Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Some physicochemical properties of the white sepiolite known as pipestone from Eskişehir, Turkey

  • Published:
Clays and Clay Minerals

Abstract

Various physicochemical characteristics of a sepiolite sample from the Eskişehir area, Turkey, were investigated to help in making predictions about possible uses of the material. The sample was examined by chemical analysis (CA), thermal analysis (DTA/TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, particle-size analysis (PSA), linear dilatometry (LD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mercury porosimetry (Hg-Por.), and low-temperature nitrogen adsorption/desorption (N2-AD) techniques. The CA and XRD data indicated that the sepiolite contains only 6% dolomite by mass. The XRD patterns showed that sepiolite anhydride, enstatite, diopside, and opal-CT form upon heating the sepiolite above 600, 800, 900, and 1200°C, respectively. The maximum rate of endothermic changes in the DTA and TGA curves were observed at 82, 287, and 491°C, corresponding to the loss of external, zeolitic, and bound water from the sepiolite, respectively. Dehydroxylation and recrystallization of the sepiolite were fastest at 845°C and 862°C, respectively. The LD curve indicated that the shrinkage began at 800°C and reached 4.0% at 1000°C. The proportion of particles with diameters of <2 µm, and the external surface area of the long-term (24 h) water-treated sepiolite were determined by PSA as 79% by volume, and 8 m2g−1, respectively. The SEM view revealed discrete bundles of sepiolite fibers of various lengths. The specific surface area found from adsorption data was 316 m2g−1. The specific micro-, meso-, macro-, and total-pore volumes obtained from the combination of Hg-Por. and N2-AD results were 0.16, 0.21, 0.45, and 0.82 cm3g−1, respectively. The average macropore and micro-mesopore radii in the sepiolite were estimated (using the Hg-Por. and N2-AD data) tobe 35 and 2.4 nm, respectively.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akbulut, A. and Kadir, S. (2003) The geology and origin of sepiolite, palygorskite and saponite in Neogene lacustrine sediments of the Serinhisar-Acıpayam basin, Denizli, SW Turkey. Clays and Clay Minerals, 51, 279–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akıncı, Ö. (1967) Eskişehir 124-C1 paftasının jeolojisi ve tabakalı lületaşı zuhurları. Maden Tetkik ve Arama Enstitüsü Dergisi (Bulletin of Mining Research and Exploration Institute of Turkey), 67, 82–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aras, A. (2004) The change of phase composition in kaolinite-and illite-rich clay-based ceramic bodies. Applied Clay Science, 24, 257–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arık, H., Kadir, S., and Sarıtaş, S. (1996) Investigation of the structural transformation and refractory properties of the brown sepiolite due to the heating at various temperatures. Turkish Journal of Engineering and Environmental Sciences, 20, 223–244 (in Turkish).

    Google Scholar 

  • Balcı, S. (1996) Thermal decomposition of sepiolite and variations in pore structure with and without acid pre-treatment. Joürnal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, 66, 72–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brunauer, S., Emmett, P.H., and Teller, E. (1938) Adsorption of gases in multimolecular layers. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 60, 308–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campelo, J.M., Garcia, A., Luna, S., and Marinas, J.M. (1987) Catalytic activity of natural sepiolites in cyclohexene skeletal isomerization. Clay Minerals, 22, 233–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Çetişli, H. and Gedikbey, T. (1990) Dissolution kinetics of sepiolite from Eskişehir (Turkey) in hydrochloric and nitric acids. Clay Minerals, 25, 207–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chambers, G.P.C. (1959) Some industrial applications of the clay mineral sepiolite. Silicates Industriels, 181–189.

  • Corma, A. and Peréz-Pariente, J. (1987) Catalytic activity of modified silicates: I. Dehydration of ethanol catalyzed by acidic sepiolite. Clay Minerals, 22, 423–433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dandy, A.J. (1968) Sorption of vapors by sepiolite. The Journal of Physical Chemistry, 334–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dandy, A.J. and Nadiye-Tabbiruku, M.S. (1975) The effect of heating in vacua on the microporosity of sepiolite. Clays and Clay Minerals, 23, 428–430.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dandy, A.J. and Nadiye-Tabbiruku, M.S. (1982) Surface properties of sepiolite from Amboseli, Tanzania, and its catalytic activity for ethanol decomposition. Clays and Clay Minerals, 30, 347–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dubinin, M.M. (1967) Adsorption in macropores. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 23, 487–499.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ece, Ö.I. and Coban, F. (1994) Geology, occurrence, and genesis of Eskişehir sepiolite, Turkey. Clays and Clay Minerals, 42, 81–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elzea, J.M., Odom, I.E., and Miles, W.J. (1994) Distinguishing well-ordered opal-CT and opal-C from high temperature cristobalite by X-ray diffraction. Analytica Chimica Acta, 286, 107–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esmer, K. (2004) Electrical conductivity and dielectric behavior of modified sepiolite clay. Applied Clay Science, 25, 17–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Everett, D.H., Parfitt, G.D., Sing, K.S.W., and Wilson, R. (1974) The SCI/IUPAC/NPL project on surface area standards. Journal of Applied Chemistry and Biotechnology, 24, 199–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galán, E. (1996) Properties and applications of palygorskite-sepiolite clays. Clay Minerals, 31, 443–453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galán, E. and Ferrero, A. (1982) Palygorskite-sepiolite clays of Lebrija, southern Spain. Clays and Clay Minerals, 30, 191–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grillet, Y., Cases, J.M., Francois, M., Rouquerol, J., and Poirier, J.E. (1988) Modification of the porous structure and surface area of sepiolite under vacuum thermal treatment. Clays and Clay Minerals, 36, 232–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hang, P.T. and Brindley, G.W. (1970) Methylene blue adsorption by clay minerals. Determination surface areas and cation exchange capacities (Clay-organic studies XVIII). Clays and Clay Minerals, 18, 203–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helios-Rybicka, E. (1985) Sorption of Ni, Zn and Cd on sepiolite. Clay Minerals, 20, 525–527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inukai, K., Miyawaki, R., Tomura, S., Shimosaka, K. and İrkoç, T. (1994) Purification of Turkish sepiolites through hydrochloric acid treatment. Applied Clay Science, 9, 11–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kadir, S., Baş, H. and Karakoç, Z. (2002) Origin of sepiolite and loughlinite in a Neogene sedimentary lacustrine environment, Mihalıççık-Eskişehir, Turkey. The Canadian Mineralogist, 40, 1091–1102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahraman, S., Önal, M., Sarıkaya, Y. and Bozdoğan, İ. (2005) Characterization of silica polymorphs in kaolins by X-ray diffraction before and after phosphoric acid digestion and thermal treatment. Analytica Chimica Acta, 552, 201–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karakaya, N., Karakaya, M.Ç., Temel, A., Küpeli, Ş., and Tunaoğlu, C. (2004) Mineralogical and chemical characterization of sepiolite occurrences at Karapınar (Konya Basin, Turkey). Clays and Clay Minerals, 52, 495–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kıyohiro, T. and Otsuka, R. (1989) Dehydration mechanism of bound water in sepiolite. Thermochimica Acta, 147, 127–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kloubek, J. (1981) Hysterisis in porosimetry. Powder Technology, 29, 63–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Komarneni, S., Fyte, A., and Kennedy, G.J. (1986) Detection of nonequivalent Si sites in sepiolite and palygorskite by solid-state 29Si magic angle spinning-nuclear magnetic resonance. Clays and Clay Minerals, 34, 99–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kulbicki, C. (1959) High temperature phases in sepiolite attapulgite and saponite. American Mineralogist, 41, 752–758.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu, G.Q. and Zhao, X.S. (2004) Nanoporous Materials. Series on Chemical Engineering, Vol. 4, Imperial College Press, London.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • McKeown, D.A., Post, J.E., and Etz, E.S. (2002) Vibrational analysis of palygorskite and sepiolite. Clays and Clay Minerals, 50, 667–680.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, D.M. and Reynolds, R.C., Jr. (1997) X-ray Diffraction and the Identification and Analysis of Clay Minerals, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moscou, L. and Lub, S. (1981) Practical use of mercury porosimetry in the study of porous solids. Powder Technology, 29, 45–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murray, H.H. (2000) Traditional and new applications for kaolin, smectite and palygorskite. A general overview. Applied Clay Science, 17, 207–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Önal, M., Kahraman, S., and Sarikaya, Y. (2007) Differentiation of α-cristobalite from opals in bentonites from Turkey. Applied Clay Science, 35, 25–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Özdemir, M. and Kıpçak, İ. (2004) Dissolution kinetics of sepiolite in hydrochloric acid nitric acid. Clays and Clay Minerals, 52, 714–720.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Otsuka, R., Mariko, T., and Sakamoto, T. (1973) Mineralogische eigenschaften vom Meerschaum von Eskişehir, Türkei. Memoirs of the School of Science and Engineering, 37, 43–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Post, J.L. (1978) Sepiolite deposits of the Las Vegas, Nevada area. Clays and Clay Minerals, 26, 58–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Preisinger, A. (1959) X-ray study of the structure of sepiolite. Clays and Clay Minerals, 6, 61–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Preisinger, A. (1963) Sepiolite and related compounds: its stability and applications. Clays and Clay Minerals, 10, 365–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rautureau, M. and Yücel, A. (1976) Etude par microscopie et microdiffraction electronique de l’ecume de mer, pole mal Cristallise de la famille des sepiolites. Journal de Microscopie et de Spectroscopie Électronique, 1, 405–414.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robertson, R.H.S. (1957) Sepiolite: a versatile raw material. Chemistry and Industry, 1492–1495.

  • Rouquerol, F., Rouquerol, J., and Sing, K. (1999) Adsorption by Powders and Porous Solids. Academic Press, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rytwo, G., Serben, C., Nir, S., and Margulies, L. (1991) Use of methylene blue and crystal violet for determination of exchangeable cations in montmorillonite. Clays and Clay Minerals, 39, 551–555.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarikaya, Y. and Aybar, S. (1978) The adsorption of NH3, N2O and CO2 gases on the 5A molecular sieve. Communications (Faculty of Science, University of Ankara), B24, 33–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarıkaya, Y., Yücel, A., Eğilmez, Ö., Makul, G., Almac, R., Harman, I., and Bozdoğan, İ. (1985) Evaluation of sepiolite wastes: use in cigarette filters. Doğa Bilim Dergisi, B9, 277–287 (in Turkish).

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarıkaya, Y., Önal, M., Baran, B., and Alemdaroğlu, T. (2000) The effect of thermal treatment on some of the physico-chemical properties of a bentonite. Clays and Clay Minerals, 48, 557–562.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Serna, C., Ahlrichs, J.L., and Serratosa, J.M. (1975) Folding in sepiolite crystals. Clays and Clay Minerals, 23, 452–457.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shirvani, M., Kalbasi, M., Shariatamadari, Nourbaksh, F., and Najati, B. (2006) Sorption-desorption of cadmium in aqueous palygorskite, sepiolite and calcite suspensions: Isotherm hysteresis. Chemosphere, 65, 2178–2184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sugahara, Y., Kurada, K., and Kato, C. (1985) Nitridation of sepiolite by carbothermal reduction. Journal of Materials Science Letters, 4, 928–931.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sugiura, M., Hayashi, H., and Suzuki, T. (1991) Adsorption of ammonia by sepiolite in ambient air. Clay Science, 8, 87–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ünal, H.I. and Erdoğan, B. (1998) The use of sepiolite for decolorization of sugar juice. Applied Clay Science, 12, 419–429.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Q.K., Matsuura, T., Feng, C.Y., Weir, M.R., Detellier, C., Rutinduka, E., and Le Van Mao, R. (2001) The sepiolite membrane for ultrafiltration. Journal of Membrane Science, 184, 153–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weir, M.R., Rutinduka, E., Detellier, C., Feng, C.Y., Wang, Q.K., Matsura, T., and Le Van Mao, R. (2001) Fabrication ultrafiltration membranes composed entirely of a naturally occurring sepiolite clay mineral. Journal of Membrane Science, 182, 41–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weir, M.R., Kuang, W.K., Facey, G.A., and Detellier, C. (2002) Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance study of sepiolite and partially dehydrated sepiolite. Clays and Clay Minerals, 50, 240–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yalçın, H. and Bozkaya, Ö. (1995) Sepiolite-palygorskite from the Hekimhan region (Turkey). Clays and Clay Minerals, 43, 705–717.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yalçın, H. and Bozkaya, Ö. (2004) Ultramafic-rock-hosted vein sepiolite occurrences in the Ankara ophiolitic melange, central Anatolia, Turkey. Clays and Clay Minerals, 52, 227–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yücel, A., Rautureau, M., Tchoubar, D., and Tchoubar, C. (1980) Calculation of the X-ray powder reflection profiles of very small needle-like crystals. I. Principles of the method. Journal of Applied Crystallography, 13, 370–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Ankara University, Tandoğan, 06100, Ankara, Turkey

    Müşerref Önal, Hamza Yilmaz & Yüksel Sarikaya

Authors
  1. Müşerref Önal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hamza Yilmaz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yüksel Sarikaya
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Müşerref Önal.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Önal, M., Yilmaz, H. & Sarikaya, Y. Some physicochemical properties of the white sepiolite known as pipestone from Eskişehir, Turkey. Clays Clay Miner. 56, 511–519 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1346/CCMN.2008.0560504

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1346/CCMN.2008.0560504

Key Words

Search

Navigation