X- ray Diffraction and Mineralogical Study of Soil:A Review

The surface layer of soil consisting of the mixture of mineral and organic matter reflectsthe nature and properties of the soil. Weathering the minerals of the earth crust originally derived most of the substances including plant nutrients. Among various substances, clay isan important soil constituent that controls its properties and also influences its management and productivity. In addition to commercial applications of clay minerals, it has great potential to fix pollutants such as heavy metals organics and plays an important role in cleansing the biosphere. Despite the fact that excess clay induces unfavorable property and required more energy for tillage operation, clay immensely improves soil fertility. In thisrespect, it is important to carry out quantitative and qualitative analysis of clay minerals insoil. X-ray Diffraction has shown as the best tool for the identification and quantification ofminerals present in soil. We report herein the work, which was published, on x-ray diffraction analysis of soil.