Pretreatment for Mineralogical Analysis

Chapter 5 Pretreatment for Mineralogical Analysis G. W. Kunze, G. W. Kunze Texas A&M University, College Station, TexasSearch for more papers by this authorJ. B. Dixon, J. B. Dixon Texas A&M University, College Station, TexasSearch for more papers by this author G. W. Kunze, G. W. Kunze Texas A&M University, College Station, TexasSearch for more papers by this authorJ. B. Dixon, J. B. Dixon Texas A&M University, College Station, TexasSearch for more papers by this author Book Editor(s):Arnold Klute, Arnold KluteSearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 January 1986 https://doi.org/10.2136/sssabookser5.1.2ed.c5Citations: 26Book Series:SSSA Book Series AboutPDFPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShareShare a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Summary The use of pretreatments involves the risk of altering or destroying fractions of the soil other than those for which the treatments are intended. In many cases, however, the investigator has very little choice; either pretreatments are utilized or the obtainable data are very much limited. Removal of free iron oxides is in many cases desirable and sometimes necessary to obtain definitive x-ray diffraction patterns. Differential thermal, infrared, and other mineralogical analyses are many times simplified and aided by the removal of free iron oxides. The removal of organic matter, soluble salts, and calcium carbonate has also proven advantageous for most mineralogical studies. Soluble salts are most simply removed by dissolution in water. Carbonates may be removed by treatment with acid sodium acetate, acid, or disodium dihydrogen ethylenediaminetetraacetate. Sodium citrate serves as the chelating agent for ferrous and ferric forms of iron. The sodium bicarbonate buffers the solution, while the sodium dithionite reduces the iron. Citing Literature Methods of Soil Analysis: Part 1 Physical and Mineralogical Methods, 5.1, Second Edition RelatedInformation