Characterization of South African Bentonite and Kaolin Clays

The present study aimed to investigate the mineralogical and morphological properties of two South African clays, namely bentonite kaolin. These clays are mined in specific regions country but have not been fully characterized terms their for potential application a number industries. Bentonite was found larger surface area, pore size, more interchangeable cations than also identified as Na-bentonite due huge Na content clay. powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) patterns revealed that both crystalline, together with Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometer results; presumably, some impurities quartz could be clay materials. most prevalent functional groups include Al-OH, Si-O-Mg, Si-O, Si-O-Al groups. charge consistently negative across all pH values, indicating its adsorption applications. On other hand, kaolin exhibited at values greater 2.4. scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images provided visual evidence presence pores structures, which supported Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) results classifying mesoporous macroporous particle size analysis broad distribution bimodal Overall, interesting features can useful several industries, example, treatment wastewater. Further research development explore address environmental challenges, particularly water processes remove toxic metal ions.