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

E. Zeelmaekers, Miroslav Honty, A. Derkowski, J. Srodon, Mieke De Craen, N. Vandenberghe, R. Adrieaens, K. Ufer, L. Wouters

Research outputpeer-review

Abstract

The Boom Formation is an Early Oligocene deposit found in the underground of North-Belgium, which has been intensely studied as a potential host rock for the disposal of nuclear waste. Thus far however, no reliable data on the reference mineral composition for the Boom Clay existed. The goal of the presented study is to determine a reference composition for the Boom Clay. The bulk rock composition was determined by XRD using a combined full pattern summation and single peak quantification method. In the bulk rock, siliciclastics were found to vary from 27 to 72wt%, clay minerals and micas from 25 to 71wt%, carbonates from 0 to 4wt%, accessory minerals (mainly pyrite and anatase) from 2 to 4wt% and organic matter from 0.5 to 3.5wt%. The detailed composition of the clay-sized fraction was determined by modeling of oriented diffraction patterns. It was found that the
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)249-272
JournalClay Minerals
Volume50
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2015

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