Clay Surfaces

Clay plays an important role in everyday life. This versatile mineral is used in housing, improving the environment as a waste treatment material and also in biological applications and medical health care. Clay Surfaces contains 17 chapters which deal with various aspects of natural and man made (synthetic) clay. Well written by experts in both experimental and theoretical areas, this book takes the reader into the fascinating world of the chemistry and physics of clay mineral surfaces and interfaces as well as the complex phenomena on the surfaces involved in clay related systems. This book will provide a better understanding of the intervention mechanisms of interactions of soils in contact with wastes, actions to be taken in the case of chemical spillage, methods to improve the production of food without affecting the ecological balance, increased fixation of carbon in the soil to increase grain production and reduction of carbon dioxide release into the atmosphere. Applications covered describe the role of clays in environmental remediation and the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. This book looks at theory and applications of both natural and modified clays from academic and industrial viewpoints. With broad appeal, this book is suitable for specialists directly involved in clay science and those undergraduate and graduate student studying related areas.