Use of Clays as Filters

Filtering is the screening processes for removal of contaminants present in a bulk sample. Due to its adsorption properties and large smface area, clays have enormous use as filters, th the addition of suitable organic substances, the adsorption properties can be altered. Such synthetically produced clays are called inorgano-organo clays. To remove pollutants these clays have wide applications, some of them are described below. 

To purify water, use of clay pots is a very well known old process. With time, variation of filtering materials and methods have been developed as needed. This purification process of water varies according to the scale of purification and also the amoimt and type of contaminants present e.g. the water purification for household need is quite different from the waste water purification processes or removal of oils and fat or colour contaminants. The purification of waste water from various industries is an acute problem. To tackle such widely varied problems, clays with a combination of suitable oiganic compounds were synthetically developed to alter the filtering properties and processes as needed. 

---