Citation
Costafreda Mustelier, Jorge Luis and Martín Sanchez, Domingo Alfonso and Calvo Pérez, Benjamín and Gómez Hortigüela, Luis and Pérez Pariente, Joaquín and Díaz, Isabel and Gabaldón Castillo, Felipe
(2014).
Mordenite from Spain and its application as pozzolana.
In: "ZEOLITE 2014 9th International Conference on the Occurrence, Properties and Utilization of Natural Zeolites", 8-13 de junio de 2014, Belgrade, Serbia. ISBN 978-86-82867-26-5.
Abstract
In Spain, natural zeolites have been only found in the volcanic areas of Canary Islands (San Gil, M.M., 1959). However, several years ago the study of the South Eastern region of continental Spain (Cabo de Gata) revealed the presence of a deposit of mordenite being industrially commercialized as bentonite. The deposit San José-Los Escullos is located in the concession registered as Los Murcianos, managed by Bentonitas Especiales, S.A. (BENESA) who was extracting bentonite while ignoring the presence of the zeolite. The name San José-Los Escullos refers to the discovery of mordenite in this deposit. The deposit is located in a volcanic area, constituted by pyroxenic andesites, breccias, tuffs, pyroclasts with andesitic and dacitic composition, largely altered by the hydrothermal solutions. The recent discovery of this zeolite with mordenite content up to 97%, has changed the initial vision about that deposit, and new possible uses of this mineral in the pozzolanic cement industry are foreseen. This work intends to give preliminary data on the characterization of this zeolite according to X-ray diffraction (XRD), ICP analyses, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), as well as to emphasize the pozzolanic properties of this material, using both chemical and mechanical tests.
