THE USE OF BENTONITE CLAYS IN WATER TREATMENT PROCESSES. A LITERATURE REVIEW
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20535/2218-930012026363898Keywords:
activation of bentonite clay, bentonite clay, deposit, montmorillonite, sorbent, water treatmentAbstract
Nowadays, there is a growing need for environmentally safe, inexpensive, and yet effective substances, preferably of natural origin, which can effectively remove contaminants of various genesis from water. Natural clay minerals, which are found in abundant deposits throughout Ukraine, certainly fall into this category. Bentonite clays attract particular attention among naturally occurring clay minerals; because of their structural formula consists mainly of the mineral montmorillonite ‒ a layered aluminosilicate containing crystalline water. Montmorillonite possesses a high sorption capacity for cations and organic substances due to its unique crystalline structure, which allows for isomorphous substitutions within tetrahedral and octahedral lattices. There are two large deposits of bentonite clays in Ukraine: the Cherkasy and Zakarpattia (Gorb) deposits. Both deposits are used for the extraction of bentonite clays, primarily for use in the production of cement, ceramics, and bricks. However, the use of bentonite clays in water treatment appears to be more promising, where they can be effectively used to remove a wide range of contaminants in such water treatment sectors as: drinking water treatment; industrial wastewater treatment; municipal wastewater treatment; remediation of groundwater and surface water; removal of oily substances from water, etc. Bentonite clays are rarely found in their pure form like all natural minerals. Therefore, they must undergo preliminary preparation, which includes both physical methods (grinding, drying, sieving) and chemical methods (thermal and chemical activation) prior to their use in sorption processes. The purpose of these procedures is to impart the necessary properties to the surface of bentonite clays to improve their sorption capacity.
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