Study On The Typical Characteristics And Application Of Clay Sediments From The Northern Equatorial Pacific

Integrated studies were carried out on the clay sediments from the Northern Equatorial Pacific by means of Sediment Slides, X-ray Diffraction, Infrared Spectrometry, Geochemistry Analyses and Transmission Electron Microscope. From the sedimentary types, clay mineral composition, crystal structure and distribution patterns, element composition and thermoluminescence characteristics of the sediments in the studied area, it can be told that the major sources of clay sediments were terrigenous detritus, volcanism and biological activity also made a contribution in some cases. The deposit patterns were controlled by the tectonic effect, marine palaeoenvironment, bottom topography, water depth, surface, intermediate and deep water circulation, atmospheric circulation, and palaeoproductivity together. Compared with the similar clay minerals on the land, those in the pelagic sediments were poorly crystallized, they had smaller particles, higher absorption and cation exchange capacity, and contained more impurities, such as organic compounds, ferric oxide, et al., which caused the deep color of sediments. Another significant feature of pelagic sediments was a lot of mixed-layer minerals, mainly illite/ smectite (I/S) presented. In the structure of I/S, smectite sheets had a larger number than illite sheets, which caused that clay minerals in the studied area had an advanced properties than those on the land. Contrastive experiments were designed to purify, whiten and improve the components of the clay sediments, by far the best solution were drying-serum purifying, acid and Zn reaction removing, powder and medium dissolution ion exchange improving. Structure analyzes had shown that white clays after treatment were little altered in the crystal lattice, but undoubtedly promoting the degree of the chemical and physical capacity, which promise a potential use in various industrial applications, such as production of ceramics, paper, pigments, architectural materials and ores smelts. The author investigated the typical thermoluminescence characteristics of the pelagic sediments in a creative way, and found it can be used as proxies for the sedimentary environments and mineral sources. The perfect results of purifying, removing and improving experiments encouraged the industrial application of ocean clay minerals in the future.