Mineralogical, Geochemical, and Industrial Applications of Residual Clays in Ilero and Ill

Abstract

Mineralogical, geochemical and industrial characterization of eleven residual clays collected from 3 weathered profiles of biotite granite (A), porphyritic granite (B) and granite (C) at Ilero and environ, southwestern Nigeria. The samples were subjected to X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fusion-Inductively Coupled Plasma (FUS-ICP) analysis to determine their mineralogy and elemental composition. Physical tests such as grain size analysis, plasticity, thermal characteristics, water absorption capacity (WAC) and linear shrinkage were also carried out to determine their industrial applications. XRD showed that quartz (20-46 wt.%), K-feldspar (45-58 wt.%), plagioclase (3-5 wt.%) and kaolinite (4-8 wt.%) are the dominant minerals in the clays, however, illite (10%) and heamatite (1%) were determined only in profile B. Elemental composition showed the following averages for major oxides in the clays to be SiO (60.73) > Al O (16.63) > Fe O (16.16) > K O (5.87) > TiO (1.22) > MgO (0.83) > Na O (0.58) > CaO (0.37) 2 2 3 2 3 2 2 2 > MnO (0.14) > P O (0.06). the grain size results showed that the clays are well graded and can be texturally 2 5 classified as sandy mud (Profile A and B) and mud (Profile C). The average plasticity indexes clays in Profiles A, B and C are 16.68%, 13.46%, and 23.82% respectively. WAC values are Profile A (avg. 3.71%), Profile B (avg. 4.45%) and Profile (avg. 5.8%). Linear shrinkage (%) ranged from 11% in clays from Profile A to 19.5% in Profile C. The compositional characteristics of clays from the study area show they can serve as suitable raw materials for building bricks and ceramic wares.

Publication Info:

Author: Adeola, A.J., Adeyemi, M.O. and Abayomi-Zannu, O. *

Volume: 60

Issue: March

Published By: Adeola, A.J., Adeyemi, M.O. and Abayomi-Zannu, O., 2024-03-01