Les exploitations d’argiles kaoliniques réfractaire d’Água Limpa/Brésil et de kaolins de couchage de Rio Capim/Brésil laissent des résidus d’exploitation en très grands tonnages. Dans la perspective d’une valorisation plus complète assurant un développement durable de l’industrie extractive, on a envisagé d’utiliser ces argiles résiduelles dans la fabrication de zéolites. On a obtenue dès une durée de synthèse de 24h, une zéolite 4A très proche de sa définition théorique. Le rendement de synthèse est meilleur avec les produits de Rio Capim. Le volume nanoporeux de la zéolite 4A est inaccessible à l’azote mais accessible à la molécule d’eau. Les zéolites synthétisées ont été testées comme adsorbants cationiques pour le cuivre, le plomb, le cadmium, le zinc, le magnésium, potassium et mercure. La rétention a voisine 60% du remplissage théorique pour toutes les espèces testées, sauf pour le cuivre où elle dépasse la capacité théorique et pour le mercure où elle est très faible. / Working Kaolinic refractory clays from Água Limpa (Minas Gerais) and paper coating kaolins from Rio Capim (Pará) - Brazil throw over very large amounts of mining residues. With the outlook of a more complete beneficiation, aiming at a sustainable development of mineral industry, the use of these residual clays has been considered for manufacturing zeolites. For a synthesis time of only 24h, a zeolite 4A very close to its theoretical definition is obtained.The nano-porous volume of the zeolite 4A is inaccessible to nitrogen molecules, but accessible to water molecules. Synthesised zeolites have been tested as cationic adsorbents of Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn, Mg, K and Hg. The retention is better for materials derived from Rio Capim Kaolins. The retention is close to 60% of the theoretical completion of the exchange capacity in all cases, except for copper for which the retention exceeds the capacity, and mercury for which the retention is very low.

Heavy metals are non-degradable and their persistence constitutes ecotoxicological ramifications. Their presence in wastewater is inhibitory to microbial digestion processes and can lead to biomagnification in the environment. Clay minerals have been widely studied as inexpensive sorbent materials of aqueous-phase contaminants. Particularly in the case of kaolinite, a non-swelling clay with a low cation-exchange capacity, chemically enhanced derivatives exposing its OH-rich interlayer space to interactions with its external environment are of exceptional interest. The objective of this study was to prepare a novel functionalised kaolinite with the aim of significantly improving its heavy-metal sorption capacity. Due to the robustness of sulfur-metal linkages, the compound 3,6-dithia-1,8-octanediol (HO(CH2)2S(CH2)2S(CH2)2OH) was grafted onto both urea- and DMSO precursors of two kaolinitic clays: the Source clay KGa-1b and a Portuguese clay sample collected from the Clays of Taveiro formation. All samples were characterised by X-ray diffraction and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). Initial materials and final samples were also characterised by thermal gravimetric analysis and infrared spectroscopy. The results describe nanohybrid materials that are resistant to hydrolysis and exhibit different grafting fashions. Application as a heavy metal sorbent was tested in ZnCl2 solutions as well as in zinc-spiked raw wastewater. Zinc concentrations were analysed concomitant with other metal species by inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry, demonstrating variable sorption capacities of the different clay samples tested and a consistently greater zinc removal in the wastewater system compared to simple zinc solutions. Measured concentrations of concomitantly analysed metals reveals a potentially alarming release of certain heavy metal species from some clay samples as a result of zinc sorption.

Organic ligand complexation reactions at the mineral-water interface play an important role in several environmental and geochemical processes such as adsorption, dissolution, precipitation, pollutant transport, nutrient cycling, and colloidal stability. Although organic ligand surface complexation reactions have been extensively studied, a molecular level understanding regarding the mechanisms underlying the adsorption of such compounds is still limited. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the interactions between some common naturally occurring organic ligands and a common aluminosilicate clay mineral, kaolinite, using a combination of macroscopic and microscopic experimental methods. Molecular level information regarding the structure and binding mode of adsorbed species was obtained using in situ MIR-FTIR spectroscopy. Other experimental techniques including adsorption experiments, surface titrations, and surface complexation modelling were also employed in order to quantify and describe the macroscopic adsorption properties of the organic ligands examined. Three low molecular weight organic acids (oxalic, salicylic, and phthalic acid) and humic acid were chosen as representative organic ligands. Spectroscopic evidence revealed that low molecular weight organic acids are able to form both inner and outer sphere complexes on kaolinite, and the relative concentrations of these surface complexes varies with solution chemistry. Inner sphere coordination modes inferred are a mononuclear bidentate for oxalate (five-membered chelate ring) and phthalate (seven-membered chelate ring); and a mononuclear monodenate (six-membered pseudochelate ring) for salicylic acid. Similar coordination modes were shown to form on simpler mineral (hyrd)oxides. Elucidation of the coordination chemistry of these ligands can provide insights into the dissolution mechanisms of silicate minerals In contrast to low molecular weight organic acids, there was no evidence of inner sphere complexation by humic acid acids on kaolinite or gibbsite. The combined spectroscopic and macroscopic adsorption results suggest that cation bridging and van der Waals interactions are the two most probable mechanisms for the adsorption of humic acid by these mineral substrates. This finding casts doubts over the use of low molecular weight organic acids as humic acid analogs.

Objective of this project was the study of interaction processes between humic substances, U(VI), Np(V) and kaolinite KGa-1b. It contributed to the attainment of a better process understanding, the improvement of the knowledge on the interaction of humic substances and metal ions and the enhancement of the thermodynamic database. With a synthetic humic acid (HA), N-containing functional groups of HA were characterized by 15N-NMR spectroscopy. Based on these results, model studies of the influence of amino groups on the complexation behavior of HA were performed. Spectroscopic studies with amino acids show that the amino group do not contribute to the U(VI) complexation at pH 4. The impact of kaolinite on the formation of HA and humic substance-kaolinite-sorbates was studied in model syntheses. The results exhibit that the presence of kaolinite during the syntheses mainly influences the yields on HA and their elemental compositions. Synthetic humic substance-kaolinite-sorbates were isolated. Under exclusion of CO2, the U(VI) complexation by HA was investigated at pH 7 by means of the conventional time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS) and TRLFS with ultrafast pulses. Complexation parameters for the ternary complex UO2(OH)HA(I) were determined. Studies of the Np(V) reduction in presence of HA with different functionalities under anaerobic conditions have shown that Np(V) is reduced to Np(IV) by HA. The redox capacity depends on the HA functionality. Applying a modified HA it was verified that phenolic/acidic OH groups play a dominating role in the Np(V) reduction. The influence of HA on the U(VI) and Np(V) sorption onto kaolinite was investigated in batch experiments. In dependence on the experimental conditions, HA effects the sorption and consequently the mobility of U(VI) and Np(V). From studies of the U(VI) sorption onto synthetic humic substance-kaolinite-sorbates it was concluded that the structure and functionality of sorbed/associated humic substances considerably influence the sorption behavior of U(VI). The structure of U(VI)-kaolinite-surface complexes in presence of HA was studied by means of X-ray absorption spectroscopy and TRLFS and compared to those of U(VI)-kaolinite-complexes. Investigations of the migration of HA and U(VI) in the laboratory system kaolinite-water were carried out in diffusion experiments. The migration of HA in compacted clay is governed by diffusion and influenced by its colloidal properties. Humic substances exert an immobilizing effect on the U(VI) transport in compacted kaolinite.

Doctor of Philosophy / Rare earth elements (REEs) play a significant role in industrial production. Currently, much effort has been made to recover REEs from clays isolated from mining wastes such as coal byproducts. However, the concentrations of REEs in those clayey waste materials are too low, and they are not amenable to leaching even using strong acids. The developed extraction techniques usually need to be carried out at elevated temperatures (e.g., >100 oC) and consume substantial amounts of chemicals, which are not cost-effective and environmentally friendly. Given the issues, this study proposed a novel leaching technology that can recover REEs from clayey waste materials under mild conditions (<100 oC). Firstly, to simulate the recovery of REEs from coal-based clay materials, a monazite sample was pretreated with caustic soda (i.e., NaOH) at 80 oC for 24 h to convert the difficult-to-dissolve REEs (i.e., rare earth phosphate) into readily soluble forms (rare earth hydroxide), after which they were dissolved in 0.5 M ammonium sulfate solution at pH 4 and room temperature. A conceptual model was developed to explain the leaching mechanism of ammonium sulfate, which was found to be an ion exchange process. The proposed leaching process was also used to extract REEs from clay materials isolated from coal-based clay samples. A chelating ligand named ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (i.e., EDTA) was added to the dilute NaOH solutions to reduce the alkali consumption during NaOH pretreatment. It was found that the presence of EDTA can improve the performance of NaOH pretreatment. Additionally, the content of REEs in a kaolinite waste material was physically upgraded to 10,765 ppm with ~72% recovery using a novel separation technique called hydrophobic-hydrophilic separation (HHS). The NaOH pretreatment and ammonium sulfate leaching process can also effectively recover REEs from the concentrate. The proposed leaching technology in this study can extract REEs from other low-grade clayey waste materials under mild conditions, which helps reduce wastewater generation and energy consumption. Furthermore, it will relieve the supply risk of REEs in the future.

<p>Predmet ovog istraživanja je razvoj nove generacije<br />mineralnih dodataka, dobijenih termičkom i<br />mehanohemijskom aktivacijom kaolinske gline i ispitivanje<br />svojstava kompozita, u kojima je deo portland cementa<br />zamenjen dobijenim pucolanskim materijalima,<br />metakaolinom i amorfnim kaolinom, za različite režime<br />nege. Rezultati su pokazali da su termička i mehanohemijska<br />aktivacija kaolinske gline jednako pogodne metode za<br />dobijanje pucolanskih materijala. Pozitivni efekti na<br />čvrstoće pri pritisku postižu se primenom do 30 %<br />metakaolina u kompozitima pri normalnom režimu nege, a uz<br />dodatno mlevenje, sadržaj metakaolina se može povećati do<br />40 %, uz dodatak CH. Amorfni kaolin se može primeniti u<br />kompozitima, sa stepenom zamene portland cementa do 10 %,<br />pri normalnom i autoklaviranom režimu nege.</p> / <p>The subject of this research is development of a new generation<br />of mineral admixtures, obtained by thermal and<br />mechanochemical activation of kaolin clay, and testing of the<br />properties of the cement based composites, where a part of the<br />portland cement is replaced by pozzolanic materials, metakaolin<br />and amorphous kaolin, for different curing conditions. The<br />results showed that thermal and mechanochemical activation of<br />kaolin clay were equally suitable for obtaining pozzolanic<br />materials. Positive effects on the compressive strength could be<br />achieved by using up to 30 % of MK, and with additional grinding<br />after thermal activation, content of MK could be increased up to<br />40 %, with the addition of CH, under the normal curing<br />conditions. Amorphous kaolin could be used in composites with<br />a cement replacement level of 10 %, under the normal and<br />autoclave curing conditions.</p>

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-21T19:25:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Luis Valerio Prandel.pdf: 10631150 bytes, checksum: 0e039282f135a5275af84e3d9bd6d4ee (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-03-30 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The soil is a complex and heterogeneous medium containing solid, liquid, gases and several organisms. Its solid phase is composed of minerals that present well defined and highly organized chemical composition. Tropical climate soils, classified as hardsetting, are kaolinitic and present low nutrient and organic matter amounts. Nowadays, there is no consensus about these soils hardsetting characteristics. The characterization of physical and chemical properties of these horizons and their granulometric fractions enables the physical, chemical and mineralogical investigation of five hardsetting soils in this study. Spectroscopic and microscopic techniques, thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction with the Rietveld Method were employed. The RM-XRD made possible to quantify and estimate crystallite average size and mineral micro-deformations. Part of these results was associated to Kaolinite, Halloysite, and Goethite isomorphic substitution. The quantitative XRF analyses revealed the content of chemical elements in the soils under study with higher accuracy. The thermal analysis techniques showed that Kaolinite of weathered soils is susceptible to dehydroxylation at lower temperatures. SEM micrographs revealed the particle typical shapes and these results were confirmed through the AFM that estimated the number of crystallites and the average number of kaolinite layers in the clay fraction. Most of the particles observed through microscopic techniques were ascribed to the Kaolinite, and their micromorphological characteristics could be compared to crystallite size and microdeformations obtained through the RM-XRD. Therefore, based on the results of spectroscopic, microscopic, thermal analyses and X-ray diffraction with Rietveld Method, it was possible to understand the several degrees of crystallinity of minerals which are part of the granulometric fractions of hardsetting horizons in kaolinitic soils. / O solo é um meio complexo e heterogênio de sólidos, líquidos, gases e diversos organismos. A fase sólida é composta de minerais que apresentam composição química definida e altamente ordenada. Solos de clima tropical, classificados como coesos são cauliníticos e apresentam baixa quantidade de nutrientes e matéria orgânica. Atualmente não se chegou a um consenso sobre o caráter coeso desses solos. A caracterização das propriedades físicas e químicas desses horizontes e de suas frações granulométricas possibilita uma investigação física, química e mineralógica de cinco solos coesos de estudo desse trabalho. Para isso foram utilizadas técnicas espectroscópicas, microscópicas, de análises térmicas e Difração de raios X com método de Rietveld. Com os resultados de MR-DRX foi possível quantificar, estimar o tamanho médio de cristalitos e microdeformações dos minerais. Parte desses resultados foram associados com a substituição isomórfica na Caulinita, Haloisita e Goethita. As análises de FRX quantitativas revelaram maior acurácia o teor de elementos químicos nos solos estudados. As técnicas de análises térmicas mostraram que as Caulinitas de solos intemperizados são susceptíveis a desidroxilação a menores temperaturas. Micrografias por MEV revelaram os formatos típicos de partículas e esses resultados foram confirmados por meio da AFM que estimou a quantidade de cristalitos e o número médio de empilhamento das camadas de Caulinita na fração argila. A maior parte das partículas observadas nas técnicas microscópicas foi atribuída a Caulinita, sendo que suas características micromorfológicas puderam ser comparadas com tamanho de cristalitos e microdeformações obtidos pelo MRDRX. Assim, com base nos resultados das análises espectroscópicas, microscópicas, térmicas e de difração de raios X pelo método de Rietveld foi possível compreender os diversos graus de cristalinidade dos minerais que compõem as frações granulométricas de horizontes coesos de solos cauliníticos.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-21T19:25:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Wellington Luis de Almeida.pdf: 4742048 bytes, checksum: cc1dcda307ffae38bc9b5541fe4ee593 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-05-18 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The Rietveld Method has been used in soil studies, however, there are some disputes about the reliability of results in soils through mineralogical quantification using X-ray diffraction in general. Regarding the refinement of crystalline structures and mineral quantification through the Rietveld Method, it is of great importance that the initial structure used is close to that under study. Studies carried out in hardsetting horizon soils revealed that they present few crystalline phases and, as they are not so complex in terms of mineralogy, it was hypothesized that other hardsetting horizon soils presented few phases. Thus, some samples coming from the hardsetting of a Hapludalf soil formed from non-consolidated sediments of sand and sand-clay nature from the Barreiras formation, with an Ami climate according to the Köppen classification were analyzed. The region where the soil was collected is located on the Farm Citropar II (average coordinates: 01° 48’ 38” South, 47° 11’ 38” West) in the city of Capitão Poço, State of Pará, which is a very important region for the citrus production. This study was carried out aiming to obtain the previously refined structures of the minerals Kaolinite, Quartz and Goethite for mineral quantification of the granulometric fractions and the air dried fine earth and also to corroborate with studies on the mineralogy of Brazilian soils using X-ray fluorescence and the Rietveld Method associated to the X-ray diffraction. In order to develop the study, chemical treatments were carried out to obtain fractions with higher concentrations of the minerals Kaolinite, Quartz and Goethite, semi- quantitative and quantitative X-ray fluorescence elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction with Cu Kα radiation in the step by step scanning mode data collection, with 0,02 º step and 10 s sampling time, in the extension 2θi = 5,00° to 2θf=80° and the Rietveld Method. From the previously refined mineral structures in chemically treated samples, it was possible to verify that the Rietveld Method refinement with X-ray diffraction data was more efficient, for the soil under study, when compared to the refinement that directly employs the structures presented in the literature. / O Método de Rietveld é utilizado em estudos de solos, no entanto, há discussões sobre a confiabilidade dos resultados com métodos de quantificação mineralógica por meio da Difração de Raios X em geral. Em relação as estruturas cristalinas e obtenção da quantificação dos minerais pelo Método de Rietveld é de fundamental importância que a estrutura de partida utilizada seja próxima daquela estudada. Trabalhos realizados em solos com horizontes coesos mostraram que estes possuem poucas fases cristalinas, e como não são tão complexos em termos de sua mineralogia, tomou-se como hipótese que outros solos de horizonte coesos apresentassem poucas fases. Assim, foram analisadas amostras oriundas do horizonte coeso de um Argissolo Amarelo formado a partir de sedimentos não consolidados de natureza arenosa e areno-argilosa da Formação Barreiras, Clima – Ami, pela classificação de Köppen. A região de coleta deste solo está localizada na Fazenda Citropar II (coordenadas médias: 01° 48’ 38” Sul, 47° 11’ 38” Oeste), município de Capitão Poço, estado do Pará, região de grande importância na produção agrícola de citros. Este estudo foi realizado com a intenção se obter as estruturas previamente refinadas dos minerais Caulinita, Quartzo e Goethita para a quantificação mineral das frações granulométricas e da Terra Fina Seca ao Ar, e também, corroborar com trabalhos de mineralogia em solos brasileiros utilizando a Fluorescência de Raios X e o Método de Rietveld associado a Difração de Raios X. Para a efetivação do estudo, foram realizados os tratamentos químicos para obter frações com maiores concentrações dos minerais Caulinita, Quartzo e Goethita, análise elementar pela Fluorescência de Raios X nos modos semiquantitativo e quantitativo, coleta de dados de Difração de Raios X com radiação de Cu Kα no modo de varredura passo a passo, com passo de 0,02 º, com tempo de amostragem de 10 s, na extensão de 2θi = 5,00° a 2θf=80° e o uso do Método de Rietveld. A partir das estruturas dos minerais previamente refinadas em amostras quimicamente tratadas foi possível verificar que o refinamento pelo Método de Rietveld com dados de Difração de Raios X tornou-se mais eficaz, para o solo estudado, quando comparado com o refinamento utilizando diretamente as estruturas da literatura.

This dissertation has investigated the adsorption, thermal behavior, and radiation (both photon and electron) processing of prebiotically-relevant ices and surfaces. A custom ultra-high vacuum (UHV) chamber has been built that is coupled with a Fourier Transform-Infrared (FT IR) spectrometer and a Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD) system that utilizes Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry (QMS) to study selected organic:surface systems. Formamide (HCONH₂) has been studied in two related but distinct studies relevant to primitive Earth and interstellar chemistry. First, in collaboration with a theory group, formamide’s interaction with kaolinite (Al6Si6O36H30), a clay mineral relevant to early Earth chemistry, has been studied experimentally and theoretically. Experimental infrared results are compared with calculated infrared frequencies obtained by our collaborators. TPD analysis is compared with the calculated values of adsorption energy, and the optimal kaolinite termination site for adsorption is reported. Second, the first thermal and radiation damage study of pure formamide and HCONH₂:H₂O mixed ices on an interstellar icy grain analog (SiO₂) is reported. A discussion of the pure formamide ice phases identified with FT-IR upon warm-up, as well as the TPD binding energies of HCONH₂ on SiO₂, is presented. The observed Lyman-alpha photochemical products and proposed formation mechanisms from pure formamide ice is reported and discussed. In addition, results of Lyman alpha processing of mixed HCONH₂:H₂O ices are provided. Low-energy electron irradiation of pure HCONH₂ and HCONH₂:H₂O mixed ices has also been reported for the first time. A third investigation has studied acetylene (C₂D₂) and acetonitrile (CH₃CN) interactions and radiation stability in mixed low-temperature ices to simulate possible prebiotic reactions that may occur on Saturn’s moon, Titan. This investigation contributes to understanding the possible consumption, trapping, and degradation of these species on the surface of Titan.

No description available.