Manganese (Mn) oxides are among the most reactive minerals in the earth's surface environment, and play a significant role in adsorption, co-precipitation and redox reactions, affecting biogeochemical cycles of numerous nutrients and contaminants. In addition, manganese oxides are widely applied as absorbents, ion sieves, chemical oxidants and catalysts for environmental remediation and pollution control. There are, however, still many aspects poorly understood in terms of the environmental geochemistry of manganese oxides, such as biogenic formation mechanisms, detailed crystal structure of nanocrystalline phases, electron transfer paths in redox reactions, adsorption mechanisms of contaminants on surfaces, physiochemical factors controlling the contents of structural Mn(III) and vacant sites that largely determine Mn oxide reactivity, and the role of Mn(III) in the above processes. This book aims to bring together advances on manganese oxide environmental biogeochemistry from leading scientists in multiple disciplines, e.g., mineralogy, geochemistry, soil science and environmental engineering. A number of frontier research topics are included in the book, such as in-situ characterization of Mn oxide reactivity with As and Cr, kinetics and molecular-scale mechanisms of metal oxidation by mangnese oxides, mechanistic understanding of metal sorption through density function theory, the role of surface edge sites of birnessites in metal(loid) sorption, reactivity of natural crytomelane, pathways of phyllomanganate transformation to todorokite, water-oxidation catalysis by manganese oxides, in situ As immobilization using stabilized Fe-Mn binary oxides, and synthesis of Li ion-sieves from biogenic oxides and stability of colloidal Mn oxides. The book should be of interest to scientists and engineers in a broad range of disciplines, such as geochemistry, soil science, mineralogy, microbiology, materials science, and environment engineering, as well as graduate students who are engaged in research on manganese oxide biogeochemistry and the engineering application of Mn-bearing materials.

Properties and Applications of Diamond provides a unique consolidation of all useful information, as well as a comprehensive survey of literature. No other book covers this topical field with such breadth and clarity, making it both a fundamental introduction and an invaluable on-going reference. '..very readable and has value for both the expert and the newcomer' - INDUSTRIAL DIAMOND REVIEW 'An excellent source of information for any researcher, student or industrial user' - CHOICE '..lucidly written, effectively illustrated..carefully referenced and logically presented' - AUSTRALIAN GEMMOLOGIST 'It is unique amongst other books of this type' - MATERIALS FORUM

Gemstones have been a source of fascination for Millenia, from the icy brilliance of diamond and the soft iridescence of pearl, to the deep red garnets treasured by ancient Egyptians and Victorians alike. They are used for their natural beauty in jewellery, worn for protection as talismans, associated with romance and power. They are also of scientific importance, forming over billions of years and containing secrets to the inner earth. This book examines the world's most commonly encountered gemstones, exploring their unique beauty, rarity, and durability. It reveals how these gem materials formed, where they are mined, how they are identified by their physical and optical properties, their enhancements and imitations. Travelling through each gem's history and use in adornment, it is filled with fascinating facts for the curious to the professional. With sumptuous colour photographs, Gemstones is a dazzling insight into the world of the rare and valuable.

Bioleaching of chalcopyrite is always a challenge and research hotspot. The low copper extraction and dissolution kinetics restricted the industrial application of chalcopyrite bioleaching. To solve this problem, the dissolution process and passivation mechanism of chalcopyrite in bioleaching should be first studied, then the rate-limiting steps should be analysed explicitly, and finally the intensifying method can be put forward. Many scholars have made efforts to investigate the dissolution mechanism of chalcopyrite in bioleaching. However, there is no congruence of opinion as yet. Biohydrometallurgy of Chalcopyrite summarizes and discusses the reported research findings. In addition, this book publishes the related results found by the authors' research. Then, the dissolution mechanism of chalcopyrite in bioleaching is interpreted. Finally, the process intensification techniques of chalcopyrite bioleaching are provided and discussed. Hence, this book provides useful reference and guidance in both laboratory research and industrial production.

Introduction to Mineralogy and Petrology, second edition, presents the essentials of both disciplines through an approach accessible to industry professionals, academic researchers, and students alike. This new edition emphasizes the relationship between rocks and minerals, right from the structures created during rock formation through the economics of mineral deposits. While petrology is classified on the lines of geological evolution and rock formation, mineralogy speaks to the physical and chemical properties, uses, and global occurrences for each mineral, emphasizing the need for the growth of human development. The primary goal is for the reader to identify minerals in all respects, including host-rocks, and mineral deposits, with additional knowledge of mineral-exploration, resource, extraction, process, and ultimate use. To help provide a comprehensive analysis across ethical and socio-economic dimensions, a separate chapter describes the hazards associated with minerals, rocks, and mineral industries, and the consequences to humanity along with remedies and case studies. New to the second edition: includes coverage of minerals and petrology in extra-terrestrial environments as well as case studies on the hazards of the mining industry.

Petroleum Production Engineering, Second Edition, updates both the new and veteran engineer on how to employ day-to-day production fundamentals to solve real-world challenges with modern technology. Enhanced to include equations and references with today's more complex systems, such as working with horizontal wells, workovers, and an entire new section of chapters dedicated to flow assurance, this go-to reference remains the most all-inclusive source for answering all upstream and midstream production issues. Completely updated with five sections covering the entire production spectrum, including well productivity, equipment and facilities, well stimulation and workover, artificial lift methods, and flow assurance, this updated edition continues to deliver the most practical applied production techniques, answers, and methods for today's production engineer and manager. In addition, updated Excel spreadsheets that cover the most critical production equations from the book are included for download.

Nickel Sulfide Ores and Impact Melts: Origin of the Sudbury Igneous Complex presents a current state of understanding on the geology and ore deposits of the Sudbury Igneous Complex in Ontario, Canada. As the first complete reference on the subject, this book explores the linkage between the processes of meteorite impact, melt sheet formation, differentiation, sulfide immiscibility and metal collection, and the localization of ores by magmatic and post-magmatic processes. The discovery of new ore deposits requires industry and government scientists and academic scholars to have access to the latest understanding of ore formation process models that link to the mineralization of their host rocks. The ore deposits at Sudbury are one of the world's largest ore systems, representing a classic case study that brings together very diverse datasets and ways of thinking. This book is designed to emphasize concepts that can be applied across a broad range of ore deposit types beyond Sudbury and nickel deposit geology. It is an essential resource for exploration geologists, university researchers, and government scientists, and can be used in rock and mineral analysis, remote sensing, and geophysical applications.

Zeolites and Zeolite-like Materials offers a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the important areas of zeolite synthesis, characterization, and applications. Its chapters are written in an educational, easy-to-understand format for a generation of young zeolite chemists, especially those who are just starting research on the topic and need a reference that not only reflects the current state of zeolite research, but also identifies gaps and opportunities. The book demonstrates various applications of zeolites in heterogeneous catalysis and biomass conversion and identifies the endless possibilities that exist for this class of materials, their structures, functions, and future applications. In addition, it demonstrates that zeolite-like materials should be regarded as a living body developing towards new modern applications, thereby responding to the needs of modern technology challenges, including biomass conversion, medicine, laser techniques, and nanomaterial design, etc. The book will be of interest not only to zeolite-focused researchers, but also to a broad scientific and non-scientific audience.

Geophysical measurements, such as the lateral variations in seismic wave velocities that are imaged by seismic tomography, provide the strongest constraints on the structure of the Earth's deep interior. In order to interpret such measurements in terms of mineralogical/compositional models of the Earth's interior, data on the physical and chemical properties of minerals at high pressures and temperatures are essential. Knowledge of thermodynamics, phase equilibria, crystal chemistry, crystallography, rheology, diffusion and heat transport are required to characterize the structure and dynamics of the Earth's deep interior as well as the processes by which the Earth originally differentiated.

Many experimental studies have been made possible only by a range of technical developments in the quest to achieve high pressures and temperatures in the laboratory. At the same time, analytical methods, including X-ray diffraction, a variety of spectroscopic techniques, electron microscopy, ultrasonic interferometry, and methods for rheological investigations have been developed and greatly improved. In recent years, major progress has been made also in the field of computational mineralogy whereby "ab initio" simulations are used to investigate the structural and dynamical properties of condensed matter at an atomistic level.

This volume contains a broad range of contributions that typify and summarize recent progress in the areas of high-pressure mineral physics as well as associated technical developments.

For many years it was believed that translational symmetry would be the fundamental property of crystal structures of natural and synthetic compounds. It is now recognised that many compounds crystallise without translational symmetry of their atomic structures. "Incommensurate Crystallography" gives a comprehensive account of the superspace theory for the description of crystal structures and symmetries of these incommensurately modulated crystals and incommensurate composite crystals. It thus provides the necessary background for quantitative analysis of incommensurate crystals by methods in Solid State Chemistry and Solid State Physics. The second half of "Incommensurate Crystallography" is devoted to crystallographic methods of structural analysis of incommensurate compounds. Thorough accounts are given of the diffraction by incommensurate crystals, the choice of parameters in structure refinements, and the use of superspace in analysing crystal structures. The presentation of methods of structure determination includes modern methods like the Maximum Entropy Method and Charge Flipping.

There is much scientific interest in ice, both because of its unique and intriguing properties and because of its importance in the natural environment. This book is written for professional scientists and engineers, and is the only currently available book of its kind. It describes the physical properties of ice, interprets them in terms of its molecular structure, and shows their relevance to the forms of ice found on Earth and in space.