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Qualitative and quantitative mineralogical composition of the Rupelian Boom Clay in Belgium

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

E. Zeelmaekers ,
M. Honty ,
A. Derkowski ,
J. Środoń ,
M. De Craen ,
N. Vandenberghe ,
R. Adriaens ,
K. Ufer  and
L. Wouters
E. Zeelmaekers*
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Applied Geology and Mineralogy, University of Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E, 3001 Leuven-Heverlee, Belgium Presently at Shell International Exploration & Production, The Hague, The Netherlands
M. Honty
Affiliation:
Institute of Environment, Health and Safety, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK·CEN), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium
A. Derkowski
Affiliation:
Institute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, Research Centre in Kraków, ul. Senacka 1, PL-31002 Kraków, Poland
J. Środoń
Affiliation:
Institute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, Research Centre in Kraków, ul. Senacka 1, PL-31002 Kraków, Poland
M. De Craen
Affiliation:
Institute of Environment, Health and Safety, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK·CEN), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium
N. Vandenberghe
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Applied Geology and Mineralogy, University of Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E, 3001 Leuven-Heverlee, Belgium
R. Adriaens
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Applied Geology and Mineralogy, University of Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E, 3001 Leuven-Heverlee, Belgium
K. Ufer
Affiliation:
BGR/LBEG, Stilleweg 2, 30655 Hannover, Germany
L. Wouters
Affiliation:
NIRAS-ONDRAF, Kunstlaan 14, 1210 Brussels, Belgium
*
*E-mail: edwin.zeelmaekers@shell.com
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Abstract

The Boom Clay Formation of early Oligocene age, which occurs underground in northern Belgium, has been studied intensively for decades as a potential host rock for the disposal of nuclear waste. The goal of the present study is to determine a reference composition for the Boom Clay using both literature methods and methods developed during this work. The study was carried out on 20 samples, representative of the lithological variability of the formation. The bulk-rock composition was obtained by X-ray diffraction using a combined full-pattern summation and singlepeak quantification method. Siliciclastics vary from 27 to 72 wt.%, clay minerals with 25–71 wt.% micas, 0–4 wt.% carbonates, 2–4 wt.% accessory minerals (mainly pyrite and anatase) and 0.5–3.5 wt.% organic matter. This bulk-rock composition was validated independently by majorelement chemical analysis. The detailed composition of the clay-sized fraction was determined by modelling of the oriented X-ray diffraction patterns, using a larger sigma star (σ*) value for discrete smectite than for the other clay minerals. The <2 μm clay mineralogy of the Boom Clay is qualitatively homogeneous; it contains 14–25 wt.% illite, 19–39 wt.% smectite, 19–42 wt.% randomly interstratified illite-smectite with about 65% illite layers, 5–12 wt.% kaolinite, 4–17 wt.% randomly interstratified kaolinite-smectite and 2–7 wt.% chloritic minerals (chlorite, “defective” chlorite and interstratified chlorite-smectite). All modelled clay mineral proportions were verified independently using major-element chemistry and cation exchange capacity measurements. Bulkrock and clay mineral analysis results were combined to obtain the overall detailed quantitative composition of the Boom Clay Formation.

Keywords

Boom Clayquantitative mineralogyclay mineralogyBelgium

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Clay Minerals , Volume 50 , Issue 2 , June 2015 , pp. 249 - 272
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2015

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