Abstract
The decrease in the particle size of clay minerals is important for many industrial applications. The porosity studies showed the highest specific surface area of the residue obtained with clay minerals by leaching. Selective leaching with acid has been used for preparing porous silica from various clay minerals including vermiculite [1–4]. Vermiculite is a 2: 1 phyllosilicate mineral with substitutions in tetrahedral (Si4+ by Al3+ and Fe3+) and octahedral (Mg2+ by Al3+, Fe3+ and Fe2+) sheets. The presence of iron in this mineral play an important role in the preparation of an amorphous silica with very high specific surface area, which is higher than other clay minerals including vermiculites without iron in their structure [1, 2]. This highest specific surface area is attributed to the presence of iron in the residue coming from structural iron. The X-ray diffraction analysis shows presence of akaganeite (β-FeOOH).
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