Annual Meeting Preliminary Program - Full Brochure (PDF) - SME

TECHNICAL PROGRAM
Industrial Minerals & aggregates:
Industrial Minerals research
at universities
9:00 AM • Tuesday, February 26
chairs: B. Li, Michigan Technological Univ., Houghton, MI
R. Pruett, Imerys, Milledgeville, GA
9:00 AM
Introductions
9:05 AM
Mineralogical Characteristics and Applications of Vermiculite from
Seven Major Mines in China
T. Peng and H. Sun; Institute of Mineral Materials and Application,
Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, China
Mineralogical characteristics of the vermiculite samples from seven mines in
China have been studied. Three types of interstratified structures were found in
the investigated samples: regular 1:1 interstratified structure, segregated interstratified
structure, and random interstratified structure. The vermiculite samples
from six of the seven mines are mainly composed of phlogopite-vermiculite interstratified
minerals, and that from another mine is chlorite-vermiculite interstratified
mineral. The contents of K2O, TiO2 and Na2O are higher for the samples
with phlogopite-vermiculite structure, and MgO and Al2O3 are higher for
the samples with chlorite-vermiculite structure. The cation exchange capacity of
the samples is 17.3 - 99.0mmol/100g.The exchangeable cations of phlogopitevermiculite
samples from Weili Mine are mainly Na+, Ca2+, while that from
Tongguan Mine are Mg2+ and Ca2+. The thermal expansion ratio of the samples
is between 9 and 32. The exfoliated vermiculite products from Weili Mines
have the best mechanical strength.
9:25 AM
Property Difference of Vermiculite Made by Microwave and
Traditional Exfoliations
B. Li; Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI
Exfoliated vermiculite has been widely applied in various industries with its
unique property. Microwave radiation can be used to produce exfoliated vermiculite
with low energy consumption at ambient temperature, while traditional exfoliations
need to be performed at high temperature. Since the different mechanisms
for energy transfer, the vermiculite exfoliated by microwave radiation shown
higher mechanical strength, lower water absorption, and unique porous aspects,
comparing to traditional calcinations. The exfoliation mechanisms conducted by
traditional calcinations and microwave radiation will also be discussed.
9:45 AM
Anisotropic Surface Charging of Chlorite
X. Yin 1 , L. Yan 2 , J. Liu 1 , Z. Xu 2 and J. Miller 1 ; 1 Metallurgical
Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT and 2 Chemical
and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB,
Canada
A more detailed analysis of the surface charge of chlorite minerals is important
in order to improve the fundamental understanding of such particle structures
and their behavior in suspension. In this research, the anisotropic surface charging
of chlorite has been established using AFM surface force measurements with
a silicon nitride tip. The surface charge densities and surface potentials at the
chlorite basal plane surfaces and edge surfaces were obtained by fitting force
curves with the DLVO (Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek) theoretical model.
The results demonstrated the anisotropic surface characteristics of chlorite. It is
expected that the findings from this research will provide a fundamental foundation
in the analysis of industrial situations, for example, issues including collector
adsorption, slime coating, and particle interactions in the area of mineral processing
technology.
10:05 AM
An Investigation of the Dynamic Strength and Stiffness Properties
of the Nonesuch Shale Formation for Mechanical Mining
S. Vitton 1 , K. Crawford 2 and C. Gilbertson 3 ; 1 Civil & Environmental
Engineering, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI;
2
Civil & Environmental Engineering, Michigan Technological
University, Houghton, MI and 3 Civil & Environmental Engineering,
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI
The research presented in this paper deals with an analysis of the dynamic properties
of a siltstone shale formation of the Nonesuch Formation, a Precambrian
age rock, which will be mined by the proposed Copperwood Mine which is now
in the permitting stage and has considered using mechanical mining. To further
investigate the rock properties of the Nonesuch Shale formation ore zone, additional
dynamic testing has been conducted. The testing consisted of both static
and dynamic compressive testing utilizing the SHPB. In addition, rock was tested
in both dry and saturated condition, since the siltstone/shale is moisture sensitive.
The results indicated that the Copperwood ore is rate sensitive with the dynamic
strength and stiffness about two times the static strength for dry specimens.
However, the rate sensitivities decreased for the fully saturated tests. This
effect has been observed in other sedimentary rock types and could have significance
in better understanding whether a rock can be mined using mechanical
mining methods. The paper also speculates as to the cause of the decrease in the
rate sensitivity of ore with saturation.
10:25 AM
Value Added Engineered Mineral Particulate Systems
B. Moudgil; Materials Science & Engineering, University of Florida,
Gainesville, FL
Researchers at the Particle Engineering Research Center (PERC), University of
Florida are developing engineered particle systems for improving efficiency and
value addition in products. For instance, polyhydroxy fullerenes-titania
nanocomposites coatings show significant promise in degrading microbial contaminants
on surfaces by visible light activated photocatalysis. Multifunctional
silica based nanoparticles are effective in cancer imaging, targeted drug delivery
and therapy. Copper coated silica nanoparticles have proven to be significantly
more effective odor control agents as compared to conventional products.
Environmentally benign modified clay encapsulating chemicals/pesticides can
serve as green alternative and effective agents for crop protection. The overall objective
is sustainable development of value added minerals with minimum environmental
footprint. This presentation will highlight some these developments
with the aid of specific examples.
10:45 AM
Mineralogical Characterization of Brazilian Kaolin Ore Using
Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy
ÕTALO. GonÁalves 1 , C. Petter 1 , N. Dani 2 , G. Kolbe 2 and R. Pruett 3 ;
1
Mining Engineering Department, Universidade Federal do Rio
Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil; 2 Geosciences Institute,
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil and
3
Minerals Technology Dept., Imerys Pigments for Paper & Packaging,
Sandersville, GA
Brazilian kaolin ores are usually contaminated by hematite (Fe 2 O 3 ), goethite
(FeOOH), and anatase (TiO 2 ), whose strong colors degrade the quality of the
final product. Variations in particle size and degree of element substitution cause
a great impact over these minerals optical properties, as well as in their response
to processing operations. The total Fe content obtained through X-Ray
Fluorescence (XRF) shows a poor correlation with the brightness of kaolin, due
to the inability to differentiate between the Fe contained in the oxides/hydroxides
and the Fe present inside the crystalline structure of kaolinite, especially when
the Fe-bearing minerals occur in small quantities. This paper presents a new
generic technique to quantify oxide/hydroxide impurities in kaolin, based on reflectance
measurements in the visible range and the Kubelka-Munk (K-M) theory.
The technique has a great potential to improve the knowledge regarding the
kaolins quality and processability, and to help bridge the gap between the mine
and the processing plant.
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This is the Technical Program as of September 1, 2012. IT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
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Please see the Onsite Program for final details.