AixMinerals is a young startup, founded by owner Nicolai Thüns in autumn 2020. Based on the founder's many years of analytical experience, AixMinerals offers scientific analyses in the field of geosciences and materials science to a broad customer base from industry and research. Our speciality is the identification of the individual mineral components of rock samples and the quantification of their contents using X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). A particular focus is on clay mineralogy, which is a key area in terms of quantifying the mineral content of rock samples. Our application-oriented relation to clay mineralogy is based both on direct work experience with mining companies and on Nicolai Thüns' professional/scientific orientation during and after his studies and doctorate:
2009 to 2012: Bachelor's degree in Geosciences with a specialisation in "Geology" at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich (LMU).
Bachelor thesis: The bentonites of the Neuwied Basin and the Westerwald (Supervisor: Prof. Dr. H. Albert Gilg / TUM)
2013 to 2016: Master's degree in Applied Geosciences with a specialisation in "Energy and Mineral Resources" at the Rheinisch-Westfälische-Technische Hochschule Aachen (RWTH Aachen).
Master thesis: A Link between clay mineral aspect ratios and rheological properties for two saprolite deposits located in the Taunus and Westerwald (Betreuer: Prof. Dr. Helge Stanjek / RWTH Aachen)
2016 to today: Scientific collaboration at the Institute for Clay and Interface Mineralogy at RWTH Aachen University and doctorate in the subject area "Underground storage of hydrogen" and the associated mineral transformations in potential reservoir and cap rocks. Nicolai Thüns heads a sub-project of a joint project "H2_ReacT" and the follow-up project "H2_ReacT2" in cooperation with the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) in Hannover and the Helmholtz Center Potsdam German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ).
Dissertation topic: Low temperature redox-reactions of iron oxides and hydroxides with hydrogen (H2)
Publications:
Thüns, N., Krooss, B.M., Zhang, Q., Stanjek, H. (2019) The effect of H2 pressure on the reduction kinetics of hematite at low temperatures, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 44(50), 27615-27625 (doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.08.178)
During his studies, Nicolai Thüns worked with various mining companies as part of industrial internships and in collaboration on his Bachelor and Master theses. These include the former Süd-Chemie AG in Moosburg an der Isar (now part of Clariant AG), Cronimet Mining GmbH in Karlsruhe, RWE Power AG in the department of mineralogy in Niederaußem and the Stephan Schmidt Group in Dornburg-Langendernbach in the Westerwald. In the interplay of scientific research and industrial work experience, a large network of research institutions and industrial partners has emerged despite the rather short time since the startup was founded. On this basis and through its membership in associations such as the German Clay and Clay Mineral Group (DTTG) or the German Mineralogical Society (DMG), AixMinerals has set itself the constant goal of staying scientifically up-to-date and guaranteeing its customers the highest quality of analytical data. In this sense, AixMinerals represents a bridge between scientific analyses at university level and the service requirements of the industry. We are always self-critical of our own analytics from a scientific point of view and by participating in the biennial Reynolds Cup competition of the Clay Mineral Society we have a permanent and independent comparison with the best scientific and industrial laboratories worldwide with regard to our mineral quantification by X-ray diffraction analysis.
