In the origin of life on the primitive earth a major step must have involved the condensation of amino acids to form the first polypeptides. Several suggestions as to how this might have occurred have been made by other workers. One of the more appealing proposals is that the polymerization was catalyzed by clay minerals. It has been reported, for example, that L-apartic acid polymerizes significantly faster than D-aspartic in the presence of kaolinite in aqueous suspension at 90˚. In this work an attempt was made to repeat this report and extend the pH range to include values presumably present on the prebiotic earth. No evidence for polymerization of L-aspartic acid were found. Polymerization of glycine under dry conditions in the presence of kaolinite and sodium borate was also investigated. Although small amounts of glycylglycine and glycylglycylglycine were detected there was no evidence that the reaction is enhanced by the presence of kaolinite.

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The object of the work presented in this thesis was to obtain quantitative values of the thermodynamic changes in water upon adsorption by kaolinite. Two methode were used. The first was a determination of the differential heat content and entropy of adsorption. The second method included a thermodynamic evaluation of the B.E.T. "c" constant expressed in terms of the Gibbs standard free energy of adsorption. The experimental data gave satisfactory results in determining the differential and standard thermodynamic functions or free energy, entropy, and heat content of adsorption. The adsorption of water on kaolinite appears to be a van der Waals type of adsorption, the heats of adsorption being from 4.4-2.5 k. cal mole-1 more negative than the heat of condensation or water.

This study investigated the adsorption properties of roxarsone, an organoarsenic poultry feed additive, to goethite and kaolinite in order to determine what role mineral surfaces play in controlling the mobility of roxarsone in watersheds where poultry litter is applied. Adsorption edge experiments for goethite and kaolinite showed a dependence on pH for both As(V) and roxarsone. This pattern can be explained by the pH-dependent changes in the mineral surface charge and protonation of the aqueous arsenic species. Isotherms for As(V) and roxarsone on goethite and kaolinite show surface saturation for As(V), but not for roxarsone. The overall adsorption patterns show that As(V) and roxarsone adsorption is similar, suggesting that the arsenate functional group is the dominant control on roxarsone adsorption. However, there are some subtle differences between adsorption of As(V) and roxarsone, which can be explained by the relative sizes of the molecules, the presence of functional groups, differences in solubility, and differences in the type of adsorption (monolayer versus multilayer). Comparison of roxarsone adsorption to goethite and kaolinite reveals that at the low concentrations of roxarsone that are expected to leach from poultry litter into soil water, goethite adsorbs roxarsone more strongly then kaolinite. However, due to the abundance of kaolinite, both are important controls on roxarsone mobility. / Master of Science

M.Tech. (Industrial Design) / The research project entitled: The Analysis of Clay Materials for use in a Ceramic Studio was undertaken in order to give a quantitative base to the understanding of clay materials and their role in clay bodies. The project consists of analysing the clay materials as they are supplied, using technically sophisticated equipment. A set of data for each of the nine chosen clays was assembled and then correlated for easier comparison. The clay materials were then mixed into clay bodies using a set proportion in order that a comparison of the nine clay bodies could be made and related to the data assembled for the clay materials. The data collected, as well as the ceramic calculations used in the research project were entered into the "Insight" Ceramic software programme for use in the studio. This data base will be the foundation for ongoing research into ceramic materials.

TThe disruption of the aluminosilioate crystal lattice by aqueous fluoride solutions has been studied, The effect of reaction time, fluoride concentration, pH, and temperature on the reaction have been investigated« The stoichiometric exchange of hydroxyls by fluoride ions in kaolinite and muscovite at pH 7 below? was extremely doubtful., Disruption of the aluminosil ate crystallattice was thought t o be the predominant reaction over the acid pH range• Fluoride ions were found t react preferentially with the aluminium in the cry s tallattice to form AlP especially at the high e r temperature w

A utilização de argila como matéria-prima acompanha a evolução humana desde a Pré-história, ao longo do tempo o ser humano vem utilizando as argilas para produzir objetos variados, como vasos, estatuetas e tijolos. Nos dias atuais muitas indústrias utilizam os diferentes tipos de argilas encontradas na natureza. Neste trabalho foi utilizado um caulim proveniente da Bahia e o outro caulim proveniente de São Paulo. Os caulins foram caracterizados através das técnicas e ensaios de difração de raios X (DRX), microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV), espectroscopia por energia dispersiva (EDS), microscopia estereoscópica (MO), infravermelho (IV), análises térmicas (TG e DSC), fluorescência de raios X (FRX), análise química (IQ), análise granulométrica, área superficial (BET), inchamento de Foster, incorporação de solventes, capacidade de troca catiônica (CTC), ensaios cerâmicos, ensaio de adsorção, quantificação da matéria orgânica, ensaio de plasticidade, viscosidade Fann e umidade base seca e base úmida. Todos os resultados foram utilizados para realizar uma comparação entres as propriedades dos dois caulins selecionados para este estudo. Em seguida os caulins foram submetidos ao processo de organofilização. Os resultados mostram que as duas argilas são compostas pelo argilomineral caulinita, todos os resultados apresentaram-se compatíveis com argilas cauliníticas e a organofilização dos caulins foi comprovada principalmente pelos resultados do infravermelho (IV) e teste de inchamento de Foster. / The use of clay as raw material accompanies human evolution since the prehistory, over time humans have been using clays to produce various objects, such as vases, figurines and bricks. Now days many industries use different types of clays found in nature. The clays are formed by a claymineral or a mixture of various clayminerals, there is a certain content of alkali and alkaline earth elements, have low particle size and acquires plasticity when in contact with water, also have impurities such as organic matter, soluble salts, quartz particles, mica and other minerals, and some residual amorphous minerals. In this study was used a kaolin from Bahia and other kaolin from São Paulo. The Kaolins were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), stereoscopic microscopy (SM), infrared (IR) , thermal analysis, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), chemical analysis (CA), particle size analysis, surface area (BET), Foster swelling, incorporation of solvent, cation exchange capacity (CTC), ceramic tests, adsorption, organic matter, plasticity, Fann viscosity and humidity. All results were used to make a comparison between the two kaolins properties. Then the kaolins were subject to an organophilization process. The results show that both clays are composed of kaolinite with properties compatible with those of kaolins. Organophilization mainly been proven by the results of infrared (IR) and Foster swelling test.

In situ capping is a remediation alternative for contaminated sediments which has been implemented to contain contaminants in sediments in rivers, lakes and ponds. One concern with in situ capping is that the additional load due to the in situ cap may cause consolidation-induced mobilization of non aqueous phase liquids (NAPL). Therefore, it is important to understand the consolidation behavior of NAPL contaminated soils. The difficulties of testing river-bed sediments are that these sediments usually are very soft, have very high porosities, and are very compressible. In addition, the contaminants in these sediments should be contained during testing. The primary objective of this research is to investigate the behavior of NAPL contaminated sediments under anisotropic consolidation. A modified triaxial testing system was developed to simulate the consolidation of very soft sediment specimens along with a reconstituted NAPL contaminated specimen preparation procedure. Kaolinite and Anacostia River sediments were used for the sediments’ solids phase. A low viscosity mineral oil, Soltrol 130, was used to represent the NAPL phase. Tap water was used as the water phase. PM199TM, a type of organophilic clay manufactured by CETCO, was used as well to study its effectiveness in containing expelled NAPL. Two sets of consolidation tests were performed: 1) tests on sediment specimens at various NAPL contents and porosities; and 2) tests on specimens contaminated with NAPL with organophilic clays either placed as a layer on top or mixed within the sediment. The results showed that NAPL mobilization was negligible below a threshold NAPL content. Hydraulic conductivities increased with increasing NAPL content up to four orders of magnitude. The tests with organophilic clay showed that when large enough amounts are used, NAPL expulsion can be completely stopped. Organophilic clay reached its full capacity independent of the NAPL content of the underlying sediment. / text

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Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-150) / Microfiche. / xiii, 150 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm