A method is proposed for the introduction of shungite rocks into aluminum melts by mechanical mixing with carriers, namely, aluminum granules and reactive titanium powders taking part in exothermic in situ reactions. The structures of composite materials with shungite rock additions are studied, and a stabilizing effect of these additions on dry sliding friction is revealed.

We have studied a sodium type and potassium type of shungite rock modified by acidic, alkaline, and heat treatments; leaching of chemical elements from shungite rocks; and sorption of dyes (methylene blue and methylene yellow) and heavy metals (Ni, Cu, and Zn) from model solutions. The results demonstrate that the sorption activity of shungite rocks can be enhanced and the degree of leaching of undesirable chemical elements can be reduced by different methods for shungite rocks differing in origin, in particular by alkaline treatment in the case of the sodium type of shungite rock and by acid and heat treatments in the case of the potassium type.

Carbonado is a specific variety of diamonds, typical representatives of which are distributed in the diamond placers of Central Africa, Brazil, and Venezuela. Carbonado consists of the microcrystalline aggregates of diamonds, with inclusions of mineral matter. These aggregates appear as fragments that are rounded to varying degrees. Carbonado has been known for a long time, but its primary sources have not been found and its genesis remains unclear. We have substantiated the hypothesis that the most probable precursor of carbonado is shungite. Shungite is a specific form of non-crystalline, non-graphitic, fullerene-like carbon. Shungite rocks, currently known in Karelia (Russia), are natural microdispersed composite materials containing shungite—carbonaceous matter and mineral components of different compositions. The content of carbonaceous matter in shungite rocks is from less than 10% to 98%. The carbon isotopic composition of shungite is light ẟ¹³C from −25‰ to −40‰. The age of shungite rock is more than 2 billion years old, but earlier shungite was probably much more widespread. Known shungite rocks are more than 2 billion years old, but earlier shungite was probably much more widespread. Shungite rocks could recrystallize into diamond rock upon subduction to high pressure and temperature. The diamond rocks could then be exhumed to the Earth’s surface, where they could undergo disruption and reworking with formation of those very fragments that are known as “carbonado”.

ФИЗИКО-ХИМИЧЕСКИЕ СВОЙСТВА ШУНГИТОВЫХ ПОРОД РАЗЛИЧНЫХ СТРАТИГРАФИЧЕСКИХ УРОВНЕЙ ЗАОНЕЖСКОЙ СВИТЫ