Comparative Study of Organophilic Clays to be Used in the Gas & Petrol Industry

Abstract

Brasgel clay and Gray clay has been been subjected to modification through ion-exchange reaction by quaternary ammonium (cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide, CTAB). The samples were studied by X-Ray Diffraction, Infrared Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and the Foster’s Swelling test. The results indicated that the quaternary ammonium salts were intercalated between the layers of clay. The basal spacing of unmodified Brasgel clay, determined by XRD, was 1.329 nm and after modification it increased up to 2.101 nm. By analyzing the results obtained in this study, particularly those provided by infrared spectroscopy, it was concluded that the treated, organophilic sample (modified with CTAB) comprised CH2 and CH3 groups in its structure, which provides evidence of the efficiency of the organophilization process. Foster´s swelling was carried out with and without agitation in gasoline, diesel, toluene and lubricating oil. The results indicated the samples was organophilic materials, with improved efficiency of Brasgel clay in gasoline and diesel and when compared to Gray clay in the test of capacity for adsorption and Foster´s swelling, the results were similar to kerosene and lubricating oil.

Performance of Natural Sodium Clay Treated With Ammonium Salt in the Separation of Emulsified Oil in Water

“…When diesel was used, the sample presented an intermediate expansion degree (7mL/g of clay), but after agitation the expansion degree was higher (11mL/g of clay). Similar results were found by Rodrigues et al (2010b) when assessing the swelling capacity of Brasgel clay treated with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) in the presence of gasoline, diesel, and kerosene. High capacity of clay adsorption was promoted by gasoline, before and after agitation.…”

“…The variables obtained from this study were: the total oil removal percentage (%Rem) and the capacity of oil removal at equilibrium (q eq ) as suggested by Mota et al (2011) and Rodrigues et al (2010b). The analysis of variance was performed using the Minitab 16.1 Software.…”

Oil–water separation process with organoclays: A comparative analysis

“…The XRD patterns indicate that the modification of the clay with quaternary ammonium salts (DSDMAC, ADMBAC and DSDMAC/ADMBAC) leads to the expansion of the montmorillonite (Akçay, 2004;Chittum et al, 1997;Queiroz et al, 2010;Rodrigues et al, 2010;Ruiz-Hitzky and Meerbeek, 2006;Shen, 2001;Wang et al, 2004;Xi et al, 2004). In addition, the reflection is shifted to lower values of angles, which confirms the intercalation of cations between the silicate layers.…”

“…The asymmetric angular deformation of the CH 3 groups occurs at about 1459 cm − 1 . The presence of CH 2 and CH 3 groups in the infrared spectrum is an evidence of the intercalation of the quaternary ammonium cations within the interlamellar spaces of the sample (Kozak and Domka, 2004;Pereira et al, 2005;Rodrigues et al, 2010).…”

“…According to Moazed and Viraraghavan (2005b), oil removal efficiencies lying in the range of 72% to 98% can easily be obtained, showing that that the mixture OC/anthracite can be considered as an excellent medium for treating oily wastewaters. Rodrigues et al (2010) have studied the swelling behavior of Brazilian OC in different solvents from the petroleum industry, through modification of gray clay by using a quaternary ammonium salt (distearyl dimethyl ammonium chloride). According to XRD measurements, it was possible to determine the significant increase in basal spacing in comparison to unmodified clay, which indicates proper intercalation of quaternary ammonium salt between the layers of the clay.…”