Hostname: page-component-5db58dd55d-ggg9q Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-06-04T17:32:12.575Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Microwave Exfoliation of Vermiculite and Phlogopite

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Abdullah Obut
Affiliation:
Hacettepe University, Mining Engineering Department, 06532, Beytepe, Ankara, Turkey
İsmail Girgin*
Affiliation:
Hacettepe University, Mining Engineering Department, 06532, Beytepe, Ankara, Turkey
Abdülkerim Yörükoǵlu
Affiliation:
Mineral Research and Exploration General Directorate, 06520 Ankara, Turkey
*
*E-mail address of corresponding author: girgin@hacettepe.edu.tr

Abstract

Vermiculites and phlogopites can be exfoliated by chemical and thermal treatment methods to obtain chemically inert, adsorbent, fire-resistant, low-density materials with excellent thermal and acoustic insulation properties. The water content of the clay generally determines the extent of exfoliation and the presence of interstratification is claimed to increase the rate of exfoliation. Considering the strong interaction between water and microwaves, the effect of microwave power on exfoliation characteristics of vermiculites and phlogopites after treatment with water and hydrogen peroxide solution were studied at 600, 950 and 1300 W for microwave exposure times of 10, 20, 30, 60, 120 and 300 s. It was observed that the water molecules in the interlayers of the individual flakes were driven off quickly by microwave treatment causing layer separation in the samples. The vermiculite sample showed 2.8 and 5.6 times, respectively, the exfoliation ratio of the phlogopite samples, in accord with their water contents.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © 2003, The Clay Minerals Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable