International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis 2015; 3(5-1): 10-16 Published online August 31, 2015 (http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/ijema) doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.s.2015030501.12 ISSN: 2328-7659 (Print); ISSN: 2328-7667 (Online) Characterization of Two Natural Clays and Their Application as Adsorbents for Treatment Process of Dye Effluents Fatma Larbi 1 , Ahmed Hamou 1 , Abdelaziz Bendraoua 2 , Nadia Ramdani 1 1 Laboratory for study of Environmental Sciences and Materials (LESEM), Department of Physics, University of Oran 1 Ahmed Ben Bella, El M’naouar, Oran, Algeria 2 Laboratory of Organic Synthesis, Physical Chemistry, Environment and Biomolecules (LSPBE), Department of Industrial Chemistry, University of Sciences and Technology of Oran Mohamed Boudiaf, El-Mnaouar, Oran, Algeria Email address: Fzia73@yahoo.fr (F. Larbi) To cite this article: Fatma Larbi, Ahmed Hamou, Abdelaziz Bendraoua, Nadia Ramdani. Characterization of Two Natural Clays and Their Application as Adsorbents for Treatment Process of Dye Effluents. International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis. Special Issue: New Horizons in Environmental Science. Vol. 3, No. 5-1, 2015, pp. 10-16. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.s.2015030501.12 Abstract: The aim of the present work is to explore and compare the adsorption capacity of two different clays for removal of textile dye from aqueous solutions. For this purpose, the adsorption of Green Remazole 6B; a reactive dye used in textile industry, was studied in batch mode. The clays used were provided from two different deposits in west of Algeria, one located in Ain-Témouchent (C46) and the other in the region of El Bayadh (C32). Before investigating the adsorption of textile dye, the clays were characterized by various techniques of analysis in order to study all the relevant features. The techniques used are: X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy (IR) and Chemical analysis. Chemical analysis and infrared spectroscopy (IR) show that clays are mainly constituted of alumina and silica in major quantities and other elements in minor quantities. XRD analysis shows that C46 is illite clay, contaning kaolinite, smectite and quartz. On the other hand, C32 is kaolinite clay with presence of illite, smectite, chlorite and quartz. To investigate the adsorption of the textile dye, clays have been previously modified by acid treatment with H 2 SO 4 and they were tested in their natural state and in their acid-activated form. Different adsorption tests concerning the contact time, the initial dye concentration and the pH were investigated by conducting a series of batch adsorption experiments at room temperature. The adsorption equilibrium data were analyzed by using Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms models. The results show that Acidic pH was favorable for adsorption of the dye and the Freundlich model agrees very well with experimental data. (C32) clay has the best removal power. Keywords: Clay, Textile Dye Effluents, Characterization, Adsorption, Reactive Dye 1. Introduction Water is one of the most important renewable natural resources for supporting life, at the same time invaluable, fragile and limited, which must be the object of coherent and rational management. But through its various uses, water is often polluted. For most industries, water is an important factor of production. Among these industries, the sector of textile represents one of the most consumers of water. Approximately 200 Liters of water are consumed for each kilogramme of textile [1]. In many countries where water resources are decreasing, this high water consumption became intolerable. In addition, textile industry produces highly polluted discharge water in large amounts from different steps in the dyeing and finishing processes and which are often rich in color which is not easily removed in treatment systems. The presence of dyes in wastewater is very harmful to aquatic life in rivers where they are discharged. Since, dye can reduce light penetration into the water thereby decreasing the efficiency of photosynthesis in aquatic plants and hence having adverse impact on their growth [2]. Dyes also can cause severe damage to human beings, such as dysfunction of kidney, reproductive systems, liver, brain and central nervous system [3]. Due to the complex chemical structure of these dyes, they are resistant to breakdown by chemical, physical and biological treatments. Furthermore, any degradation by