Characterization of Colombian Clay and Its Potential Use as Adsorbent

This paper presents a mineralogical and physicochemical characterization of a Colombian clay found in an area with the greatest exploitation potential of smectites and possible use as an adsorbent for the removal of chromium. The clay was characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), cation exchange capacity (CEC), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermal analysis (TGA/DSC), and nitrogen adsorption at 77 K. The homoionized clay was used as an adsorbent for the removal of Cr(III) in an aqueous solution. The homoionized clay was modified with hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA-Br), and the organoclay obtained was evaluated for the adsorption of Cr(VI) in aqueous solution. The XRD analysis showed that the clay from Armero-Guayabal is primarily constituted by smectite (48 wt%) followed by quartz mineral (21 wt%). The chemical analysis of bulk clay showed that the predominant oxides are SiO₂ (55.81 wt%), Al₂O₃ (16.25 wt%), and Fe₂O₃ (7.51 wt%), and the nitrogen adsorption indicated that the bulk clay has a specific surface area of 45.1 m²/g. Homoionized clay and organoclay achieved Cr(III) and Cr(VI) removals greater than 85.05 ± 2.04% (pH between 3 and 4) and 82.93 ± 1.03% (pH between 3 and 5), respectively, proving the potential of these materials for the removal of heavy metals in an aqueous solution.