Abstract
This paper gives a brief overview of the sepiolite deposits, the basic properties, and the possibilities of using this mineral. Particular attention is paid to sepiolites from domestic production, especially the use of sepiolites suitable for the development of small businesses and technologies, with a focus on environmental protection. Aim of this paper is to point out importance of this mineral and to draw attention to the use of domestic raw materials. With appropriate mechanical and chemical pretreatments, sepiolite is shown to be useful in following applications: NCR paper, drilling fluids, absorbents, carriers for chemicals, animal nutrition, agriculture, decolorising agents, cosmetics and pharmaceutical uses, etc.
Highlights
Clays and clay minerals have demonstrated to be interesting materials due to their high adsorption capability, colloidal properties as well as the possibility of tailoring their surface characteristics to provide specific solutions for a wide variety of industrial applications (Jones and Galan, 1988)
Sepiolite in the Pranjani, Neogene basin belong to the layers type, while other deposits can be classified as wire type
The physico-chemical conditions of the environment control the formation of the magnesian clay mineral, determining its fibrous or laminar nature and, its composition (Galan and Pozo, 2011)
Summary
Clays and clay minerals have demonstrated to be interesting materials due to their high adsorption capability, colloidal properties as well as the possibility of tailoring their surface characteristics to provide specific solutions for a wide variety of industrial applications (Jones and Galan, 1988). Sepiolite was named in 1847 by Ernst Friedrich Glocker from the Greek, "sepion," cuttlefish bone, because of its low density and porous, bone like appearance, formerly known as Meerschaum (sea froth), is a non-swelling, lightweight, porous clay with a large specific surface area. The high surface area and porosity, as well as the unusual particle shape of this clay account for its outstanding sorption capacity and colloidal properties that make it a valuable material for a wide range of applications. Peculiar characteristic of sepiolite are useful in photocatalysis (Aranda et al, 2008), plasmonic properties (Pecharroman et al, 2009), as well in heavy metal adsorption (Dogan at al., 2008), as vaccine support (Pecharroman et al, 2009), electronic conductor (Gomez-Aviles et al, 2007), metallic nanoparticle support with biocide (Cubbilo et al, 2006), for improvement of mechanical properties of paper (Janković-Častvan, 2016)
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