Medical Hydrology and Balneology: Environmental Aspects

Balnea
2012, núm. 6, 402-403
Medical Hydrology and Balneology: Environmental Aspects
presence on sulphur in the maturated muds. The sulphur content was determined by
chemical analysis and the heat transfer was analyzed by Differential scanning
calorimetry.
Results
maturation times evaluated were those detailed in Table 1.
Table 1 shows the name and maturation time of the different samples analyzed.
Sample EE0 EE1 EE2 EE3 EE4 EE5 EE6
Time of matura-
tion, month 0 0,5 1 2 3 4 9
Sulphur incorporation increase with maturation time, and the maximum value
was reached to 4 months after starting the process. This sulphur content represent
around 2% of the dry material. Thermograms show, at the same time, the presence
of sulphur, with their corresponding melting and autoignition points, at temperatures
of 115 and 240º C, respectively. The DRX diagrams indicated the presence of
sulfur specifically in the sample EE 5.
Previous studies showed that the best properties of the maturated muds in relation
to Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit, Plastic Index, Cationic Exchange Capacity,
Specific surface, cooling kinetics, agglomeration and cementation were achieved
between the 3 and 4 month of the beginning of the process. These aditional studies
showed that sulphur incorporated are considerably better for the EE5 material.
Conclusions
The global study showed that the maturation process of muds can be produced,
in a period of four months, a material with very good properties for therapeutic use
Keywords: Thermal Muds: Maturation: Copahue: Sulphur
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