Exploring the Potential of Acid Treated Bentonite Clay for Various Catalytic Applications

Clays are widely used as catalysts and catalyst supports for a broad range of chemical processes due to their unique layered structure and low cost. Potential of Bentonite clay from Gujarat region (India) as a catalyst is evaluated in this work. Beneficial properties such as high cation exchange capacity, high absorption capacity, stickiness, expandable layer etc. makes Bentonite clay suitable for a wide range of catalytic applications in chemical process industries. Treatment of Bentonite clay with 5 - 10M sulphuric acid (H2SO4) followed by calcination at 600 0C showed removal of metallic impurities which increased porosity. The physical and chemical characteristics of modified clay were checked by WET process analysis and FTIR. Results showed that increase in acid strength led to better removal of Al3+ ion and other metal oxides thereby increasing silica-alumina ratio. Better surface characteristics indicate that Gujarat Bentonite clay is suitable for use as catalysts and catalyst supports.