Mineral analysis mineralogical methods

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy of coal low-temperature ashes was applied to the determination of coal mineralogy and the prediction of ash properties during coal combustion. Analytical methods commonly applied to the mineralogy of coal are critically surveyed. Conventional least-squares analysis of spectra was used to determine coal mineralogy on the basis of forty-two reference mineral spectra. The method described showed several limitations. However, partial least-squares and principal component regression calibrations with the FTIR data permitted prediction of all eight ASTM ash fusion temperatures to within 50 to 78 F and four major elemental oxide concentrations to within 0.74 to 1.79 wt % of the ASTM ash (standard errors of prediction). Factor analysis based methods offer considerable potential in mineral-ogical and ash property applications. 

This survey of five major methods for coal mineralogy and their limitations includes only methods which can provide a "complete" mineral analysis. Methods of limited applicability, such as Mossbauer, are omitted. 

Gilkes, R.J., Transmission electron microscope analysis of soil minerals, in Quantitative Methods in Soil Mineralogy, Amonette, J.E. and Zelazny, L.W., Eds., Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI, 1994, p. 177. 

Harris W, White GN (2008) X-ray diffraction techniques for soil mineral identification. In Uleiy AL, Drees R (eds) Methods of soil analysis. Part 5. Mineralogical methods. Soil Science Society of America Book Series, Madison... 

FIGURE 7.31 DTA curves for some important soil minerals (a) kaolinite, (b) halloysite, (c) montmorillonite, (d) gibbsite, and (e) allophane. (Reprinted from Tan et al., Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 1. Physical and Mineralogical Methods, American Society of Agronomy-Soil Science Society of America, Madison, Wisconsin, 2010. With permission from the Soil Science Society of America.)... 

Factor analysis extracts information from the sample data set (e.g., IR spectra) and does not rely on reference minerals. However, because abstract factors have no physical meaning, reference minerals may be needed in target transformations or other procedures to extract mineralogical information. One valuable piece of information obtainable without the use of extraneous data is the number of components required to represent the data within experimental error. Reported applications of factor analysis to mineralogy by FTIR are few (12). However, one commercial laboratory is offering routine FTIR mineral analyses to the petroleum industry, based on related methods (22). 

Early Reviews in Mineralogy dealt with specific groups of minerals, one (or two) volumes at a time. In contrast, this volume deals explicitly with the topic of crystal size in many different systems. Until recently, the special and complicated nature of the very smallest particles rendered them nearly impossible to study by conventional methods. Even today, the challenges associated with evaluating the size-dependence of a mineral s bulk and surface structures, properties, and reactivity are significant. However, ongoing improvements in sophisticated characterization, theory, and data analysis make particles previously described (often inaccurately) as amorphous (or even mo re mysteriously as k-ray amorphous ) amenable to quantitativ e evaluation. Thermochemical, crystal chemical, and computational chemical approaches must be combined to understand particles with diameters of 1 to 100 nanometers. Determination of the variation of structure, properties, and reaction kinetics with crystal size requires careful synthesis of... 

BIS 93] BISH D.L., POST J.E., Quantitative mineralogical analysis using the Rietveld full pattern fitting method ,Hra. Miner., vol. 78, p. 932-940, 1993. 

Samples for clay mineralogical analysis were prepared using standard gravitational-technique. Semi-quantitative estimates of the relative abundance of clay minerals in the <2 pm fraction were made using the method given by Moore Reynolds (1989). 

Griffiths, J. C., 1967. Scientific Methods in Analysis of Sediments. McGraw-Hill, New York, 508 pp. Grim, R. E., 1988. The history of the development of clay mineralogy. Clays and Clay Minerals 36 97-101. 

Hughes, R. E., D. M. Moore H. D. Glass, 1994. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of clay minerals in soils. In Amonette, J. E. L. W. Zelanzny (eds.) Quantitative Methods in Soil Mineralogy. Soil Science Society of America, Inc.. Madison, Wisconsin 330-359. 

Mineralogical and chemical information is essential for determining the brick making characteristics of a mudrock. Differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetric analysis can identify clay minerals in mudrocks, but provide only very general data on relative abundance. X-ray diffraction methods are used to determine the relative proportions of clay and other... 

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