Porosity Investigation of Kosovaʹs Clay

Problem statement: Acid activated clay minerals are used as catalysts in the desulphurization of crude oil or as catalyst carrier, drilling mud, bleaching earth. Approach: The efficiency of the acid activation can be described in two ways. As increase of the surface and as increase of the cumulative pore volume after the activation. Results: In different samples of the clay mineral the activation was done with different sulfuric acid concentrations for two and 3h. Afterwards the specific surface was measured by means of nitrogen adsorption. All the measured isotherms belong to the pseudo-two kind. After the activation the surface enhanced from around 100-180 m2 g-1. The mesopore distribution was calculated out of the hysteresis between adsorption-desorption isotherms of the nitrogen. Conclusion: It is shown that the activation increases significantly the amount of mesopores which is reflected in the cumulative volume. The macrospore volume of the clay samples were measured by means of mercury intrusion porosimetry for pore sizes up to 320 nm. The volume of the macrospores results to an increase up to two times after the activation. The cumulative volume of all the pores is shown like a good parameter of the efficiency of the acid activation. The measurements were fulfilled in the newly equipped laboratory of the surface characterizations of the Tirana University. These analyses are of big interest for the industry in Albania and Kosove.