Sedimentary Rocks are formed by the accumulation and subsequent consolidation of sediments into various types of rock. There are three major types of sedimentary rocks:
Biogenic sedimentary rocks are formed from organic processes when organisms use materials dissolved in water to build a shell or other skeletal structure.
Clastic sedimentary rocks are composed directly of the sediments or fragments from other rocks.
Chemical sedimentary rocks are formed through evaporation of a chemical rich solution.
Based on their sizes, sediment particles are classified, based on their size, into six general categories:
Sedimentation is a process of separating specifically heavier, suspended matter, than the solution is. Solid matter settles on the bottom of the vessel and the liquid above it is poured off. The settling zone is the largest portion of the sedimentation basin. This zone provides the calm area necessary for the suspended particles to settle. The sludge zone, located at the bottom of the tank, provides a storage area for the sludge before it is removed for additional treatment or disposal.
Silver coulometer consists of a platinum vessel which acts as a cathode and contains a solution of pure silver nitrate as an electrolyte (c(AgNO3) = 1 mol/L). A rod of pure silver enclosed in a porous pot acts as the anode. The current density at the anode should not exceed 0.2 Acm-2. After electrolysis, the electrolyte is taken out and the platinum vessel is washed, dried and weighed. The increase in the weight gives the amount of silver deposited (96500 C of electricity deposits 107.88 g of silver). From the mass of the silver deposited, the coulomb involved in the reaction can be calculated.
Silver/silver-chloride electrode is by far the most common reference type used today because it is simple, inexpensive, very stable and non-toxic. It is mainly used with saturated potassium chloride electrolyte, but can be used with lower concentrations such as 3.5 mol dm-3 or 1 mol dm-3 potassium chloride. Silver/silver-chloride electrode is a referent electrode based on the following halfreaction
| Potential vs. SHE / V | ||
|---|---|---|
| t / °C | 3.5 mol dm-3 | sat. solution |
| 15 | 0.212 | 0.209 |
| 20 | 0.208 | 0.204 |
| 25 | 0.205 | 0.199 |
| 30 | 0.201 | 0.194 |
| 35 | 0.197 | 0.189 |
Sols are dispersions of small solid particles in a liquid. The particles may be macromolecules or may be clusters of small molecules. Lyophobic sols are those in which there is no affinity between the dispersed phase and the liquid (e.g. silver chloride dispersed in water). Lyophobic sols are inherently unstable, in time the particles aggregate, and form a precipitate. Lyiophilic sols, on the other hand, are more like true solutions in which the solute molecules are large and have an affinity for the solvent (e.g. starch in water). Association colloids are systems in which the dispersed phase consists of clusters of molecules that have lyophobic and lyophilic parts (e.g. soap in water).
Solubility is the maximum amount of solute that dissolves in a given quantity of solvent at a specific temperature. Generally, for a solid in a liquid, solubility increases with temperature; for a gas, solubility decreases. Common measures of solubility include the mass of solute per unit mass of solution (mass fraction), mole fraction of solute, molality, molarity, and others.
Solubility product constant (Ksp) (or the solubility product) is the product of the molar concentrations of the constituent ions, each raised to the power of its stoichiometric coefficient in the equilibrium equation. For instance, if a compound AaBb is in equilibrium with its solution
the solubility product is given by
Spectrophotometer is an instrument for measuring the amount of light absorbed by a sample.
The absorption of light by a substance in a solution can be described mathematically by the Beer-Lambert law
where A is the absorbance at a given wavelength of light, ε is the molar absorbtivity or extinction coefficient (L mol-1 cm-1), unique to each molecule and varying with wavelength, b is the length of light path through the sample (cm), and c is the concentration of the compound in solution (mol L-1).
Standard electrode potential (E°) (standard reduction potentials) are defined by measuring the potential relative to a standard hydrogen electrode using 1 mol solution at 25 °C. The convention is to designate the cell so that the oxidised form is written first. For example,
The e.m.f. of this cell is -0.76 V and the standard electrode potential of the Zn2+|Zn half cell is -0.76 V.
Supercritical fluid is any substance above its critical temperature and critical pressure (see phase diagram). It shows unique properties that are different from those of either gases or liquids under standard conditions. A supercritical fluid has both the gaseous property of being able to penetrate anything, and the liquid property of being able to dissolve materials into their components. Solublity increases with increasing density (i.e. with increasing pressure). An example of this is naphthalene which is practically insoluble in low pressure carbon dioxide. At 100 bar the solubility is 10 g/L and at 200 bar it is 50 g/L. Rapid expansion of supercritical solutions leads to precipitation of a finely divided solid.
Generalic, Eni. "Nonwater solution." Croatian-English Chemistry Dictionary & Glossary. 29 June 2022. KTF-Split. {Date of access}. <https://glossary.periodni.com>.
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