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Harry C. Starkey

Publications and source records attributed to Harry C. Starkey.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2024

Reactivity of clay minerals with acids and alkalies

One-g samples of a montmorillonite, a metabentonite, an illite, two kaolinites, and three halloysites were treated with 50 ml of hydrochloric acid (6⋅45 N, 1:1), acetic acid (4⋅5 N, 1:3), sodium hydroxide (2⋅8 N), sodium chloride solution (pH 6⋅10; Na = 35‰; Cl = 21⋅5‰), and natural sea water (pH 7⋅85; Na = 35⋅5‰; Cl = 21⋅ 5‰) for a 10-day period in stoppered plastic vials. The supernatant solutions were removed from the clay minerals and analyzed for SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , CaO, MgO, Na 2 O, and K 2 O. All the solutions removed some SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , and Fe 2 O 3 from the samples, but the quantities were small. Sodium hydroxide attacked the kaolin group minerals more strongly than it did montmorillonite, metabentonite, or illite. Halloysite was more strongly attacked by hydrochloric acid than was any of the other experimental minerals. Hydrochloric acid removed iron oxide coatings from soil clay minerals, but acetic acid did not remove them completely. The samples most strongly attacked by HCl and NaOH were examined by X-ray diffraction. Acid treatment did not destroy the structure of the clays, but the halloysite structure was partially destroyed. Sodium hydroxide attacked the halloysite structure, as shown by chemical analysis and X-ray diffraction. These experiments show that treatment in dilute acids has no harmful effect in the preparation of clays for X-ray diffraction. Acetic acid is preferred to hydrochloric acid for this purpose. Hydrochloric acid cleans clay minerals by removing free iron oxide from the surface; acetic acid is less effective.

Clays and Clay Minerals↗
USGS2024

Reassessment of the volkonskoite-chromian smectite nomenclature problem.

The name volkonskoite was first used in 1830 to describe a bright blue-green, chromium-bearing clay material from the Okhansk region, west of the Ural Mountains, U.S.S.R. Since that time, the name has been applied to numerous members of the smectite group of clay minerals, although the reported chromium content has ranged from 1% to about 30% Cr 2 O 3 . The name has also been applied to some chromian chlorites. Because volkonskoite has been used for materials that differ not only in their chromium content but also in their basic structure, the species status of the mineral has been unclear. To resolve this uncertainty, two specimens of volkonskoite from (1) Mount Efimiatsk, the type locality in the Soviet Union (USNM 16308) and (2) the Okhansk region in the Perm Basin, U.S.S.R. (USNM R4820), were examined by several mineralogical techniques. Neotype sample 16308 has the following structural formula: (Ca 0.11 Mg 0.11 Fe 2+ 0.03 K 0.02 )(Cr 1.18 Mg 0.78 Fe 3+ 0.29 Ca 0.02 )(Si 3.50 Al 0.51 )O 10 (OH) 2 ⋅3.64H 2 O. Sample R4820 has the following structural formula: (Ca 0.25 Mg 0.05 Fe 2+ 0.01 K 0.03 Mn 0.01 )(Cr 1.07 Mg 0.75 Fe 3+ 0.35 (Si 3.59 Al 0.43 )O 10 (OH) 2 ⋅4.22H 2 O. Mössbauer spectroscopy indicates that 91% and 98% of the iron is present as Fe 3+ in samples 16308 and R4820, respectively. X-ray powder diffraction patterns of both samples have broad lines corresponding to minerals of the smectite group. On the basis of these data, volkonskoite appears to be a dioctahedral member of the smectite group that contains chromium as the dominant cation in the octahedral layer. Smectites containing less than this amount of octahedral chromium should not be called volkonskoite, but should be named by chemical element adjectives, e.g., chromian montmorillonite, chromian nontronite.

Clays and Clay Minerals↗
USGS1979

Clay mineralogy of Pleistocene Lake Tecopa, Inyo County, California

Pleistocene Lake Tecopa in southeastern Inyo County, Calif., was formed when the Amargosa River was blocked at the southern end of its valley. The lake acted as a settling basin for detrital material being transported by the river. This detritus consisted of clays, quartz, feldspars, and micas which became mudstones and siltstones. These mudstones and siltstones, much eroded and dissected after the draining of the lake, extend over the entire basin and are interbedded with tuffs formed by the intermittent deposition of volcanic ashfalls in the former lake waters. These lightcolored mudstones and siltstones are tough and well indurated and break with a conchoidal fracture. The predominant clay mineral in these detrital beds is a lithiumbearing saponite, which is found not only in the lake beds but also in the area beyond the boundaries of the lake, especially in fluvial deposits in the drainage basin of the Amargosa River to the north. This saponite does not contain enough lithium to be classified as a hectorite, and we have observed no indications that this clay consists of a mixture of two phases, such as hectorite and a diluent. Some authigenic dioctahedral montmorillonite, found only in small quantities close to the tuffs, was formed by alteration of the volcanic glass of the tuffs and was then admixed with the overlying or underlying detrital clays. The only authigenic clay-type mineral found in any significant quantity is sepiolite, found near the edges of the lake basin and stratigraphically located mainly within a meter of the two uppermost tuffs. This sepiolite probably was precipitated when silica became available to the magnesium-bearing lake water through dissolution of the volcanic ash. Precipitation of sepiolite probably did not occur within the tuffs owing to the presence of alumina in solution. Zeolites were produced there and sepiolite formed outside the margins of the tuffs. Also formed by the high-pH lake waters were water-soluble minerals, which were found widely dispersed in crusts or streaks on the clays. Much of the calcite was likely precipitated from the lake waters, especially near the north end of the lake where calciumbearing fresh water came into contact with the C02-rich lake waters. Magadiite, a sodium silicate mineral reported only twice previously in the United States, was found in small quantities in the southern end of the basin. This mineral is indicative of a minimum pH of 8.5. The authigenic minerals formed in the lake reflect the presence of silica-rich tuffs and the high-pH, alkaline character of the lake waters.

Professional Paper↗
USGS1978

Mineralogical analyses of drill core samples from Midlands Gas Corporation wells, Federal 0370 No. 1 and Federal 2962 No. 1, Phillips County, Montana

This report records the mineralogy of core samples from two wells in Phillips County, Montana. These wells are located in the Bowdoin gas field in north-central Montana. The gas is produced from low-permeability reservoirs at shallow depths (less than 610 m) over an area of 1554 km 2 . This information is being released to aid in improving recovery technology and well log interpretation. We acknowledge the financial support of the Department of Energy Tight Gas Sands program.

Montana↗
USGS1977

Removal of fluorine and lithium from hectorite by solutions spanning a wide range of pH

One-gram samples of hectorite were treated with 40 millilitres each of hydrochloric acid (6 N ), acetic acid (4.5 N ), distilled water, natural seawater, sodium chloride (0.6 N ), and sodium hydroxide (2.5 N ) for 10 days in stoppered plastic centrifuge tubes. X-ray diffraction patterns show that the structure was virtually destroyed by the hydrochloric and acetic acids. Analyses of the supernatant liquids were made to determine amounts of the elements removed by the various treatments. All treatments removed at least some SiO 2 , MgO, CaO, Li 2 O, and F. The acids removed most of the lithium and magnesium after 3 days. The fluorine and the magnesium released by the acetic acid began to form sellaite (MgF 2 ). After 5 days, sufficient sellaite was produced to be discernible by X-ray diffraction. The loss of silica from the sample when it was treated with sodium hydroxide amounted to about 10 percent of the total sample.

Journal of Research of the U.S. Geological Survey↗
USGS1973

Identification of a lithium-bearing smectite from Spor Mountain, Utah

Chemical analyses, X-ray diffraction data, and cation exchange determinations are given for a lithium-bearing smectite. The X-ray data and Greene-Kelly's lithium test indicate the presence of both dioctahedral and trioctahedral phases. The exchange determinations indicate that the lithium is in the structure of the clay, and the chemical data are intermediate between those for hectorite and montmorillonite. All data indicate that the clay is a mixture of hectorite and montmorillonite.

Utah↗