The influence of the chemical environment on the X-ray rate in the X-ray fluorescence of rock samples

Author(s):  
Robert Wood ◽  
C.A. Quarles
2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
C E Schrank ◽  
K Gioseffi ◽  
T Blach ◽  
O Gaede ◽  
A Hawley ◽  
...  

Abstract We present a review of a unique non-destructive method for the real-time monitoring of phase transformations and nano-pore evolution in dehydrating rocks: transmission small- and wide-angle synchrotron X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS). It is shown how SAXS/WAXS can be applied to investigating rock samples dehydrated in a purpose-built loading cell that allows the coeval application of high temperature, axial confinement, and fluid pressure or flow to the specimen. Because synchrotron sources deliver extremely bright monochromatic X-rays across a wide energy spectrum, they enable the in situ examination of confined rock samples with thicknesses of ≤ 1 mm at a time resolution of order seconds. Hence, fast kinetics with reaction completion times of about hundreds of seconds can be tracked. With beam sizes of order tens to hundreds of micrometres, it is possible to monitor multiple interrogation points in a sample with a lateral extent of a few centimetres, thus resolving potential lateral spatial effects during dehydration and enlarging sample statistics significantly. Therefore, the SAXS/WAXS method offers the opportunity to acquire data on a striking range of length scales: for rock samples with thicknesses of ≤ 10-3 m and widths of 10-2 m, a lateral interrogation-point spacing of ≥ 10-5 m can be achieved. Within each irradiated interrogation-point volume, information concerning pores with sizes between 10-9 and 10-7 m and the crystal lattice on the scale of 10-10 m is acquired in real time. This article presents a summary of the physical principles underpinning transmission X-ray scattering with the aim of providing a guide for the design and interpretation of time-resolved SAXS/WAXS experiments. It is elucidated (1) when and how SAXS data can be used to analyse total porosity, internal surface area, and pore-size distributions in rocks on length scales from ∼1 to 300 nm; (2) how WAXS can be employed to track lattice transformations in situ; and (3) which limitations and complicating factors should be considered during experimental design, data analysis, and interpretation. To illustrate the key capabilities of the SAXS/WAXS method, we present a series of dehydration experiments on a well-studied natural gypsum rock: Volterra alabaster. Our results demonstrate that SAXS/WAXS is excellently suited for the in situ tracking of dehydration kinetics and the associated evolution of nano-pores. The phase transformation from gypsum to bassanite is correlated directly with nano-void growth on length scales between 1 and 11 nm for the first time. A comparison of the SAXS/WAXS kinetic results with literature data emphasises the need for future dehydration experiments on rock specimens because of the impact of rock fabric and the generally heterogeneous and transient nature of dehydration reactions in nature. It is anticipated that the SAXS/WAXS method combined with in situ loading cells will constitute an invaluable tool in the ongoing quest for understanding dehydration and other mineral replacement reactions in rocks quantitatively.


2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (13) ◽  
pp. 8403-8410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesc Viñes ◽  
Carmen Sousa ◽  
Francesc Illas

Core level binding energies, measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy providing unique information regarding the chemical environment of atoms in a system, can be estimated by a diversity of state-of-the-art accurate methods here detailed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-111
Author(s):  
Dorothea S. Macholdt ◽  
Jan-David Förster ◽  
Maren Müller ◽  
Bettina Weber ◽  
Michael Kappl ◽  
...  

Abstract. The spatial distribution of transition metal valence states is of broad interest in the microanalysis of geological and environmental samples. An example is rock varnish, a natural manganese (Mn)-rich rock coating, whose genesis mechanism remains a subject of scientific debate. We conducted scanning transmission X-ray microscopy with near-edge X-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy (STXM-NEXAFS) measurements of the abundance and spatial distribution of different Mn oxidation states within the nano- to micrometer thick varnish crusts. Such microanalytical measurements of thin and hard rock crusts require sample preparation with minimal contamination risk. Focused ion beam (FIB) slicing was used to obtain ∼100–1000 nm thin wedge-shaped slices of the samples for STXM, using standard parameters. However, while this preparation is suitable for investigating element distributions and structures in rock samples, we observed artifactual modifications of the Mn oxidation states at the surfaces of the FIB slices. Our results suggest that the preparation causes a reduction of Mn4+ to Mn2+. We draw attention to this issue, since FIB slicing, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging, and other preparation and visualization techniques operating in the kilo-electron-volt range are well-established in geosciences, but researchers are often unaware of the potential for the reduction of Mn and possibly other elements in the samples.


1985 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
I.M. Band ◽  
A.P. Kovtun ◽  
M.A. Listengarten ◽  
M.B. Trzhaskovskaya

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 269-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Christe ◽  
M. Bernasconi ◽  
P. Vontobel ◽  
P. Turberg ◽  
A. Parriaux

Fractals ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (04) ◽  
pp. 1740013 ◽  
Author(s):  
WEI LIN ◽  
ZHENGMING YANG ◽  
XIZHE LI ◽  
JUAN WANG ◽  
YING HE ◽  
...  

X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanning method is the most accurate method to construct digital core, which can reflect the microscopic pore structure of real cores; therefore, it is widely used and researched by experts and scholars all over the world. However, there are few reports about how to select the CT scan core samples at present, and the current practice is to make CT scan samples by visually observing rocks or core columns to select a region that is considered representative or interesting, which can lead to a large difference between the selected sample and the whole rock and a digital core that cannot represent the real rock as a whole. In order to construct the digital cores that can reflect the whole rock structure and reservoir properties, combining with fractal theory, a scientific and reasonable method was proposed to select representative rock samples for digital core modeling. First of all, a core column is scanned by X-ray CT at a certain resolution and CT gray scale images are obtained and stored in the order of scan. Secondly, the fractal dimension (FD) of each image is calculated by box-counting method, and the calculated porosity of each image is achieved by the existing formula. Then, according to the size of the digital core to be constructed, the CT gray scale images are grouped, and the average FD and the average porosity of each combination are calculated by the derived equations. Finally, based on the proposed criteria the best image combination is selected and the preferred sample is determined accordingly. At the same time, a facile experiment was conducted to test the effectiveness of this method. The experimental results show that there are some errors between the subjectively selected cores and the long core in terms of permeability and porosity, and the petrophysical parameters of the core selected by the proposed method are close to those of the long core; as a consequence, the validity of this method was verified and it is feasible and practical to select the representative rock samples for digital core modeling by this method.


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