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Information about Illite

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Structure of Illite mica - USGS.
Illite is a non-expanding, clay-sized, micaceous mineral. Illite is a phyllosilicate or layered silicate. Structurally illite is quite similar to muscovite or sericite with slightly more silicon, magnesium, iron, and water and slightly less tetrahedral aluminium and interlayer potassium. The chemical formula is given as (K,H3O)(Al,Mg,Fe)2(Si,Al)4O10[(OH)2,(H2O)][1], but there is considerable ion substitution. It occurs as aggregates of small monoclinic grey to white crystals. Due to the small size, positive identification usually requires x-ray diffraction analysis. Illite occurs as an alteration product of muscovite and feldspar in weathering and hydrothermal environments. It is common is sediments, soils, and argillaceous sedimentary rocks as well as in some low grade metamorphic rocks. Glauconite in sediments can be differentiated by x-ray analysis.

Illite was first described for occurrences in the Maquoketa shale in Calhoun County, Illinois, USA, in 1937. The name was derived from its type location in Illinois. Illite is also called hydromica or hydromuscovite. Brammallite is a sodium rich analogue.

Illite is also used in food supplements, with claimed benefits that range from bowel function to reduction of heavy metals in the blood. Apparently, a French company, Argiletz, provides a wide range of products which are offered for sale in the UK and elsewhere. "Green clay", a term used in several languages, often contains illite. In Scotland, internal uses of illite probably date back to Celtic times.

References

  • Mitchell J.K. (1993) Fundamentals of soil behavior. Second edition. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York. 437 pp, see Chapter 3, Soil Mineralogy, p. 32.
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Clay is a naturally occurring material, composed primarily of fine-grained minerals, which show plasticity through a variable range of water content, and which can be hardened when dried or fired.
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The silicate minerals make up the largest and most important class of rock-forming minerals. They are classified based on the structure of their silicate ion group.

Subclasses:

Nesosilicates or Isosilicates

Nesosilicates (or orthosilicates
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Muscovite (also known as Common mica, Isinglass, or Potash mica[3]) is a phyllosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium with formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(F,OH)2.
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Sericite is a fine grained mica, either muscovite, illite, or paragonite. Sericite is a common alteration mineral of orthoclase or plagioclase feldspars in areas that have been subjected to hydrothermal alteration typically associated with copper, tin, or other hydrothermal ore
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Silicon (IPA: /ˈsɪlɪkən/ or /ˈsɪlɪˌkɑn/, Latin: silicium
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Magnesium has the symbol Mg, the atomic number 12, and an atomic mass of 24.31. Magnesium is the ninth most abundant element in the universe by mass. It constitutes about 2% of the Earth's crust by mass, and it is the third most abundant element dissolved in seawater.
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3, 4, 6
(amphoteric oxide)
Electronegativity 1.83 (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies
(more) 1st: 762.5 kJmol−1
2nd: 1561.9 kJmol−1
3rd: 2957 kJmol−1

Atomic radius 140 pm
Atomic radius (calc.
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Aluminium (IPA: /ˌæljʊˈmɪniəm/, /ˌæljəˈmɪniəm/) or aluminum (IPA: /əˈluːmɪnəm/
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Potassium (IPA: /pə(ʊ)ˈtasiəm/, /pə'tæsiəm/) is a chemical element. It has the symbol K (Arabic: al qalja
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monoclinic crystal system is one of the 7 lattice point groups. A crystal system is described by three vectors. In the monoclinic system, the crystal is described by vectors of unequal length, as in the orthorhombic system. They form a rectangular prism with a parallelogram as base.
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X-ray crystallography is the science of determining the arrangement of atoms within a crystal from the manner in which a beam of X-rays is scattered from the electrons within the crystal.
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Feldspar is the name of a group of rock-forming minerals which make up as much as 60% of the Earth's crust.[1]

Feldspars crystallize from magma in both intrusive and extrusive rocks, and they can also occur as compact minerals, as veins, and are also present in
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Weathering is the decomposition of rocks, soils and their minerals through direct contact with the Earth's atmosphere. Weathering occurs in situ, or "with no movement", and thus should not to be confused with erosion, which involves the movement and disintegration of rocks
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Hydrothermal circulation in its most general sense is the circulation of hot water; 'hydros' in the Greek meaning water and 'thermos' meaning heat. Hydrothermal circulation occurs most often in the vicinity of sources of heat within the Earth's crust.
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Sedimentary rock is one of the three main rock groups (the others being igneous and metamorphic rock). Rock formed from sediments covers 75-80% of the Earth's land area, and includes common types such as chalk, limestone, dolomite, sandstone, conglomerate and shale.
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Metamorphic rock is the result of the transformation of a pre-existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat (greater than 150 degrees Celsius) and extreme pressure causing profound
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Glauconite is a phyllosilicate (mica group) mineral of formula: (K,Na)(Fe3+,Al,Mg)2(Si,Al)4O10(OH)2. It can also be referred to as an iron silicate. It crystallizes with monoclinic geometry.
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Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. It is characterized by thin laminae[1] breaking with an irregular curving fracture, often splintery and usually parallel to the often-indistinguishable bedding plane.
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Calhoun County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the population is 5,084, and the population was 5,163 at the 2005 unofficial census. The county seat is Hardin, and the county is home to the Center for American Archeology, in Kampsville.
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Brammallite is a sodium rich analogue Illite.

First found in 1943 in Llandybie, Carmarthenshire, Wales, it is named after British geologist and mineralogist Alfred Brammall (1879-?).
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For other uses, see Heavy metal (disambiguation).
A heavy metal is any of a number of higher atomic weight elements, which has the properties of a metallic substance at room temperature.
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Motto
"Dieu et mon droit" [2]   (French)
"God and my right"
Anthem
"God Save the Queen" [3]
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Motto
Nemo me impune lacessit   (Latin)
"No one provokes me with impunity"
"Cha togar m'fhearg gun dioladh"   
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Celts, normally pronounced /kɛlts/ (see article on pronunciation), is widely used to refer to the members of any of the peoples in Europe using the Celtic languages or descended from those who did.
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