Abstract
Bentonite from Kutch district, Gujarat State, India was activated using sulfuric acid as the activating agent. Investigations on acid activation optimization indicate that the main factors affecting the decolorizing capacity of the activated products are acid concentration (1N to 15N), temperature (65-85°C) and time of activation (1-15hrs). Optimum conditions were obtained by a variety of combination of these three factors. Surface area increased from 45m2/g (raw bentonite) to a maximum of 417m2/g surface area with acid treatment and optimum decolorizing capacity for Soya bean oil was generally found below this maximum. Studies were also carried out to correlate decolorizing capacity of the activated product with surface area, crystallinity and the removal of octahedral cations.
