Instrumental Characterization of Pretoria Clay Soil by XRF, XRD and SEM
- 1 Department of Applied Geology, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria
- 2 Institute of Nano Engineering Research, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa
- 3 Institute of Nano Engineering Research, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa
- 4 Department of Applied Geology, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria
Abstract
The products of refractory materials are used for lining furnace, incinerators and kilns among other uses and they have the potential of withstanding high temperature without deformation. The objective of the research was to charac-terize the clay soil sample collected from Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria. The sample, collected from a location Latitude 25.0969°S and Longi-tude 28.1624°E, was oven-dried, pulverized and sieved in the laboratory. Min-eralogical and elemental compositions of the sample were determined by using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analytical methods. The XRF analysis revealed Fe 2 O 3 , Al 2 O 3 and SiO 2 as the major constituents, while the other elements occur in minor quantities. Mineralogically, the three samples contain Montmorillonite, Kaolinite and Bentonite, while Samples A contained Quartz in addition to ear-lier mentioned minerals, samples B and C contained Albite.
- Ryan, W. (1978) Properties of Ceramic Raw Materials. 4th Edition, Pergamon Publishers Ltd., Oxford. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-022113-7.50004-6
- Chesti, A.R. (1986) Refractories: Manufacture, Properties and Applications. Prentice-Hall, New Delhi, 155.
- Abolarin, M.S., Olugboji, O.A. and Ugwuoke, I.C. (2004) Experimental Investigation on Local Refractory Materials for Furnace Construction. 5th Annual Engineering Conference, Minna, Nigeria, 82-85.
- Babalola, B.J., Folorunso, D.O., Bodunrin, M.O. and Balogun, O.P. (2014) Property Evaluation of Igbara-Odo Clay for Refractories. International Journal of Engineering and Technical Research (IJETR), 2, 79-82.
- Omowumi, O.J. (2001) Characterization of Some Nigeria Clays as Refractory Materials for Furnace Lining. Nigeria Journal of Engineering Management, No. 3, 1-4.
- Omotoyinbo, J.A. and Oluwole O.O. (2008) Working Properties of Some Selected Refractory Clay Deposits in South Western Nigeria. Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering, 7, 233-245. https://doi.org/10.4236/jmmce.2008.73018
- Heckroodt, R.O. (1991) Clay and Clay Materials in South Africa. Journal of South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 91, 343-363.
- Njoka, E.N., Ombaka, O., Gichumbi, J.M., Kibaara, D.I. and Nderi, O.M. (2015) Characterization of Clay from Tharaka Nithi County in Kenya for Industrial and Agricultural Applications. African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 9, 228-243. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJEST2014.1816
- Alkan, M., Demirbas, O., Celikcapa, S and Dogan, M. (2004) Sorption of Acid Red 57 from Aqueous Solution onto Sepiolite. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 116, 135-145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2004.08.003
- Mukherjee, S.K., Das, S.C. and Raman, K.V. (1971) In Review of Soil Research in India. Indian Society of Soil Science, New Delhi.
- Ghosh, S.K. and Kapoor, B.S. (1982) Soil Mineralogy, Review of Soil Research in India. Indian Society of Soil Science, New Delhi, 169-194.
- Chester, J.H. (1983) Refractoriness: Production and Properties. The Metal Society, London, UK, 492-510.
- Ralph, E. and Grim (1968) Clay Mineralogy. McGraw Hill Book Co., New York.