Assessment of the crystallochemical properties of the natural and modified clays in the organic matter removal during the water treatment process

Abstract

The study of natural clays, activated with sulfuric acid and pillared clays for treating aqueous solutions containing humic acids was the focus of this work. It appears that the equilibrium is reached after 20 min. A max elimination yield is obtained with pillared clay in a low pH medium (pH = 4) using clays of size Ø <2 μm. Pillared clay fixes more than 124% of humic acids compared to raw clay. The maximum adsorption capacities of clays are obtained with pillared clay, which is an indication that Al is probably the preferred adsorption site of humic acids.

Keywords

• Clay
• Water
• Crystallochemical properties
• Organic matter
• Adsorption