Study on the Ion exchange of potassium,calcium and magnesium by alter-attapulgite

Attaplgite from jiang su province was used as row material and treated by calcine, acid, alkali, ammonium chloride and ammonium carbonate cleaning respectively to obtain alter-attapulgte. Then the ion exchange of potassium、calcium and magnesium by alter-attapulgite was investigated. In low solution concentration (0.05mol/L), iron exchange order of those ions by ammonium-alter-attapulgite was K⁺>Ca²⁺>Mg²⁺. The result suggested alter-attapulgite can be used to extract potassium from seawater.