Synthesis of kaolinite by homogeneous precipitation at room temperature

Abstract

A method of precipitation in homogenous solution has been used for the synthesis of kaolin minerals at room temperature. The method consists essentially in producing conditions for which a sufficiently slow rate of precipitation is maintained. In the particular case described in this paper, the conditions for homogenous precipitation are obtained by addition of an anion exchange resin in the OH form to an acidic solution (pH ≈ 4) of sodium silicate and aluminium chloride or acetate.The mineral species synthesized in each particular case depend on the kind of anions present in the original solution (chloride or acetate) and also on the nature of the exchange resin used.