Abstract:
Activation of Maredan clay was carried out to release impurities from the lattice structure of the
clay to increase the content of silica and alumina, thereby increasing the chances of conversion
Maredan clay into zeolite. In this research, the synthesis of zeolite was initiated by the activation
process of Maredan natural clay using 1 M H2SO4 and calcination for 3 hours at 650oC. In the
zeolite synthesis stage, the post-calcination clay was mixed into 5 M NaOH solution for the aging
process with stirring at 300 rpm for 5 hours at 80°C followed by a reflux process at 100°C for 8
hours, then filtered. Synthesized zeolite, post-activated Maredan clay, and natural clay were
analyzed using XRF instruments. The results obtained were that the Fe content in Maredan clay
decreased from 8.53% to 6.55% as well as increased Si from 11.5% to 15.6% and Al from 7.19%
to 9.07%, respectively. Simultaneously there was an increase in the Si/Al ratio from 1.519 for
natural clay to 1.583 after it became a zeolite.
