The original crystalline structure of clay minerals can be altered in a controlled way, through acid or thermal treatments, resulting then in suitable products to be used as catalysts. This paper aims to characterize the red smectite clays of Boa-Vista, Paraíba (Brazil) in their natural form, and after chemical, thermal and acid treatments by X-ray fluorescence, differential thermal analysis, dynamic X-ray diffraction, classic X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption and model reaction. The results show that acid treatment partially altered the structure of the montimorillonite. An important increase in the surface area of the solid obtained was observed. The obtained reaction for the treated material showed that the clay was more acid than the natural one, yielding a better catalytic activity.
catalyst; smectite; chemical treatment; thermal treatment
