Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Journal of Porous Materials https://doi.org/10.1007/s10934-020-00865-5 Impact of bentonite content on the structural, textural and mechanical properties of SBA‑15 mesoporous silica beads Moisés Cesario 1,2,3  · Julie Schobing 1,2,3  · Florian Bruder 1,2,3  · Sophie Dorge 1,3  · Habiba Nouali 2,3  · David Habermacher 1,3  · Pierre Kerdoncuf 4  · Matthieu Vierling 5  · Michel Moliere 6  · Jean‑François Brilhac 1,3  · Joël Patarin 2,3 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020 Abstract This work aims to evaluate the impact of bentonite content on the structural, textural and mechanical properties of SBA-15 beads prepared by shearing using an Eirich mixer. X-Ray Difraction analysis (XRD) of conventional and sheared SBA-15 powders and bentonite–containing beads confrms the attainment of hexagonal structure. According to the nitrogen adsorp- tion–desorption isotherms, the bentonite content has a signifcant impact on mesoporous volume. SBA-15 beads containing 9.1 wt% of bentonite (B-SBA-Be9), 16.7 wt% of bentonite (B-SBA-Be17) and 33.3 wt% of bentonite (B-SBA-Be33) showed an increase in mesoporous volume of 15, 25 and 20%, respectively. Indeed, the presence of the basic bentonite-water solu- tion during the preparation stage of the beads generates a chemical attack of the SBA-15 walls that leads to the increase in the mesopores size. Beads containing 16.7 wt% of bentonite present more promising result in relation to their good balance between textural properties and mechanical strength. Thus, this sample could be used for a future application as a catalyst support for desulfurization process. Therefore, these results confrm that porosity and mechanical resistance are strongly dependent on the bentonite content and beads preparation process, in comparison to literature data. Keywords SBA-15 beads · Bentonite · Mesopores size · Mechanical strength 1 Introduction The development of industries leads to an increasing air pollution caused by the presence of many gases and par- ticles in the fumes: fine particles, volatile organic com- pounds and acidifying gases. Among these atmospheric pollutants, sulfur oxides (SOx = SO 2 + SO 3 ) are mainly produced by fossil fuels combustion. Sulfur oxides cause many adverse effects on human health and environment [1–3]. Therefore, the research on new sources of reduc- tion of SO x gases emission is strongly encouraged. The conventional industrial flue gas desulfurization processes (dry or wet lime injection) currently implemented are energy-intensive and produce little or no recoverable waste. Considering the need of environment-friendly and energy saving industrial processes, the use of regenerable SO x adsorbents can be a very promising alternative [1, 4]. Several adsorbent materials have been studied [5–8], with particular attention to CuO-SBA-15 powders [ 1, 4, 9]. Copper (II) oxide exhibits good catalytic activity towards SO 2 oxidation and is able to chemisorb SO 3 as CuSO 4 . In addition, it has the ability to be regenerated by sim- ple heat treatment under a reducing flow at the process operating temperature of 400 °C [4]. SBA-15 mesoporous silica can be used as supports for this active CuO phase [ 9 – 11 ]. SBA-15 has cylindrical and uniform pores, ordered in a hexagonal structure, with pore diameter from * Sophie Dorge sophie.dorge@uha.fr 1 LGRE UR 2334, Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA), 3 bis rue Alfred Werner, Mulhouse 68093, France 2 IS2M UMR 7361, Axe MPC, CNRS, 3 bis rue Alfred Werner, Mulhouse 68093, France 3 Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France 4 ADEME, 20 avenue du Grésillé, BP 90406, Angers Cedex 01 49004, France 5 GE Energy, 20 avenue du Maréchal Juin, Belfort Cedex 90007, France 6 LERMPS, Université Technologique de Belfort-Montbéliard (UTBM), Site de Sévenans, Belfort Cedex 90010, France