of 2.12.6 g/cm3. Kaolinite adsorbs small molecular substances such as lecithin, quinoline, paraquat, and diquat, but also proteins, polyacrylonitrile, bacteria, and viruses

(Lipson & Stotzky, 1983). The adsorbed material can be easily removed from the
particles because adsorption is limited to the surface of the particles (planes, edges). Upon heating, kaolinite starts to lose water at approximately 400 C, and the dehydration approaches completeness at approximately 525 C (Grim, 1968). The dehydration depends on the particle size and crystallinity.

Smectite (Montmorillonite)
Smectite are the swelling, sticky clays. They feel greasy and soap-like to the touch. They are often referred to as 2:1 lattice which refers to the number of silica sheets per alumina sheet per clay layer. Bentonite is an impure deposit of montmorillonite. Freshly exposed bentonite is white to pale green or blue and, with exposure, darkens in time to yellow, red, or brown. The special properties of smectite are an ability to form thixotrophic gels with water, an ability to absorb large quantities of water with an accompanying increase in volume of as much as 1215 times its dry bulk, and a high cation exchange capacity. Meanwhile, physical characteristics of bentonite are affected by whether the montmorillonite composing it has water layers of uniform thickness or whether it is a mixture of hydrates with water layers of more than one thickness. Loss of absorbed water from between the silicate sheets takes place at relatively low temperatures (100200 C). Loss of structural water such as the hydroxyls begins at 450500 C and is complete at 600-750 C. Further heating to 800-900 C disintegrates the crystal lattice and produces a variety of phases, such as mullite, cristobalite, and cordierite, depending on initial composition and structure. The ability of montmorillonite to rapidly take up water and expand is lost after heating to a critical temperature, which ranges from 105-390 C, depending on the composition of the exchangeable cations. The ability to take up water affects the utilization and commercial value of bentonite (Grim, 1968).

Illite
Illite, together with chlorite, is the main component of common clay and shale. It is also an important impurity in limestone (Carr et al., 1994). Illite usually occurs as very small (0.12 m), poorly defined flakes commonly grouped into irregular aggregates. Lath-shaped and ribbon-shaped illite particles up to 30 m in length and 0.10.3 m in width have also been described (Srodon & Eberl, 1984). Illite has a gross structure similar to that of montmorillonite, a 2:1 lattice clay of silica and alumina sheets. However, it also has large potassium ions holding

adjacent layers together so tightly that water cannot penetrate between layers. Thus, illite has slight to moderate swelling. Dehydration takes place either smoothly or in steps between about 100 and 800 or 850 C for both biotite and muscovite illites. Loss of structure by the various illite minerals occurs between about 850 and 1000 C.

Vermiculite
Vermiculite clay minerals are similar in structure to illite but have lost the interlayer potassium ions. Vermiculite has the layers held weakly together by hydrated magnesium, less tightly together than occurs with potassium in illite. Thus, it has swelling but not as much as montmorillonite.

References Carr, P. F., Pemberton, J. W. & Nunan E. (1994); Low-grade metamorphism of mafic

lavas, Upper Permian Broughton Formation; Sydney Basin, School of Geosciences,

University of Wollongong, Australia Grim, R. E. (1968); Clay Mineralogy; McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, 596 p Lipson SM & Stotzky G (1983); Adsorption of provirus to clay minerals: Effects of

cation exchange capacity, cation saturation, and surface area; Appl Environ Microbiol,
46: 673682. Raymond W. Miller & Roy L. Donahue (1995); Soils in Our Environment 7th Edition Srodon, Jan, & Eberl, D. D. (1984); Illite, in Bailey, S. W., ed., Micas, Reviews in Mineralogy, v. 13, p. 495-544 Thair Al-Ani & Olli Sarap (2008); Clay and Clay Mineralogy; Geological Survey of Finland