Black shale is a dark-colored mudrock containing organic matter that may have generated hydrocarbons in the subsurface or that may yield hydrocarbons by pyrolysis. Many black shale units are enriched in metals severalfold above expected amounts in ordinary shale. Some black shale units have served as host rocks for syngenetic metal deposits.

Black shales have formed throughout the Earth's history and in all parts of the world. This suggests that geologic processes and not geologic settings are the controlling factors in the accumulation of black shale. Geologic processes are those of deposition by which the raw materials of black shale are accumulated and those of diagenesis in response to increasing depth of burial.

Depositional processes involve a range of relationships among such factors as organic productivity, clastic sedimentation rate, and the intensity of oxidation by which organic matter is destroyed. If enough organic material is present to exhaust the oxygen in the environment, black shale results.

Diagenetic processes involve chemical reactions controlled by the nature of the components and by the pressure and temperature regimens that continuing burial imposes. For a thickness of a few meters beneath the surface, sulfate is reduced and sulfide minerals may be deposited. Fermentation reactions in the next several hundred meters result in biogenic methane, followed successively at greater depths by decarboxylation reactions and thermal maturation that form additional hydrocarbons. Suites of newly formed minerals are characteristic for each of the zones of diagenesis.

Thermal transformation of chrysotile from Uruaçu District, state of Goiás, Brazil, heated in dry conditions at temperatures from 600°C to 1300°C was studied by high resolution electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction (SAD). Up to 600°C, no morphological or SAD pattern changes were observed. At 600°C, the fibrils were still crystalline with the characteristics of the clinochrysotile. In addition, a new fringe system of 10–15 Å spacings appeared sporadically parallel to the 7.3 Å fringes of chrysotile. Areas of these extra fringes seem to constitute favorable sites for the nucleation of forsterite. At 650°C, forsterite nuclei appeared inside the nearly amorphous fibrils in the shape of patches consisting of flaky crystallites. At 700°C the chrysotile structure had disappeared; the new spots present in the SAD pattern were indexed as those of forsterite. Between 800–900°C the crystallinity of the patches was clearly demonstrated. From the lattice images in the patches, topotactic relations between chrysotile and forsterite were analyzed. At 1000°C very tiny grains of enstatite were formed mixed with forsterite grains. The SAD pattern is complex due to the coexistence of forsterite, enstatite, and silica-rich amorphous areas. From 1100°C to 1300°C the tridimensional growth of enstatite was promoted. The present results support the topotactic relations between chrysotile and forsterite found by X-ray analysis although differences up to several degrees may exist when these phases are observed microscopically. Evidence suggesting a topotactic growth between forsterite and enstatite was also obtained.

Alkylammonium ion exchange on mixed-layer minerals gives detailed information about the variation of cation density in succeeding interlayer spaces. Three mixed layer samples from Japan (supplied by Dr. H. Kodama) were investigated. Their nearly 1:1 interstratification is based on regularly alternating high- and low-charged interlayer spaces, which are caused by a regular sequence of polar layers. The cation density in the high-charged interlayer spaces is >0.8 eq/(Si, Al)4O10. The low-charged interlayer spaces have an average cation density of 0.4 eq/(Si, Al)4O10 and heterogeneous charge distribution. The kind of heterogeneity of the Goto Mine sample differs from that of the Yonago Mine and the Honami Mine samples.

The Goto Mine specimen has a rather regular sequence of the low- and high-charged interlayers in proportions close to 0.50:0.50. The other two samples contain interlayer spaces with pronounced unsymmetrical charge distribution. The Yonago Mine sample probably has in random distribution with the polar layers about 10% mica-like layers segregated to packets of three and more layers; the ratio of high-charged interlayers to the low-charged ones is increased to about 0.55:0.45. The Honami Mine sample probably contains isolated mica-like layers or pairs of them. The proportion of the high-charged interlayers is estimated to be about 0.53:0.47 and is lower than determined by Kodama from the glycerolated sample.

The samples investigated may be considered as end-members of a series of interstratified specimens which begins with smectites with mixed-layer like charge distribution.

Cation ordering in amesite-2H2 from Antarctica has reduced the true symmetry from the ideal hexagonal space group P63 to triclinic P1. All crystals show 6-fold biaxial twin sectors on (001), and the twinned crystals produce an average diffraction symmetry that is hexagonal. Individual twin sectors cut from the larger aggregate have 2 V optic angles near 18°, slightly monoclinic unit-cell geometry, and triclinic diffraction symmetry. Structural refinement of an untwinned sector in subgroup symmetry shows nearly complete ordering of Si,Al in tetrahedral sites and of Mg, Al in octahedral sites.

In triclinic symmetry the two layers in the unit cell are no longer equivalent. Tetrahedra lying on the pseudo-63 screw axis are alternately Si-rich and Al-rich in adjacent layers. Of the three octahedral sites in each layer, one is smaller than the other two and is interpreted as Al-rich. The distribution of Al-rich and Mg-rich octahedra violates both the pseudo-3-fold rotation axis within each layer and the pseudo-63 screw axis that relates one layer to the next in the ideal space group. Local charge balance is achieved in adjacent layers by location of all tetrahedral and octahedral Al in lines parallel to X1 and spaced at intervals of b1/2. Similar charge balance patterns parallel to X2 and X3 are postulated to account for the sector twinning, which has been observed also in amesites from Chester, Massachusetts, USA, Saranovskoye, USSR, and Postmasburg, South Africa.

Cation-exchange equilibrium for Ca-K-montmorillonite was studied at 35°, 50°, and 90°C and at three total normalities of the equilibrium solution (0.1, 0.05, and 0.01 N). Changes of the standard free energy for the exchange from K-montmorillonite to Ca-montmorillonite were determined to be −53, −270, and −393 cal/eq at 35°, 50°, and 90°C, respectively. Changes of the standard enthalpy and entropy were 1.7 kcal/eq and 5.6 cal/eq/degree at 35°C, respectively. The sign of the change of the standard free energy was found to be determined mainly by the entropy change, in particular, by the hydration entropy of the cations.

The calculation of the excess functions indicates that the mixing model of Ca-K-montmorillonite approximates that of a regular solution. Montmorillonite having potassium equivalent ion fraction of 0.1 to 0.7 consists of a random interstratification of Ca-montmorillonite (15.6 Å) and K-montmorillonite (12.6 Å).

The crystal structure of a synthetic boehmite sample has been refined to an R of 0.047 in the space group Amam from X-ray powder diffraction data. Inclusion of hydrogen atoms and/or refinement in the space group A21am gave poorer results. Cell dimensions were determined as a = 3.6936 (± 0.0003), b = 12.214 (± 0.001), c = 2.8679 (± 0.0003) Å. All Al-O(OH) distances lie between 1.88 and 1.91 Å. Shared octahedral edges are 2.51–2.52 Å, and unshared octahedral edges are 2.86–2.87 Å, in excellent agreement with those for layered silicates. The O-H … O distance between contiguous octahedral sheets is 2.71 Å. The computed X-ray pattern matches closely with the experimental pattern, indicating the degree to which the crystal structure has been determined.

The cation-exchange capacities (CEC) of a previously well-characterized beidellite have been estimated nondestructively from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) data following exchange by various cations. The CEC obtained as an atomic ratio to silicon from Na- and Ca-clays are close to that derived chemically, i.e., 0.10(2), and 0.10(1), respectively, compared with 0.12(1). However, the apparent CEC obtained following K-, Pb-, and Ba-exchange are all about 50% greater. These measurements are complemented by XPS studies of clay exchanged in a solution containing both Ca and Ba ions where XPS gave a total apparent exchange capacity relative to Si of 0.16, with 0.10 from Ca and 0.06 from Ba. Bulk chemical analysis has, however, shown that the true Ba value is only 0.01. It is concluded that the cation excess detected by XPS—a technique with a total sampling depth of only about 100 Å—is concentrated at the surfaces of the clay particles.

Hydroxy-carboxylic acids inhibit the crystallization of ferrihydrite in the pH range 9–11 in the order

citric > meso tartaric > L-tartaric ≫ lactic

and favor hematite formation relative to goethite in the order

L-tartaric > citric > meso tartaric > lactic.

The crystal shape of hematite can change from hexagonal plates to acicular in the presence of these acids. The influence of the acids on the crystallization rises with increasing concentration and with falling pH.

The effectiveness in suppressing crystallization depends on whether and how strongly the acid adsorbs on ferrihydrite and how strongly it complexes with Fe3+ in solution. Inhibition of crystallization of hematite is believed to be due to the di- and tricarboxylic acid linking ferrihydrite particles in an immobile network. Goethite formation is suppressed by the acid complexing with Fe in solution and hindering nucleation; strongly adsorbing acids also adsorb on the nuclei and hinder further growth. Certain acids can induce hematite formation because they contain a group which acts as a template for nucleation of hematite.

The method of known additions for estimating clay-mineral content was reversed in that increasing proportions of soil clay were added to a standard composed of equal weights of kaolinite, illite, and montmorillonite. After glycolation, peak-area ratios were calculated from 7.2 (kaolinite), 10 (illite), 14 and 17 Å (vermiculite and montmorillonite) diffraction peaks of standard, mixes, and soil clay. Ratios were plotted against % soil clay from the standard (0%) through the mixes (14 to 77%). Curves of fit were calculated and projected to 100% soil clay giving theoretical values which agree with measured values. As weight proportions are known in the standard, the projections permit estimates of clay-mineral weight proportions in the soil clay.

Dimensional changes in kaolinite pellets as a function of temperature show two sharp shrinkage “steps,” at about 450–550°C and 900–980°C, which are roughly comparable in magnitude. Isothermal heat-soaking tests confirm that the rates for both are kinetically controlled. Water vapor inhibits shrinkage at low temperature but promotes shrinkage at high temperature. Both the former reaction, related to dehydroxylation, and the latter reaction, related to “mullitization,” take place at temperatures well below those observed in DTA, TG, and other measurements, indicating that bond-breaking is a necessary prelude to transitions at higher temperatures.

Bonding energy changes, as measured by X-ray fluorescence shifts, were used in interpreting the phenomena involved. The relative absence of bonding energy changes in the aluminum until the range 950–1100°C, and the presence of such changes in the silicon, suggest that high-temperature energy release is probably related to segregation or crystallization of silica, rather than of an aluminum-containing phase. Caution must be used in interpreting bonding energy changes, and in distinguishing kinetic and thermodynamic contributions to dynamic phenomena.

The addition of a 10% talc internal standard to North Pacific sediments allows the relative abundances of clay minerals to be determined both accurately and precisely by X-ray powder diffractometry. Linear programming can be used to generate factors for converting talc-normalized peak areas to weight percentages; hence, absolute clay-mineral abundances can be estimated. This procedure minimizes residuals (nondiffracting or poorly crystalline components), but its accuracy is untested. Even this procedure results in an average residual of almost 30% for North Pacific sediments; other peak-area to weight conversion schemes generate even larger values.

In general, there is no correlation between clay-mineral abundances estimated from talc-normalized peak areas and abundances derived from the assumption that the sum of smectite, illite, kaolinite, and chlorite is 100%. This accounts for the past difficulties in relating bulk-sediment chemistry to clay mineralogy.

Cation-exchange capacities determined by methylene blue adsorption (CEC MB) and by the amount of K displaced from a K-saturated clay by NH4 (CEC K//NH4) correlate closely in five soil clays from Pennsylvania, but differ greatly in two soil clays with a large content of amorphous material. CEC MB was found to provide a more precise distinction between montmorillonite and vermiculite than CEC K//NH4. Synthetic aluminosilicate gels showed CEC K//NH4 > CEC Ca/Mg > CEC MB, but no relation to the behavior of the two soil clays with a large content of amorphous material was found.

Clay minerals in the upper 50 cm of sediment that surround the Cu- and Ni-rich manganese nodules in the North Equatorial Pacific form two fractions: terrigenous (mostly eolian) illite, chlorite, and kaolinite, and authigenic smectite. Smectite increases with depth in box cores from 26 to 39% and from 53 to 66% in the easternmost and westernmost areas respectively, and with distance seaward from the Americas from 26 to 53% in surface deposits. The change in the amount of smectite relative to other clay minerals is due to dilution by terrigenous debris; smectite probably forms at a uniform rate over much of the North Pacific deep-sea floor. The δO18 value for the smectite is +29.6‰ which suggests that it formed authigenically at a temperature characteristic of the deep-sea floor. The smectite is an Fe-rich montmorillonite that probably forms by the low-temperature chemical combination of Fe hydroxides and silica. Silica is derived from dissolution of biogenic debris, and the Fe hydroxide is from volcanic activity at the East Pacific Rise, 4000 to 5000 km to the east. Al in the authigenic montmorillonite may be derived from the dissolution of large amounts of biogenic silica or from river-derived Al that is adsorbed on Fe-Mn hydroxides in the oceans. The Fe-montmorillonite contains relatively abundant Cu, Zn, and Mn and is of possible economic importance as a source of these and other metals.

The electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra of varying quantities of vanadyl ion (VO2+) adsorbed on hydrated hectorite indicated that hydrolysis of VO2+ was promoted at low levels of adsorption. The hydrolyzed product was adsorbed on the clay surfaces, with a ligand environment that was partially aqueous and partially hydroxide in nature. Greater amounts of VO2+ adsorbed on wetted hectorite obscured the ESR spectrum of the strongly adsorbed hydrolysis product with a solutionlike spectrum. An approximately 50% reduction in rotational mobility of VO2+ relative to solution was indicated by the linewidth of this spectrum. Loss in mobility occurred with reduction of the interlamellar spacing until, under strongly dehydrating conditions, the VO(H2O)52+ ions became aligned with the V=O bond axis normal to the plane of the clay platelets.

Adsorption of Ni(II) by Ca- and Na-saturated kaolinites was studied in equilibrating solutions with total Ni concentrations ranging from 118 to 946 μg/liter. Background electrolytes used in these experiments were 0.005,0.01,0.025, and 0.5 M Ca(N03)2,0.002 and 0.005 M CaSO4, 0.01 and 0.1 M NaNO3, and 0.005 and 0.05 M Na2SO4, Ion speciation in equilibrium solutions was calculated by the computer program GEOCHEM. Computed Ni2+ concentrations and activities at equilibrium were correlated with total Ni adsorbed by kaolinite. Increasing ionic strength resulted in decreasing Ni adsorption. Adsorption of Ni was greater from solutions when NO3 was the dominant anion. Based on adsorption data in SO4 medium, the standard free energy of adsorption of Ni2+ ion on kaolinite was computed to be —27 kJ/mole.

Cretaceous bentonites were collected in outcrop from the Sweetgrass Arch and the Disturbed Belt in Montana. The mixed-layer illite-smectite (I/S) components of the bentonites from the Sweetgrass Arch have from 0 to 25% illite layers and no detectable structurai Fe2+, whereas the samples from the Disturbed Belt have from about 25 to 90% illite layers, and all contain Fe2+. A positive correlation (r = 0.89) exists between the percentage of structural iron that is Fe2+ and the amount of fixed interlayer K in the I/S.

The higher percentage of illite layers in the samples from the Disturbed Belt is attributed to reactions related to elevated temperatures caused by burial beneath thrust sheets. The increase in Fe2+/Fe3+ with increasing percentages of illite layers is tentatively attributed to a redox reaction involving the oxidation of organic matter. Although there is no statistical evidence for an increase in octahedral charge with an increase in illite layers when all the samples are considered together, iron reduction may have contributed as much as 10 to 30% of the increase in total structural charge that occurred in any given sample during metamorphism. The remaining structural charge increase can be attributed to the substitution of Al3+ for Si4+ in the tetrahedral sites.

The reaction between the herbicide “Roundup,” (PAH)3G, which is the commercial name of the iso-propylammonium salt of glyphosate (H3G, N-phosphonomethyl glycine), and montmorillonite was studied. The adsorption of the anionic component of Roundup glyphosate anion, G−3, from an ethanol solution is achieved by repeated immersion of the clay film in the alcohol solution followed by drying for 6–12 hr after each immersion. During the adsorption process the surface acidity of the interlayer space must be sufficiently high to protonate the anion. A zwitterion glyphosate is thereby formed in the interlayer space. Association forms are obtained in the interlayer space in which the COOH and the PO3H groups are linked to the exchangeable cations through water bridges. Adsorption of the glyphosate anion from aqueous solution of Roundup occurs when this anion forms a neutrally or positively charged complex with the exchangeable cation. This may occur with Al- and Fe-montmorillonite, when the molar ratio glyphosate:metal is such that a complex with a 1:1 ratio can be formed in the interlayer space. To clarify the reaction mechanism, adsorption of glycine by montmorillonite from ethanol solution was also studied. The associations obtained between glyphosate and exchangeable cations are less variable than those obtained between glycine and exchangeable cations in the interlayer space of montmorillonite. The following species of adsorbed glycine were identified: glycinium cation, zwitterion glycine, glycine complexed with metal cations either as a monodentate or as a bidentate ligand. In the latter case a chelate is formed.

Hydrothermal reactions in the system sepiolite/H2O have been examined between 149° and 316°C. Approximately 10–20% of the starting sepiolite was converted to a smectite (stevensite) at 204°C within 24 hr. Similar results were obtained when CaCl2, NaOH, Ca(OH)2, or Mg(OH)2 was added to the system. In the presence of NaCl, about 60% of the sepiolite was converted to stevensite, whereas, only 5% stevensite formed in the presence of MgCl2. Greater amounts of stevensite formed at 260°C in these systems. Above 316°C, 60–80% of the sepiolite was converted to stevensite in 24 hr, regardless of the presence or absence of salts. Within the experimental conditions used, temperature is the most important factor in the sepiolite-to-stevensite conversion.

At or below 216°C, sepiolite appears to transform into stevensite by dislocations involving c12 glides that are triggered by the stresses of the hydrothermal conditions. Above this temperature, stevensite seems to form by direct precipitation after dissolution of sepiolite.

Mössbauer spectra of 9 glauconite samples from Upper Cretaceous and Lower Tertiary strata in the South Island of New Zealand contain a broad shoulder due to low intensity absorption continuous between 1.0 and 2.5 mm/sec when the absorber is at room temperature; the shoulder is absent, and sharp peaks are apparent in spectra taken with the absorber at 80°K. The data suggest that electron transfer occurs between adjacent Fe3+ and Fe2+ ions at room temperature. The low temperature spectra indicate that all Fe in the glauconites is in octahedral coordination. Fe3+ and Fe2+ ions occur in both eis and trans sites; Fe3+ shows a strong preference for eis sites whereas Fe2+ shows an even stronger preference for trans sites.

The partially variable oxidation state of Fe in glauconite is interpreted in terms of a geochemical model for glauconitization of a degraded or incomplete progenitor phyllosilicate. The model involves exchange of Fe2+ for other cations which temporarily stabilize the progenitor, followed by Fe2+-Fe3+ charge transfer reactions. Each reaction results from the system's tendency towards equilibrium. The model is supported by the observation that artificially leached glauconite increases both its Fe3+ and its Fe2+ content when placed in a solution containing Fe2+ as the only Fe ion present.

The decreasing preference of montmorillonite for K+ relative to Na+ as the clay adsorbs increasing amounts of K+ is shown to be the general rule for the exchange of strongly hydrating ions by weakly hydrating ions. Variability in the mass-action selectivity coefficient is interpreted in terms of a composition-dependent surface entropy, which is a function of the chemical properties of the exchanging ion as well as the nature of the adsorption sites. The generally used mass-action form of exchange equation may only be applicable to exchange systems in which both ions have solution-like mobility at the exchanger surface. It is suggested that experimental variables such as ionic strength can greatly influence the degree of fit of data to a given ion-exchange equation.