Modifications of selected clay minerals due to activity of filamentous alkaline cyanobacteria

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the transformations of clay minerals at the laboratory experiments under the growth and fossilization of alkaline cyanobacteria. The clays incubation with cyanobacteria resulted in different trends of their transformations. The direction and intensity of transformation depends on type of clay mineral. The observed processes were fast and completed within the first 10–60 days of experiments. Cyanobacteria most actively influenced the processes of mineral dissolution and the transformations during the stage of their photosynthesis. Formation of carbonate in the experiments with palygorskite, bentonite, and kaolinite was observed at the stage of cyanobacteria fossilization.