Abstract

The aim of the present paper was to evaluate the reactivity of two diatomites samples, representative of two distinct geological environments (Quiquel and Terao), localized in the Chilooe Island, southern Chile in the synthesis of the NaP-GIS zeolite. This zeolite crystallized with different morphologies from gels prepared from the diatomites. The analyzed gels had the following chemical composition: Na2O= 0.87; Al2O3= 1.0; SiO2= 8.7; BCTA= 0.87; H2O= 217.5. (The synthesis wrens carried out under hydrothermal conditions, at 110°C and autogenic pressure. The activation was done with NaOH in presence of cetiltrimetilamonium bromide (CTAB). The zeolite NaP-GIS crystals, synthesized from the Quiquel diatomite gel, are mainly bladed aggregated crystals and those crystallized from the Terao diatomite gel exhibit a triangular like morphology. The synthesized solids were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and characterized by scanning electron microscopy- energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS).