Comparison of Methods for Determining Specific Surface Area of Soils
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 132, Issue 7
Abstract
The present study was undertaken to compare the capabilities of four of the known methods; more specifically, adsorption, methylene blue (MB)-titration, MB-spot test, and ethylene glycol monoethyl ether (EGME) methods were evaluated to determine the specific surface area (SSA) of 16 different clayey soils. The study showed that adsorption method underpredicts the SSA of soils, especially for smectitic soils. No significant differences were observed between SSA, MB SSA-titration, or MB-spot test for kaolinitic soils. The SSA estimates of MB-titration and MB-spot test methods were highly correlated for all soils. The EGME method has a very different procedure from the MB methods; however, it was highly correlated with MB methods . The adsorption method had no correlation to other methods. The cation exchange capacity of tested soils was highly correlated to the SSA, as high as . No unique relationship was determined between the clay fraction and SSA.
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Acknowledgments
Financial support for this project was provided by the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey, TUBITAK, (Grant No. ICTAG I-676). TUBITAK support is greatly appreciated. The writers also thank Dr. Mehmet S. Celik from Istanbul Technical University, for kindly allowing the use of the Quantochrome Monosorb Device for measurements of the surface areas.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 132 • Issue 7 • July 2006
Pages: 931 - 936
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Mar 10, 2005
Accepted: Jan 19, 2006
Published online: Jul 1, 2006
Published in print: Jul 2006
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