PORE-SIZE DISTRIBUTION AND ADSORPTION SELECTIVITY OF SEPIOLITE

Micropore distribution and effective size of the channels of natural sepiolite from Turkey were measured by the BET method. The total surface area was ~290 m2/g, and the outer surface area was 170 m2/g, the difference being attributed to the structural micropores of the sepiolite. The ratio of the surface areas possessed by the channels and that of the outer surface suggest that the mean thickness of the sepiolite fibre was ~12 nm. The effective size of the channels was estimated from the number of various-sized molecules sorbed by the sepiolite, the results showing that molecules larger than benzene could not migrate into the channels. -from Authors