Absorptivity of Bentonite Clay

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Absorptivity of Bentonite Clay Final Project CHEM 112-501 Melissa Cisneros* Danielle Salo The purpose of this experiment was to test the absorptivity of Bentonite clay, charcoal, and another type of clay. Bentonite clay as well as charcoal can be used as a means of removing pollutants such as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) from water sources. Materials and Methods: Materials used in this experiment were 600 mL beaker, 250 mL Erlenmeyer flask, 50 mL graduated cylinder, ring stand and clamp, thermometer, hot plate, tongs, pipet, spatula, centrifuge tubes, a centrifuge, cuvettes, and a spectrophotometer. Chemicals used were FeCl3 Anhydrous, FeSO4-  7H2O, Bentonite clay, 2.5 M NaOH solution, and Procion Red MX-5. To make the clay, 250 mL of distilled water was heated in a 600 mL beaker to 70° to be used as a hot water bath for the Erlenmeyer flask. 40 mL of distilled water was added to the flask along with .80 g of FeCl3, .40 g of FeSO4-, and .30 g of Bentonite. Using tongs, the flask was stirred in the hot water bath to disperse the iron compounds and the clay. The flask was then taken out of the hot water bath and 20 mL of NaOH was added drop-wise. After it was properly cooled, the solution was equally distributed to four centrifuge tubes and centrifuged for 5 minutes. The supernatant was poured out and the leftover clay was suspended in distilled water, then it centrifuged again and the supernatant once again was disposed of. The clay in the four centrifuge tubes was removed and put in a large beaker that contained the rest of the class’s clay. The next week, 40 mg of the clay made by the class, 39.0 mg of Bentonite clay, and 40 mg of charcoal were each added to a centrifuge tube along with 15 mL of Procion Red dye and shaken. The tubes were centrifuged for 2 minutes, then taken out and transferred to cuvettes using a pipet. The

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