SINTERING BEHAVIOR OF SEPIOLITE

Sepiolite containing minerals from various regions of Turkey were proc essed to investigate their sintering behaviour over a wide temperature range. The sintering was studied by mercury porosimetry and nitrogen adsorption (BET). Microstructural features were investigated using SEM and TEM techniques. Physico-chemical and microstructural characteriza tion of the sintered ceramic bodies demonstrated unusual pore structur e (mean pore size of 0.02 micron within the range of 0.015-1.0 micron) retained even at temperatures as high as 1000 degrees C. A low linear shrinkage of 7.28% at 1100 degrees C indicates the potential promisin g applications in the field of filtering, molecular sieving and adsorp tion at higher temperatures. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Limited and Tec hna S.r.l.