Suitability of Some Selected Clay Deposit from Edo, Ogun, Ondo and Ekiti State of Nigeria for Ceramic Water Filters Production

Abstract

This study is designed to investigate the suitability of selected Nigeria clay deposit for clay based ceramic water filters (CWFs). Clay samples were taken from five randomly selected locations in Nigeria Namely: Okpella (Edo 1 ) and Ojirami (Edo 2 ) in Edo; Ikere in Ekiti state; FUTA in Ondo state and Onibode in Ogun to determine their suitability for clay based ceramic water filters (CWFs). Experimental analysis for linear shrinkage, water absorption, bulk density, compressive strength X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) was carried out on each of the clay samples. Test results reveal that all the clays contain high contents of alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) and silica (SiO 2 ) with minor contents of P 2 O 5 , Fe 2 O 3 , MgO, K 2 O, MnO and TiO 2 . The average crystal sizes of the clay were between 15 and 27 nm. Lattice structure indicates that the sample is Monoclinic and Anorthic. Ceramic water filters (CWFs) were made from a mixture of clay and sawdust at different volume ratios, and processed into test samples. Water absorption, linear shrinkage and compressive strength of the clay based ceramic filters (CWFs), reveal that as the volume ratio of sawdust increases these properties decrease. Flow rate analysis indicates that Edo and Ekiti ceramic water filters (CWFs) have higher flow rates. The research indicates that Edo and Ekiti Clay with specification of some industrial clays shows that the samples can be recommended for use in clay based ceramic water filters production.