Clay formation

The problems caused by shales in petroleum activities are not new. At the beginning of the 1950s, many soil mechanics experts were interested in the swelling of clays. It is important to maintain wellbore stability dining drilling, especially in water-sensitive shale and clay formations. The rocks within these types of formations absorb the fluid used in drilling this absorption causes the rock to swell and may lead to a wellbore collapse. The swelling of clays and the problems that may arise from these phenomena are reviewed in the literature [528,529,1788,1900]. Various additives for clay stabilization are shown in Table 3-1. 

Pozdniakov, S.P., Modeling of waste injection in heterogeneous sandy-clay formations, in Underground Injection Science and Technology, Tsang, C.F. and Apps, J.A., Eds., Elsevier, New York, 2007. 

Fig. 9.8 Stratigraphic presentation of 813C values for organic material extracted from the Arundal clay formation, Maryland. Error bars reflect the standard deviation for three replicate analyses. The dashed line represents the boundary between the early and middle Aptian eras ( 125 to 112 megayears BP) established from the geological record. The gray arrow highlights the isotope shift of interest (Reprinted from Jahren, A. H. et al., Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 236, 691, (2005), Copyright 2005, with permission from Elsevier)...

Macquaker JHS, Curtis CD, Coleman ML (1997) The role of iron in mudstone diagenesis Comparison of Kimmeridge Clay Formation mudstones from onshore and offshore (UKCS) localities. J Sed Res 67 871-878... 

The crude oil used by Bennett and Barter (1997) was a typical North Sea oil generated from Upper Jurassic, Kimmeridge clay formation source rocks. The alkylphenol distribution in a sample of (Miller) crude oil, determined using solid phase extraction (SPE), is shown in Fig. 16.21. The crude oil is dominated by phenol and cresol and contains appreciable quantities of dimethylphenols. The concentrations of 2,3-, 3,4-, and 3,5-dimethylphenol also include a contribution from 2-, 3-, and 4-ethylphenols, because they coelute under the conditions employed (Bennett et ah, 1996). 

This technology is not suitable for very dense, low-permeability soils and sediments. However, electrokinetic transport could be used to remediate contaminated clay formations within a more permeable aquifer. 

Most repository sites under consideration for commercial spent fuel disposal are in reducing environments, such as in Boom clay formations of the Mol site, Belgium, where U02 is thermodynamically stable. In oxygen-free conditions, Spahiu et al. (2002) have shown that fuel in an... 

The proposed Swiss repository for SF, HLW, and ILW is situated in the Opalinus Clay of the Zurcher Weinland in northern Switzerland, where an exploratory borehole was drilled near the village of Benken (Nagra 2002a). The Opalinus Clay formation consists of a well-consolidated clay shale, which is suitable for the construction of small, unlined tunnels and larger, lined tunnels at depths of several hundred metres. The engineered barrier system includes the waste containers and the backfill of construction, operation, and emplacement... 

Yokoyama, T. Banfield, J. F. 2002. Direct determinations of the rates of rhyolite dissolution and clay formation over 52,000 years and comparison with laboratory measurements. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 66, 2665-2681. 

Zevenberg, C., van Reeuwik, P., Bradley, J. P., Bloemen, P. Comans, R. N. J. 1996. Mechanism and conditions of clay formation during natural weathering of MSWI bottom ash. Clays and Clay Minerals, 44, 546- 552. 

Zevenbergen, C., Bradley, J. P., van Reeuwijk, L. P. Shyam, A. K. 1999a. Clay formation during weathering of alkaline coal fly ash. Proceedings, 1999 International Ash Utilization Symposium, Lexington, Kentucky, Center for Applied Energy Research. 

Fig. 3ft. Some authorities prefer rock sail deposils for ihe permanent disposal of nuclear wasles on ihe assumpiion ihai lhe heal generaied by radioaclive decay would fuse salt and wastes into an impermeable mass. Other experts question the integrity of salt formations. Increasing attention has turned to hard media, such as the granitic and basaltic rocks, and to shale and clay formation, with the hope that the extensive occurrence of such formations would minimize the need to transport wastes over long distances...

Kooi, H., Garavito, A.M. and Bader, S. (2003) Numerical modelling of chemical osmosis and ultrafiltration across clay formations, Journal of Geochemical Exploration 78-79, 333-336... 

Michalopoulos, P., and Aller, R.C. (2004) Early diagenesis of biogenic silica in the Amazon Delta alteration, authigenic clay formation, and storage. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 68, 1061-1085. 

R. Soderblom, Salt in Swedish Clays and its Importance for Quick Clay Formation, Swedish Geotechnical Institute, Stockholm, 1969. 

Schematic illustration of clay and CNTs morphology in chitosan nanocomposites is shown in Figure 4.8. In the composites based on chitosan/CNTs containing 0.4 wt % CNTs, nanotubes can be well dispersed in chitosan, but no filler network could be formed due to its low concentration (Figure 4.8a). In the composites based on chitosan/clay containing 3 wt % clay, formation of 2D clay platelets network is possible (Figure 4.8b). In chitosan/clay-CNTs ternary nanocomposites, ID CNTs are confined in 2D clay platelets network, which results in a much jammed and conjugated 3D clay-CNTs network (Figure 4.8c). The interactions and networks in the system can be divided into (1) clay-clay network, (2) clay-CNTs network, (3) CNTs-polymer-clay bridging, (4) polymer-polymer network. The formation of different networks and interactions could be the main reason for the observed synergistic reinforcement of CNT and clay...

Argillic horizons often correlate with the maximum depth of effective evapotranspiration, commonly 1-2 m. Water loss initiates the precipitation of secondary clays and oxides from solutes. Such precipitation may also be related to the loss of dissolved organic species and the de-complexation of soluble aluminum. The resulting low permeabilities further retard the downward percolation of pore water, commonly creating transient perched water tables directly above the hardpans. Periodic drying in this zone focuses addition secondary mineral precipitation in the vicinity of the hardpan, which then leads to a lower permeability and more clay formation. 

Saelen G., Tyson R. V., Talbot M. R., and Telnaes N. (1998) Evidence of recycling of isotopically light C02(aq) in stratified black shale basins contrasts between the Whitby Mudstone and Kimmeridge Clay formations, United Kingdom. Geology 26, 747-750. 

Fig. 2-26. Results obtained by the CHIM method over an oil deposit in Byelorussia and schematic geological section 1- Permian-Cretaceous-Quatemary clays, sands, coals 2- marly siliceous clay formations 3- Carboniferous sand-clay formations 4- middle-late Devonian sandstones, aleurolites, marls 5- oil deposit (reproduced with permission from Ryss et al., 1990).

Ding ZL, Sun JM, Yang SL, Lin TS (2001) Geochemistry of the Phocene red clay formation in the Chinese Loess Platean and imphcations for its origin, source provenance and paleoclimate change. Geochim Cosmochem Acta 65 901-913... 

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