Influence of HCl/HF treatment on organic matter in aquifer sediments: A Rock-Eval pyrolysis study

Rock-Eval pyrolysis is increasingly used for the routine characterization of natural organic matter in soils and sediments. In this work the bulk composition of sedimentary organic matter (SOM) in sandy aquifer sediments is studied, as well as purified samples (isolation of SOM) by HCl/HF treatment. This treatment is necessary to avoid detection limit problems for samples with low SOM contents, but the results presented here indicate that this treatment influences the organic geochemistry of the aquifer sediment samples. The FID and CO2/CO pyrograms show a shift of 10-40 °C of the major peak to a lower temperature. Organic matter alteration or removal of components containing O-bearing groups may explain this. It is also suggested that destruction of the mineral matrix may lead to the reduced retention of the material. For the change of the CO2/CO pyrograms of the RC fraction only organic matter alteration seems to be likely. Concentrated organic matter samples may also accelerate the release of exothermic energy and influence the pyrograms. Results indicate that the organic matter concentration in the sample influences the measured total organic matter (TOM) content and the Tmax of the FID pyrogram, while the sample loading (absolute organic matter amount) up to 80 mg in the Rock-Eval apparatus does not. The FID pyrograms can be deconvoluted into four subpeaks, which allows comparison of samples at various depths. Rock-Eval pyrolysis may only be routinely applied to characterize SOM in aquifer sediments when such systematic and analytical phenomena are taken into account. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Molecular Simulations of Swelling Clay Minerals

We have carried out molecular simulations in the grand-canonical ensemble of water and cations in Wyoming and Arizona montmorillonite clay minerals, with varying relative humidity. Several water models and cations are used to investigate the swelling of these clays. We show how the water content depends on the type of clay, type of cation, the basal spacing, and the relative humidity. Related to the layering of water molecules in the interlayer space, the pressure normal to the clay sheets oscillates as a function of the basal spacing. Minima in corresponding free energy curves indicate the presence of dehydrated states and layered hydrates. The development of these stable states and the corresponding basal spacings are in agreement with experimental data. Density profiles show significantly different interlayer structures depending on the type of clay and models used. We show a relation between formation of two-layer hydrates and the position of the cations. The simulations with the MCY water model underestimate the spacings of two- and three-layer hydrates, whereas our simulations with the TIP4P model produce a better agreement. Therefore, we recommend the TIP4P model for simulating clay minerals. In addition, we report remarkable ordering of cations and water molecules in a one-layer Arizona montmorillonite hydrate