Impact of clay mineralogy on the petrophysical properties of tight sandstones

A full petrographic and petrophysical characterization of tight sandstones has been conducted as part of ongoing study of Carbon Dioxide Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery (CO₂-EOR/EGR) and CO₂sequestration. The main purpose of this study is to give novel perception into the interplay of the rock characteristics and fluid...

Rheology and yielding transitions in mixed kaolinite/bentonite suspensions

Kaolinite suspensions are known to have quite fast settling behaviour and Newtonian character, particularly at low concentrations, due to the non-swelling nature of their constitutive particles. On the other hand, bentonite is known for its swelling and interacting nature, which leads to the formation of a network structure, even at low...

Detection of factors that determine the quality of industrial minerals: An infrared sensor-based approach for mining and process control

Industrial minerals are essential to human activity. The products derived from them make an integral part of a wide range of materials that are ubiquitously present in our daily lives. The performance and attributes of these materials depend significantly on the properties and quality of the industrial minerals and the products generated from...

Towards an On-line Characterisation of Kaolin Calcination Process Using Short-Wave Infrared Spectroscopy

In the production of calcined kaolin, the on-line monitoring of the calcination reaction is becoming more relevant for the generation of optimal products. In this context, this study aimed to assess the suitability of using infrared (IR) spectroscopy as a potential technique for the on-line characterization of the<br/>calcination of kaolin. The...

On the behavior of mud floc size distribution: Model calibration and model behavior

In this paper, we study a population balance equation (PBE) where flocs are distributed into classes according to their mass. Each class i contains i primary particles with mass mp and size Lp. All differently sized flocs can aggregate, binary breakup into two equally sized flocs is used, and the floc’s fractal dimension is d0 = 2, independently...

Evolution of the floc size distribution of cohesive sediments

This thesis focuses on the flocculation process of cohesive sediment (mud) and in particular on the time evolution of the floc size distribution. Mud is mainly observed in estuarine environment and its settling velocity is strongly affected by its floc size distribution. Small flocs (1-50 micrometers) have a very small settling velocity and tend...