Sepiolite as an adsorbent for elimination of mine wastes

摘要

A series of systematic adsorption tests are conducted to understand the ability of metal cations and cationic surfactants to adsorb onto sepiolite. Tests conducted as a function of solids concentration, conditioning time and reagent concentration indicate that sepiolite is highly receptive to the adsorption of both organic and inorganic ions. An ion exchange mechanism is proposed to explain the incorporation of cations into the structure of sepiolite.