Purification of Crude Bentonite Clay: Synthesis and Characterization of Na, Mg and Cu Incorporated Bentonite Clay

Abstract

Commercially available natural bentonite clay samples obtained from Oil India Limited, India, were purified via standard sedimentation process followed by screening with the help of siphoning process by applying Stock’s law to obtain < 2 µm fraction of the clay. The Na+, Mg2+ and Cu2+ cations were incorporated in the interlayers of the bentonite clay by applying different chemical procedures. Modified bentonite clays thus obtained were characterized by PXRD, HRTEM, FTIR analysis, DRS analysis, TGA, SEM & EDX analysis, and BET surface area analysis.