Potential Applications in Relation to the Various Physicochemical Characteristics of Al-Hasa Oasis Clays in Saudi Arabia
In this work, various physicochemical characteristics, e.g., surface properties and mineralogical compositions, of five clays collected from different sites in the Al-Hasa oasis in Saudi Arabia have been investigated. Analysis of the mineralogical compositions of the clays in the study by X-ray diff...
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2020-12-01
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author | Ibrahim A. Al-Hawas Salah A. Hassan Hany M. AbdelDayem |
author_facet | Ibrahim A. Al-Hawas Salah A. Hassan Hany M. AbdelDayem |
author_sort | Ibrahim A. Al-Hawas |
collection | DOAJ |
description | In this work, various physicochemical characteristics, e.g., surface properties and mineralogical compositions, of five clays collected from different sites in the Al-Hasa oasis in Saudi Arabia have been investigated. Analysis of the mineralogical compositions of the clays in the study by X-ray diffraction indicated the coexistence of palygorskite, montmorillonite, illite, kaolinite, chlorite, calcite and quartz in different percentages. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated that all studied clays exhibited dehydroxylation temperatures higher than 470 °C. On the other hand, pore size distribution analysis of clays from N<sub>2</sub> adsorption indicated the presence of micro- and narrow mesopores (of 1.3–2.8 nm). Furthermore, the capability of the different clays for removal of Pb (II) from aqueous solution has been studied. The adsorption process was described through the Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin–Radushkevich models. The Langmuir model was the most suitable compared to the other models in the case of palygorskite- and montmorillonite-rich clays. However, the Temkin model better represented the adsorption process of Pb (II) on calcite-rich clay. The clay sample with 61.0 wt% of palygorskite was found to be the most effective at removing Pb (II), with a maximum removal capacity of 74.07 mg/g at pH 6, with a contact time of 6 h and at 25 °C. Generally, the adsorption mechanism of lead over all the studied clays followed the pseudo-second-order kinetics. On the other hand, the catalytic activity of clays in the study has been tested in methanol conversion. The acidic clays, those containing high amounts of montmorillonite, showed higher selectivity to ethylene, viz., 78.9%, with a methanol conversion of 39.1% at 350 ° C and 0.1 MPa. |
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spelling | doaj.art-ec67f6fa0ec141a2b12b533fd6eb7b0b2023-11-21T01:12:40ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172020-12-011024901610.3390/app10249016Potential Applications in Relation to the Various Physicochemical Characteristics of Al-Hasa Oasis Clays in Saudi ArabiaIbrahim A. Al-Hawas0Salah A. Hassan1Hany M. AbdelDayem2Department of Environmental and Natural Resources, College of Agricultural and Food Sciences, King Faisal University, Hofuf Al-Hasa 31982, Saudi ArabiaChemistry Department, Faculty of Science Ain Shams University, Abassia, Cairo 11566, EgyptChemistry Department, Faculty of Science Ain Shams University, Abassia, Cairo 11566, EgyptIn this work, various physicochemical characteristics, e.g., surface properties and mineralogical compositions, of five clays collected from different sites in the Al-Hasa oasis in Saudi Arabia have been investigated. Analysis of the mineralogical compositions of the clays in the study by X-ray diffraction indicated the coexistence of palygorskite, montmorillonite, illite, kaolinite, chlorite, calcite and quartz in different percentages. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated that all studied clays exhibited dehydroxylation temperatures higher than 470 °C. On the other hand, pore size distribution analysis of clays from N<sub>2</sub> adsorption indicated the presence of micro- and narrow mesopores (of 1.3–2.8 nm). Furthermore, the capability of the different clays for removal of Pb (II) from aqueous solution has been studied. The adsorption process was described through the Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin–Radushkevich models. The Langmuir model was the most suitable compared to the other models in the case of palygorskite- and montmorillonite-rich clays. However, the Temkin model better represented the adsorption process of Pb (II) on calcite-rich clay. The clay sample with 61.0 wt% of palygorskite was found to be the most effective at removing Pb (II), with a maximum removal capacity of 74.07 mg/g at pH 6, with a contact time of 6 h and at 25 °C. Generally, the adsorption mechanism of lead over all the studied clays followed the pseudo-second-order kinetics. On the other hand, the catalytic activity of clays in the study has been tested in methanol conversion. The acidic clays, those containing high amounts of montmorillonite, showed higher selectivity to ethylene, viz., 78.9%, with a methanol conversion of 39.1% at 350 ° C and 0.1 MPa.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/24/9016Al-Hasa claypalygorskitemontmorillonitecalciteleadmethanol |
spellingShingle | Ibrahim A. Al-Hawas Salah A. Hassan Hany M. AbdelDayem Potential Applications in Relation to the Various Physicochemical Characteristics of Al-Hasa Oasis Clays in Saudi Arabia Applied Sciences Al-Hasa clay palygorskite montmorillonite calcite lead methanol |
title | Potential Applications in Relation to the Various Physicochemical Characteristics of Al-Hasa Oasis Clays in Saudi Arabia |
title_full | Potential Applications in Relation to the Various Physicochemical Characteristics of Al-Hasa Oasis Clays in Saudi Arabia |
title_fullStr | Potential Applications in Relation to the Various Physicochemical Characteristics of Al-Hasa Oasis Clays in Saudi Arabia |
title_full_unstemmed | Potential Applications in Relation to the Various Physicochemical Characteristics of Al-Hasa Oasis Clays in Saudi Arabia |
title_short | Potential Applications in Relation to the Various Physicochemical Characteristics of Al-Hasa Oasis Clays in Saudi Arabia |
title_sort | potential applications in relation to the various physicochemical characteristics of al hasa oasis clays in saudi arabia |
topic | Al-Hasa clay palygorskite montmorillonite calcite lead methanol |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/24/9016 |
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