Perspectives of Treatment of Water Environments from Pollutants with Ultrasound-Activated Bentonites

Abstract

The paper analyzes the perspectives for natural sorbents to be used in environmental technologies. The object of the study is the clay rock from the left side of the upper Pivdennyi Bug river (in the vicinity of the Khmelnytskyi city). The rock was enriched in montmorillonite by centrifugation of a clay suspension to obtain the fraction with a size of less than 5∙10-6 m. The researchers defined the mineral composition of the enriched clay based on the findings of the X-ray diffraction and complex thermal analyses. The enriched clay was chemically activated with a 5% NaCl aqueous solution and physically activated with the action of ultrasound. Based on the results of the X-ray diffraction analysis, the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of enriched clays, both natural and activated by ultrasound, was found against the methylene blue (MB) dye. The findings of the X-ray diffraction and analysis supported the ability of the dye cations to be absorbed by the interlayer spacings of montmorillonite.