Journal of the Korean Society of Mineral and Energy Resources Engineers ISSN:2288-0291(Print) 2288-2790(Online) 한국자원공학회지

This study deals with the refinement and activation of domestic Ca-bentonites. To acquire optimum conditions for preparation of activated bentonites, it was refined by dry-milling and dry-sieving process and Na2CO3 was used as activation agents followed by characterizations of swelling degree, crystalinity and particle distribution, etc, by ACC method, M/B method, PSA, FT-IR and XRD. The Na2CO3 was added in portions of 1~10% showing activation reaction throughout the whole variation. But from the swelling degree and cation exchange capacity(CEC) data, 7% Na2CO3 showed maximum results and higher portions lead to a decrease. XRD analysis showed a peak shift of 5.7o (2q) to 6.8o (2q) and layer distance was changed 15Å to 12Å. From the FT-IR analysis, a CO32- absorption peak was observed at 1400 cm-1. It means that Na-activated bentonite was formed by ion exchange reactions. The swelling degree and CEC of the resulting bentonites were changed 8 ml / 2 g to 16 ml / 2 g and 46 meq/100 g to 59 meq/100 g respectively.