Identification and Assessment of Natural Sodium Bentonite

Disordered application of bentonite in the waterproof projects has caused irreparable damage to the economic and environmental for the shortage of significant identification methods of natural sodium bentonite. Considering the complex domestic situation of bentonite using, 3 types of natural sodium bentonite and 6 types of bentonite materials in geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) in the market were studied and compared in this research to address means for identification and assessment of natural sodium bentonite. Against the potential modification of bentonite, various ways of characterization were applied in this study, including fluorescence analysis, X-ray- diffraction (XRD), and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), as well as the tests of retention rate of swelling index, Na+, K+ and Ca2+, Mg2+ ion content measurement, pH value, DSC, anion measurement, et.al. It was found that a series of parameters and corresponding indicators, which were confirmed to discriminate the applied modification means on the bentonite, could be used for the identification and assessment of natural sodium bentonite by mutual testifying the different parameters.