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Hydrothermal alteration of a saponitic bentonite: mineral reactivity and evolution of surface properties

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2018

J. Cuevas ,
A. Garralón ,
S. Ramírez  and
S. Leguey
J. Cuevas*
Affiliation:
Departamento Química Agrícola, Geología y Geoquímica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco s/n, 28049 Madrid, Spain
A. Garralón
Affiliation:
Departamento Química Agrícola, Geología y Geoquímica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco s/n, 28049 Madrid, Spain
S. Ramírez
Affiliation:
Departamento Química Agrícola, Geología y Geoquímica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco s/n, 28049 Madrid, Spain
S. Leguey
Affiliation:
Departamento Química Agrícola, Geología y Geoquímica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco s/n, 28049 Madrid, Spain
*
*E-mail: jaime.cuevas@uam.es
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Abstract

Saponitic bentonite mined in the Magan deposit (Toledo, Spain), has been classified as a suitable clay barrier in the storage of high-level radioactive waste. Several hydrothermal alteration assays have been carried out in Teflon reactors at 45, 60, 90, 120, 175 and 200°C for periods of up to 1 y. The mineral components of bentonite are stable below 175°C. At and above this temperature, the accessory sepiolite transforms into a monomineral phase of saponitic composition. The texture of the clay also changes. A rise in temperature above 120°C causes a decrease in the proportion of the <2 μm size-fraction, a reduction of BET and total surface areas and an increase in the relative volume of micropores (<20 Å). This process has been interpreted as the formation of granular aggregates that preserve a micropore network. This new arrangement of the aggregates produces a significant reduction in the free swelling volume.

Keywords

bentonitesaponitehydrothermal alterationsurface properties
Type
Research Article
Information
Clay Minerals , Volume 36 , Issue 1 , March 2001 , pp. 61 - 74
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2001

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