The Amounts of Water Adsorbed to the Surface of Clay Minerals at the Plastic Limit

Abstract The paper presents results of a study on the amount of water associated with the solid phase of the clay water system at the plastic limit. Two model monomineral clays, namely kaolinite, and montmorillonite, were used in the study. The latter was obtained by gravitational sedimentation of Na-bentonite (Wyoming). The calculated mean number of water molecule layers on the external surface of montmorillonite was 14.4, and water in interlayer spaces constituted 0.3 of the water mass at the plastic limit. The number of water layers on the external surface of kaolinite particles was 63, which was related to the higher density of the surface electrical charge of kaolinite compared to that of montmorillonite. The calculations were made on the basis of the external surface area of clays and the basal spacing at the plastic limit measured by an X-ray diffraction test. The external surface area of clays was estimated by measuring sorption at a relative humidity p/p0 = 0.5.