Clay: -

Clay is a finely-grained natural rock or soil material that combines one or more clay
minerals with possible traces of quartz (SiO2), metal oxides (Al2O3 , MgO etc.) and organic
matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing
variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure. Clays are plastic due to particle size
and geometry as well as water content, and become hard, brittle and non–plastic upon drying
or firing. Depending on the soil's content in which it is found, clay can appear in various colours
from white to dull grey or brown to deep orange-red.
Although many naturally occurring deposits include both silts and clay, clays are distinguished
from other fine-grained soils by differences in size and mineralogy. Silts, which are fine-grained
soils that do not include clay minerals, tend to have larger particle sizes than clays. There is,
however, some overlap in particle size and other physical properties. The distinction between silt
and clay varies by discipline. Geologists and soil scientists usually consider the separation to
occur at a particle size of 2 µm (clays being finer than silts), sedimentologists often use 4–5 μm,
and colloid chemists use 1 μm.[1] Geotechnical engineers distinguish between silts and clays
based on the plasticity properties of the soil, as measured by the soils' Atterberg
limits. ISO 14688 grades clay particles as being smaller than 2 μm and silt particles as being
larger.

Formation
Clay minerals typically form over long periods of time as a result of the gradual
chemical weathering of rocks, usually silicate-bearing, by low concentrations of carbonic
acid and other diluted solvents. These solvents, usually acidic, migrate through the weathering
rock after leaching through upper weathered layers. In addition to the weathering process, some
clay minerals are formed through hydrothermal activity. There are two types of clay deposits:
primary and secondary. Primary clays form as residual deposits in soil and remain at the site of
formation. Secondary clays are clays that have been transported from their original location by
water erosion and deposited in a new sedimentary deposit.[4] Clay deposits are typically
associated with very low energy depositional environments such as large lakes and marine
basins.

Group
Depending on the academic source, there are three or four main groups of
clays: kaolinite, montmorillonite, illite
Kaolinite
Kaolinite (/ˈkeɪəlɪnaɪt/)[4][5] is a clay mineral, part of the group of industrial minerals with the
chemical composition Al2Si2O5(OH)4. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet
of silica (SiO
4) linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina (AlO
6) octahedra.[6] Rocks that are rich in kaolinite are known as kaolin /ˈkeɪəlɪn/ or china clay.[7]
The name "kaolin" is derived from "Gaoling" (Chinese: 高嶺; pinyin: Gāolǐng; literally: 'High
Ridge'), a Chinese village near Jingdezhen in southeastern China's Jiangxi Province.[8] The name
entered English in 1727 from the French version of the word: kaolin, following François Xavier
d'Entrecolles's reports on the making of Jingdezhen porcelain.[9]
Kaolinite has a low shrink–swell capacity and a low cation-exchange capacity (1–15 meq/100 g).
It is a soft, earthy, usually white, mineral (dioctahedral phyllosilicate clay), produced by the
chemical weathering of aluminium silicate minerals like feldspar. In many parts of the world it is
colored pink-orange-red by iron oxide, giving it a distinct rust hue. Lighter concentrations yield
white, yellow, or light orange colors. Alternating layers are sometimes found, as at Providence
Canyon State Park in Georgia, United States. Commercial grades of kaolin are supplied and
transported as dry powder, semi-dry noodle or as liquid slurry.

Occurrence
Kaolinite is one of the most common minerals; it is mined, as kaolin,
in Malaysia, Pakistan, Vietnam, Brazil, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, France, the United
Kingdom, Iran, Germany, India, Australia, South Korea, the People's Republic of China,
the Czech Republic, Spain, South Africa, and the United States
Montmorillonite

Montmorillonite is a very soft phyllosilicate group of minerals that form when they precipitate from
water solution as microscopic crystals, known as clay. It is named after Montmorillon in France.
Montmorillonite, a member of the smectite group, is a 2:1 clay, meaning that it has
two tetrahedral sheets of silica sandwiching a central octahedral sheet of alumina. The particles are
plate-shaped with an average diameter around 1 μm and a thickness of 0.96 nm; magnification of
about 25,000 times, using an electron microscope, is required to "see" individual clay particles.
Members of this group include saponite.

Uses
Montmorillonite is used in the oil drilling industry as a component of drilling mud, making the
mud slurry viscous, which helps in keeping the drill bit cool and removing drilled solids. It is
also used as a soil additive to hold soil water in drought-prone soils, used in the construction of
earthen dams and levees, and to prevent the leakage of fluids. It is also used as a component
of foundry sand and as a desiccant to remove moisture from air and gases.

Discovery
Montmorillonite was first described in 1847 for an occurrence in Montmorillon in the
department of Vienne, France,[3] more than 50 years before the discovery of bentonite in the US.
It is found in many locations worldwide and known by other names.
Illite
Illite is a group of closely related non-expanding clay minerals. Illite is a secondary mineral
precipitate, and an example of a phyllosilicate, or layered alumino-silicate. Its structure is a 2:1
sandwich of silica tetrahedron (T) – alumina octahedron (O) – silica tetrahedron (T)
layers.[4] The space between this T-O-T sequence of layers is occupied by poorly hydrated
potassium cations which are responsible for the absence of swelling. Structurally, illite is quite
similar to muscovite with slightly more silicon, magnesium, iron, and water and slightly less
tetrahedral aluminium and interlayer potassium. It occurs as aggregates of small monoclinic grey
to white crystals. Due to the small size, positive identification usually requires x-ray
diffraction or SEM-EDS (automated mineralogy) analysis. Illite occurs as an altered product of
muscovite and feldspar in weathering and hydrothermal environments; it may be a component
of sericite. It is common in sediments, soils, and argillaceous sedimentary rocks as well as in
some low grade metamorphic rocks. The iron rich member of the illite group, glauconite, in
sediments can be differentiated by x-ray analysis.

Discovery
Illite was first described for occurrences in the Maquoketa shale in Calhoun County, Illinois, US,
in 1937. The name was derived from its type location in Illinois.
Illite is also called hydromica or hydro muscovite.