Powder X-ray Diffraction Determination of Phyllosilicate Mass and Area versus Particle Thickness Distributions for Clays from the Athabasca Oil Sands

Bitumen recovery from Athabasca oil sands is known to be affected by the clay component. This effect increases dramatically with decreasing particle sizes of the constituent clay minerals. The present work comprises a mineralogical study of distinct size-fractions of clays from the Athabasca oil sands. Mass and area versus thickness distributions per unit weight of phyllosilicate-mineral component are obtained by Bertaut analysis of measured XRD peak profiles for the first 00ℓ reflection. Distributions for both kaolinite and illite components from distinct size-fractions correlate with particle size. The powder pattern for the smallest size-fraction (< 0.1 μm) is shown to correspond to delaminated illite particles.