Hydrogen wettability of clays: Implications for underground hydrogen storage

This study investigates the ability of hydrogen (H₂) to wet clay surfaces in the presence of brine, with implications for underground hydrogen storage in clay-containing reservoirs. Rather than measuring contact angles directly with hydrogen gas, a suite of other gases (carbon dioxide (CO₂), argon (Ar), nitrogen (N₂), and helium (He)) were employed in the gas-brine-clay system under storage conditions (moderate temperature (333 K) and high pressures (5, 10, 15, and 20 MPa)), characteristic of a subsurface environment with a shallow geothermal gradient. By virtue of analogies to H₂ and empirical correlations, wettabilities of hydrogen on three clay surfaces were mathematically derived and interpreted. The three clays were kaolinite, illite, and montmorillonite and represent 1:1, 2:1 non-expansive, and 2:1 expansive clay groups, respectively. All clays showed water-wetting behaviour with contact angles below 40° under all experimental set-ups. It follows that the presence of clays in the reservoir (or caprock) is conducive to capillary and/or residual trapping of the gas. Another positive inference is that any tested gas, particularly nitrogen, is suitable as cushion gas to maintain formation pressure during hydrogen storage because they all turned out to be more gas-wetting than hydrogen on the clay surfaces; this allows easier displacement and/or retrieval of hydrogen during injection/production. One downside of the predominant water wettability of the clays is the upstaged role of biogeochemical reactions at the wetted brine-clay/silicate interface and their potential to affect porosity and permeability. Water-wetting decreased from kaolinite as most water-wetting clay over illite to montmorillonite as most hydrogen-wetting clay. Their wetting behaviour is consistent with molecular dynamic modelling that establishes that the accessible basal plane of kaolinite's octahedral sheet is highly hydrophilic and enables strong hydrogen bonds whereas the same octahedral sheet in illite and montmorillonite is not accessible to the brine, rendering these clays less water-wetting.     

热解样品分析中重量的变化及其影响

热解除油是目前室内岩心分析中样品除油的主要方法之一，但由于热解温度较高，会对样品中粘土矿物的结构水和层间水产生较大的影响。本文结合粘土矿物的吸水特性，通过对大量的实验测定结果分析后认为：经过热解处理后的样品，在测定过程中受粘土矿物（主要是伊利石和蒙脱石）层间水变化的影响，会引起样品重量及样品孔隙空间体积的变化，从而对物性分析中孔隙度测定结果产生较大的影响。     

Preparation and characterisation of vanadium catalysts supported over alumina-pillared clays

Supported vanadium-containing catalysts were prepared by impregnation of Al-pillared clays with NaVO₃ precursor aqueous solutions. A montmorillonite and a saponite, both natural as well as previously pillared with Al₁₃-Keggin polycations, were used as supports, being impregnated with solutions of the precursor by means of the incipient wetness technique. The layered structure of the supports is maintained after impregnation, and even after calcination of the impregnated solids at 500 °C, although with a significant worsening of the textural properties of the solids, in particular, a loss of specific surface area. Three crystalline vanadium-containing phases were identified in the impregnated solids, namely, NaV₃O₈, AlVO₄ and V₂O₅ (shcherbinaite). The reduction of these phases to V³⁺ species was observed as wide processes in the 450–750 °C range, all of them centred at ca. 600 °C.     

Swelling behavior induced by alteration in granite and its implications on underground excavation

Granite is commonly recognized as an ideal medium for underground construction. However, in the site investigation for Heimifeng Pumped Storage Power Station project, it was found that there are swelling behaviors induced by alteration in granite and eventually causing slaking and disintegration of rock blocks. The study shows that hydrothermal alteration in granite is primarily due to the intrusion of multi-phase igneous magma. The clay minerals, such as montmorillonite, chlorite, kaolinite, are the main causes for the swelling behavior of granite. In the exploratory adits, alteration was observed to occur mainly along faults or fractures in the rock masses and resulted in roof caving if water is present. Some of the highly altered borehole cores swell and crack within 24 h in water and eventually disintegrate completely. From the testing results on the samples, the maximum axial free swelling strain is about 1.2%, while the maximum axial confined swelling strain is around 0.1% with swelling stress less than 25 kPa. Under free swelling tests, 80% of swelling is completed within 24 hours. Under confined swelling condition, swelling process is completed within 1 h for some samples, with 80% of maximum swelling strain finished within around 22 h for most of the samples. Contraction of samples occurs after swelling completed. The strength of granite, reflected by deformation and elastic moduli, shear strength, decreases due to alteration. The deformation and elastic moduli are even lower compared to highly weathered rock. The shear strength is between that for highly weathered and slightly weathered rocks. The swelling characteristics of the altered rock present great challenges for support or lining during construction and operation stages. Support or lining shall be in place immediately after excavation. Since the rock may swell when encountering water, the shotcrete shall be designed accordingly. During the construction of access tunnel and caverns, water shall be drained in time. Drainage directly from surface shall be avoided so as to prevent floor heave.     

Characterization of nanoporous materials prepared from montmorillonite clay and its application to the decolorization of mare's milk oil

Nanoporous materials have been prepared by leaching the purified montmorillonite clay with sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) solution with varying concentrations (0.5–2 M) at 80°C for 0.5–4 h. Acid leaching causes partial amorphisation of the clay with depletion of MgO, Al₂O₃, CaO and Fe₂O₃ components mostly from interlayer and octahedral sites. This increases the specific surface area by more than 3 times, i.e. from 49.1 to 157 m²/g. The pore-size distribution curves calculated from the adsorption isotherms of the leached montmorillonite show that most of the pores are in the mesoporous region with their diameter ranging 3–4 nm. This material turns out to be appropriate for bleaching of the mare's milk oil. The chemical and structural changes of the acid-leached montmorillonite are discussed in terms of the decolorization capacity.     

剪切速率和静置时间对Fe-Al-Mg-MMH/钠质蒙脱土复合触变性体系触变性的影响

研究了测定条件对R=0.051的Fe-Al-Mg型混合金属氢氧化物(简称MMH)/钠质蒙脱土(简称MT)复合触变性悬浮体性质的影响.主要考察了高速剪切分散后,测定粘度(η)随时间(t)变化时采用的剪切速率(DL)和测定η前的静置时间(ts)的影响发现DL和ts的影响很复杂,ts=0,低DL时(10和170s-1)呈现复合触变性的体系,在高DL时(340、511和1022s-1)可呈现正触变性;DL增加,体系η逐渐降低.在所研究的ts范围内(0～2h),随ts的增加,体系分别由低DL时(10和170s-1)的复合触变性和高DL时(340、511和1022s-1)的正触变性皆转变为负触变性.低DL时(10和170s-1),η随ts逐渐降低;高DL时(340、511和1022s-1),η随t逐渐增高.对影响机理进行了初步探讨.     

有机改性蒙脱土／木粉／PVC复合材料的阻燃性研究

将有机改性蒙脱土（OMMT）加入PVC木塑体系，制备了有机蒙脱土／木粉／聚氯乙烯（OMMT／WF／PVC）纳米复合材料。采用锥形扫描量热测试法研究了OMMT用量对WF／PVC复合材料阻燃性能的影响。结果表明，添加OMMT可明显降低木塑的初始热失重率，但使快速热分解的开始时间提前，大大提高样品的燃烧残余率，显著延迟木塑的点燃时间和燃烧热峰值产生时间，OMMT起到了有效的阻燃作用。OMMT的加入还降低了总燃烧热，但燃烧热峰值有所增加，并使发烟量有所增加，CO和CO2产率也随之提高，增加了木塑燃烧的烟气危害性。     

Time and shear dependent rheology of maleated polyethylene and its nanocomposites

Dipole-dipole and/or hydrogen-bonding interactions between the pendant functional groups within maleated high-density polyethylene (PE-g-MAn) establish a physical polymer network, whose formation kinetics and shear-sensitivity are revealed by dynamic oscillatory testing. The pronounced time and shear dependent viscoelastic properties of PE-g-MAn were not observed for a corresponding imide derivative, PE-g-imide, presumably due to weakened functional group associations in the latter material.The melt compounding of PE-g-MAn with onium-ion exchanged montmorillonite clay (NR₄⁺-MM) resulted in a partially exfoliated hybrid nanocomposite structure, whose viscoelastic behaviour differed significantly from that of the unfilled polymer. The presence of dispersed clay platelets altered the extent of functional group associations, thereby changing the dynamics of network formation.     

Effect of sodium montmorillonite source on nylon 6/clay nanocomposites

The effect of sodium montmorillonite source on the morphology and properties of nylon 6 nanocomposites was examined using equivalent experimental conditions. Sodium montmorillonite samples acquired from two well-known mines, Yamagata, Japan, and Wyoming, USA, were ion exchanged with the same alkyl ammonium chloride compound. The resulting organoclays were extruded with a high molecular weight grade of nylon 6 under the same processing conditions. Quantitative analysis of TEM photomicrographs of the two nanocomposites reveal a slightly larger average particle length and a slightly higher degree of platelet exfoliation for the Yamagata based nanocomposite than the Wyoming version, thus, translating into a higher particle aspect ratio. The stress-strain behavior of the nanocomposites appears to reflect the nanocomposite morphology, in that higher stiffness and strengths are attainable with the increased particle aspect ratio. Moreover, the trends in stiffness behavior between the two types of nanocomposites may be explained by conventional composite theory.     

聚丙烯/BA原位聚合改性MMT纳米复合材料的DSC分析与力学性能

通过原位聚合制备了聚丙烯酸丁酯 (PBA )改性蒙脱土 (MMT ) ,与聚丙烯 (PP)熔融复合制成PP/MMT纳米复合材料 ,系统地研究了复合材料的熔融、结晶行为和力学性能。结果表明 :随着处理MMT的BA用量的增加 ,PP/MMT纳米复合材料中PP相的结晶度、熔点和结晶温度明显提高 ,结晶速度加快 ;复合材料的拉伸强度变化不大 ,但拉伸模量和冲击强度有显著提高。当BA/OMMT质量比为 1/ 12左右时 ,复合材料的韧性趋于平衡值 ,而拉伸模量出现最大值