Atinyan A. Improvement of extracting technology of expanded vermiculite to reduce energy consumption.

Actuality of the researches of physical and chemical features of the process of vermiculite's distentions is connected on the one hand with the necessity of reducing energy consumption during its production, from the other hand - expanding the geography of the raw material base of the Ukrainian deposits. Dissertational work has been done on the basis of raw material deposits of Azov (Ukraine). The Research has shown that raw vermiculite consists of mica phlogopite and biotite series, with the heterogeneous consist due to the changes that have oc-curred as a result of natural weathering, the so-called vermiculation and partial hydration. It was concluded that in the process of swelling of vermiculite's raw only those minerals are involved that have completed the process of vermiculation and hydration in vivo. In the process of research has been modeled an artificial process of natural weathering and hydration by saturating the raw minerals with solutions KNО3. It has been established that in the process of saturation of a 1M solution KNО3 not only the hydration of the mineral happens, but also its total vermiculation with changing the parameters of the crystal lattice due to the replacement of magnesium ions to the potassium ions. Optimal firing was established experimentally with the temperature of 400°C.