Synthesis, Characterization and Utilization of Clay and Clay Composites: Knowledge in Practice, 2nd Edition
A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Clays and Engineered Mineral Materials".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 December 2025 | Viewed by 150
Special Issue Editors
Interests: material characterization; clay and clay composites; uses of clay materials; removal of pollutants from aqueous solutions; friction stir welding; laser metal deposition
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: water/wastewater treatment; process synthesis; process engineering; catalytic membrane reactor; chemical reaction engineering; advanced technologies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: solid waste solidification; adsorptive wastewater remediation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Clay materials are types of fine-grained natural soil materials containing minerals such as kaolinite, smectite, chlorite, and micas. It has been established that the knowledge of natural materials’ properties is of importance. This has led to their extensive use for numerous applications, including water/wastewater remediation (removal of pollutants), fabrication of construction materials (bricks and tiles), and the cosmetic industry (sunscreen). Therefore, it is warranted that the properties of natural clay materials from different geographic locations are investigated and presented. Furthermore, clay soils are abundant, consist of natural materials, and are sustainable. Their uses could provide sustainable ways/green techniques to produce numerous products for particular applications, ranging from water treatment to construction. Moreover, clay is used as a raw material and composite. When applied as the latter, clay is mixed with other materials—including generated waste from industries such as agriculture (e.g., palm kernel shell), mining (e.g., jarosite), and energy (e.g., fly ash)—to form composite materials. Clay composites can be applied in construction (i.e., bricks, roads); cosmetics (beauty products); ceramic/ceramic filters for water/wastewater treatment; and adsorption of hydrogen (H2) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Prediction techniques such as artificial intelligence (AI) have exhibited considerable success as a substitute method for data processing and analysis in numerous areas of science and engineering. These prediction techniques can be flexible and dynamic, and they have a high degree of tolerance for uncertainty, which makes them more attractive for handling complex problems. Thus, researchers need to carry out extensive research by using a large number of samples to predict the behavior of the numerous properties of clay and clay composites. This may lead to the use of various clay/clay composites in different industries, as mentioned above. The second edition of this Special Issue covers the characteristics of clay, clay composite materials, and their utilization. Manuscripts covering the synthesis, characterization, and use of clay and clay composite materials as well as studies on the use of prediction techniques are welcome.
Dr. Mukuna Patrick Mubiayi
Prof. Dr. Adolph Anga Muleja
Dr. Thabo Falayi
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- clay and clay minerals
- composite materials
- removal of pollutants
- toxic elements
- physicochemical properties
- geochemical characteristics
- clay/waste composite materials
- ceramics
- cosmetics
- construction materials
- prediction techniques
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