Study of the water-bentonite system by vapour adsorption, immersion calorimetry and X-ray techniques: I. Micropore volumes and internal surface areas, following Dubinin's theory

The adsorption and desorption of water, the layer spacing of the montmorillonite with increasing water content and the heat of immersion with water have been measured for a Na-bentonite and two Ca-bentonites. The bentonite-water system is treated in terms of a micropore-filling process. Uptake of water occurs in discrete stages as the montmorillonite structure expands and the internal surface is calculated from these discrete stages of water adsorption.