Study of the Characterization of Smectitic Clays from a Town in the State of Paraíba
The State of Paraíba has gained prominence in the production of raw bentonite in Brazil, where a new deposit has been found in the town of Sossego-PB, besides the deposit in the town of Boa Vista-PB. With the raise in the demand, the traditional reserves are depleting after several years of exploration, and this fact may result in a higher dependence on imported clays, thus existing a great interest in the discovery and characterization of new deposits, also guaranteeing technological improvements for the region. So, the objective of this work is to characterize the new deposits of the State of Paraíba, aiming at analyzing the characteristics the prove their classification as smectitic clays. The characterization was made through the analysis of chemical composition by X-ray fluorescence (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis and thermal differential analyses (TG and DTA), cation-exchange capacity (CEC) and specific area (SA). The results prove that the studied samples presented, in their mineralogical composition, smectite, kaolinite and quartz, besides thermal and chemical behavior typical smectitic clays.