Hydrogen adsorption on natural and sulphuric acid treated sepiolite and bentonite

Abstract In this study, hydrogen (H 2 ) adsorption on sepiolite and bentonite and those of acid treated forms were studied at 77 K using volumetric apparatus up to 100 kPa. Both clay minerals were treated with 100 ml of 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 M H 2 SO 4 solutions at 80 °C for 5 h. Differences in the structures of the sepiolite and bentonite samples before and after the acid treatments were determined by XRD, XRF, TG, DTA and N 2 adsorption methods. The level of H 2 adsorption of original and acid treated sepiolite samples (1.332–2.252 mmol/g) was higher than those of the bentonite samples (0.341–1.003 mmol/g). The variation in the H 2 adsorption capacities during the acid treatment was also discussed.