Open AccessPHYSICOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND MINERALOGICAL EVALUATION OF IRE-EKITI CLAY DEPOSIT IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA
Author(s) -
Adekeye Damilola,
Popoola Olugbenga,
Ibigbami Olayinka,
A Bowring Samuel,
Olatoye Rauf,
Olumide Abisola,
Adedotun Ifeoluwa
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
international journal of engineering applied science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2455-2143
DOI - 10.33564/ijeast.2019.v04i08.014
Subject(s) - characterization (materials science) , geology , geochemistry , mining engineering , materials science , nanotechnology
---Mineralogical evaluation of clay involves the study of clay in terms of their chemical and physical properties. This is done either to identify the type of clay been evaluated or its mineral contents. The present study investigated the physicochemical properties and evaluated the major mineral content of Ire-Ekiti clay. The mineralogical evaluation of the clay and physicochemical characterization of the clay include determination of particle size distribution, surface morphology, pH, moisture content, chemical composition, elemental composition, functional group elucidation, cation exchange capacity, soil organic matter, bulk density and moisture content. Result of the chemical composition determined by the XRF showed that silica (SiO2) and alumina (Al2O3) are the major chemical components of the clay with percentage composition of 58.65 and 23.55% respectively which is a major property of kaolin. In support of the XRF, the PIXE showed that Al (254444 ppm) and Si (568138 ppm) are the most abundant elements of the clay. The EDX together with the FTIR showed that the metallic constituents of the clay exist in their oxide form which is consistent to the result of the XRF. This study therefore showed that the clay is typically kaolin having kaolinite as its major mineral content.