REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON REPUBLIC DU CAMEROUN

PEACE-WORK-FATHERLAND PAIX-TRAVAIL-PATRIE

MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION MINISTERE DE L’ENSEIGNEMENT SUPERIEUR

UNIVERSITY OF BAMENDA UNIVERSITE DE BAMENDA

P.O BOX 39, BAMBILI B.P 39, BAMBILI

NATIONAL HIGHER POLYTECHNIC ECOLE NATIONAL SUPERIEURE

INSTITUTE POLYTECHNIQUE

(SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING) (ECOLE D’INGENIEURS)

DEPARTMENT OF MINING AND MINERAL DEPARTEMENT DES MINES ET DU GENIE

ENGINEERING
MINIER

Clay Minerals & Introduction to

Material Science
MINE2111

Course Master: Dr. AZINWI Primus

Course Instructor: Engr. ZOUM FON Alain

 CHAPTER 0

0.1. Review of some terminologies

Mineral: A mineral is a natural occurring inorganic compound with distinct chemical 1.
composition that form the building blocks of rocks.
Rocks: Rocks are naturally occurring materials or solid aggregates consisting of one or more
minerals.
Clay Minerals: They are phyllosilicate minerals that have grain size < 2 µm. clay minerals are
particles less than 2 microns, compose of Aluminosilicate arrange in sheets or layers and are derive
from primary minerals (i.e. weathering of primary minerals). Hence they are considered as
secondary minerals
Weathering:
It is the breakdown and decomposition of rocks and minerals when exposed to atmospheric agents.
It is the physical breakdown and/or chemical alteration of rocks at or near the Earth's surface.
Erosion is the physical removal of material by mobile agents such as water, wind or ice.
Mass Wasting it involves the transfer of rocks and soil downslope under the influence of gravity.
Weathering occurs as a result of response of rocks to a changing environment. For example, some
rocks form under conditions at high pressures and temperatures. At the Earth's surface they are not
as stable as the conditions under which they were formed, in response to the environmental change,
they gradually weather (transform to more stable minerals).
Types of Weathering
There are two principal types of weathering: physical/mechanical weathering & Chemical
weathering
1. Physical or Mechanical weathering
Involves physical forces that break rock into smaller and smaller pieces without changing the
rock's mineral composition (same minerals).
Four physical processes lead to physical weathering: Frost action, Overlying pressure, Thermal
Expansion, Biologic Activity.
NB: Erosional agents (water, wind & ice) may also result in physical weathering by "breaking
rocks” during the transport of sediment .
 Frost Action: It is caused by repeated cycles of freezing and thawing. Water has the unique
property of expanding (~9%) when it freezes. it works its way into cracks in rock, and upon
 freezing, expands and enlarges these openings. After many freeze and thaw cycles, the rock
is broken into angular fragments as shown in the picture below.

Frost action is most prevalent in mountainous regions where there is a daily freeze-thaw cycle. It
is frost wedging that causes potholes in roads during the winter.

 Overlying pressure: it is a phenomenal were the rocks overlying other rocks generates
pressure on the rocks beneath it as results of their unit weight and gravity thus leading to
weathering.
 Thermal Expansion: weathering process occurs where daily thermal expansion and
contraction of individual minerals can exert destructive forces on the cohesion of a rock.
This is especially true in desert environments where the change in temperature during the
day may be as great as 30°C. This mechanism is probably the least effective of all the
weathering processes.
 Biological activity can cause rocks to be broken into smaller pieces. This type of physical
weathering can be accomplished by organisms such as trees and burrowing animals. For
example, plant roots can grow into fractures, and as they grow larger, they wedge the rock
apart.

The primary agents of erosion (water, wind and ice) may also contribute to the physical weathering
of rocks.
  Water may transport rocks, knocking them together and breaking them into small pieces.
Commonly, rocks found in streams are rounded by physical weathering while being
transported by water.
 Ice (glaciers) grinds rock as glaciers move across the surface of the Earth. Rock flour is
produced by the grinding action of glaciers where the rock is pulverized into a fine dust.
 Wind may blow particles such as sand that can abrade rocks.
NB: Physical (mechanical) weathering increases the surface area available for chemical
weathering. Increased surface area usually results in more rapid chemical reactions (chemical
weathering).
2. Chemical weathering
Involves a chemical transformation of rock into one or more new compounds. Chemical
weathering is a chemical process that breaks down minerals. Chemical weathering involves the
transformation of the original minerals into new minerals that are stable at surface conditions.
Chemical weathering also involves putting mineral components into solution - dissolution in water.
Water is the most important agent in the three different processes of chemical weathering:
Dissolution, Oxidation, Hydrolysis.
 Dissolution is a process where a solid dissolve into a solvent such as water forming a
solution. Water molecules are polar (bent shape) - oxygen end has slight negative charge
and hydrogen atoms have slight positive charge.

Pure water acts as a solvent, however the presence of even a small amount of acid in water
dramatically increases the corrosive force of water. Carbonic acid is produced when
atmospheric CO2 dissolves in rainwater and surface waters

H2O + CO2 → H2CO3 (H+ + HCO3 -)

 Oxidation is a chemical process that is responsible for rust forming from iron.
4Fe + 3O2 → 2Fe2O3
The oxidation of iron is greatly accelerated in water.

 Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction involving the breaking of a bond in a molecule using

water. As an example, feldspars chemically alter (hydrolysis) to form clay minerals such
as kaolinite. Typically, natural waters contained some dissolved ions that accelerate the
hydrolysis of minerals.
Clay minerals are the end products of weathering of many silicate minerals (such as
feldspar) and are very stable under surface conditions.
Quartz, unlike many other minerals, is particularly resistant to weathering, that is why it
tends to accumulate on beaches and sand dunes since everything else has weathered away.
The figure below shows example of Quartz
 CHAPTER 1

1.1. Overview of Material Science

Engineering materials constitute foundation of technology. Thus an understanding of their
properties become important. The combination of physics, chemistry, and the focus on the
relationship between the properties of a material and its microstructure is the domain of Materials
Science. Important components of the subject Materials Science are structure, properties,
processing, and performance.

All engineers need to know about materials. Innovation in engineering often means the clever use
of a new material for a specific application. For example: plastic containers in place of age-old
metallic containers. It is on record that engineering disasters are frequently caused by the misuse
of materials. So it is vital that the professional engineer should know how to select materials which
best fit the demands of the design, economic and aesthetic (beauty) demands, as well as
demands of strength and durability. Hence engineer should be able:

 To select a material for a given use based on considerations of cost and performance.
 To understand the limits of materials and the change of their properties with use.
 To create a new material that will have some desirable properties.
 To use the material for different application.

Classification of materials
Materials can be classified based on many criteria, for example crystal structure (arrangement of
atoms and bonds between them), or properties, or use.
The main classes of engineering materials are;
 Metals
 Polymers
 Composites
 Semiconductors
 Biomaterials
 Ceramics
NOTE: In this course Clay Minerals & introduction to materials science, emphasis will be laid on
the CERAMIC class of engineering materials.
1.2. Introduction to Ceramic materials
Ceramics are classified as inorganic and nonmetallic materials that are essential to our daily
lifestyle. A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid material comprising metal, nonmetal or
metalloid atoms primarily held in ionic and covalent bonds.
Ceramic and materials engineers are the people who design the processes in which these products
can be made, create new types of ceramic products, and find different uses for ceramic products
in everyday life.
Ceramics are all around us. This category of materials includes things like tile, bricks, plates, glass,
and toilets. Ceramics can be found in products like watches (quartz tuning forks-the time keeping
devices in watches), snow skies (piezoelectric-ceramics that stress when a voltage is applied to
them), automobiles (sparkplugs and ceramic engine parts found in racecars), and phone lines. They
can also be found on space shuttles, appliances (enamel coatings), and airplanes (nose cones).
Depending on their method of formation, ceramics can be dense or lightweight. Typically, they
will demonstrate excellent strength and hardness properties; however, they are often brittle in
nature. Ceramics can also be formed to serve as electrically conductive materials, objects allowing
electricity to pass through their mass, or insulators, materials preventing the flow of electricity.
Some ceramics, like superconductors, also display magnetic properties.
Origin & History of Ceramics
The word "ceramic comes from the Greek word (keramikos), "of pottery" or "for pottery" from
(keramos), "potter's clay, tile, pottery". The earliest known mention of the root "ceram-" is the
Mycenaean Greek ke-ra-me-we, "workers of ceramics", written in Linear B syllabic script. The
word "ceramic" may be used as an adjective to describe a material, product or process, or it may
be used as a noun, either singular, or, more commonly, as the plural noun "ceramics". The earliest
ceramics made by humans were pottery objects, including 27,000-year-old figurines, made from
clay, either by itself or mixed with other materials like silica, hardened, sintered, in fire. Later
ceramics were glazed and fired to create smooth, colored surfaces, decreasing porosity through the
use of glassy, amorphous ceramic coatings on top of the crystalline ceramic substrates. Ceramics
now include domestic, industrial and building products, as well as a wide range of ceramic art. In
the 20th century, new ceramic materials were developed for use in advanced ceramic engineering,
such as in semiconductor
Properties of Ceramics
The properties of ceramic materials, like all materials, are dictated by the types of atoms present,
the types of bonding between the atoms, and the way the atoms are packed together. This is known
as the atomic scale structure. Most ceramics are made up of two or more elements, this is called a
compound. For example, alumina (Al2O3), is a compound made up of aluminum atoms and oxygen
atoms. The atoms in ceramic materials are held together by a chemical bond. The two most
common chemical bonds for ceramic materials are covalent and ionic. For metals, the chemical
bond is called the metallic bond. The bonding of atoms together is much stronger in covalent and
ionic bonding than in metallic. That is why, generally speaking, metals are ductile and ceramics
are brittle. Due to ceramic materials wide range of properties, they are used for a multitude of
applications. In general, most ceramics are:
 High hardness
 Wear-resistant
 Brittleness
 Refractory
 Thermal insulators
 Electrical insulators
 Nonmagnetic
 Chemically stable.
 High temperature stability
 High mechanical strength
Base on engineering application, ceramics are classified into two main groups:
 Traditional ceramics: consisting mostly of clay, feldspar and silica
 Engineering ceramics: consisting of highly purified Aluminum oxide, Silicon carbide and
silicon nitride
For convenience, ceramic products are usually divided into four sectors; these are shown below
with some examples:
 Structural, including bricks, pipes, floor and roof tiles
 Refractories, such as kiln linings, gas fire radiant, steel and glass making crucibles
 White wares, including tableware, cookware, wall tiles, pottery products and sanitary ware
 Technical, also known as engineering, advanced, special, and fine ceramics. Such items include:
gas burner nozzles, nuclear fuel uranium oxide pellets, biomedical implants, coatings of jet engine
turbine blades, ceramic disk brake.
Clay is a natural material created by weathered rocks. It is soft and will permanently hardened if
baked at high temperatures, making it a practical material for making pottery products. The are 3
main types of pottery;
 Earthenware is clay fired at relatively low temperature between 1000 to 1150 degrees. This
results in a brittle material which is slightly porous (small holes through which air or water
can go through), therefore cannot be used to contain water. To remedy, a glaze is used to
cover the object before it is fired in the kiln.

 Stoneware is made from a particular clay which is fired at higher temperature of 1200
degrees. This results in a more durable material with a denser stone like quality. The
finished product will be waterproof and unlike earthenware does not need to be glazed.
  Porcelain comes from a refined clay which is fired at very high temperatures approximately
1200 – 1450 degrees. The result is an extremely hard, shiny material and translucent
material.

Ceramic Processing
Ceramic processing is used to produce commercial products that are very diverse in size, shape,
detail, complexity, and material composition, structure, and cost. The purpose of ceramics
processing to an applied science is the natural result of an increasing ability to refine, develop, and
characterize ceramic materials. Ceramics are typically produced by the application of heat upon
processed clays and other natural raw materials to form a rigid product. Ceramic products that use
naturally occurring rocks and minerals as a starting material must undergo special processing in
order to control purity, particle size, particle size distribution, and heterogeneity. These attributes
play a big role in the final properties of the finished ceramic. Chemically prepared powders also
are used as starting materials for some ceramic products. These synthetic materials can be
controlled to produce powders with precise chemical compositions and particle size.
The next step is to form the ceramic particles into a desired shape. This is accomplished by the
addition of water and/or additives such as binders, followed by a shape forming process. Some of
the most common forming methods for ceramics include extrusion, slip casting, pressing, tape
casting and injection molding. After the particles are formed, these "green" ceramics undergo a
heat-treatment (called firing or sintering) to produce a rigid, finished product. Some ceramic
products such as electrical insulators, dinnerware and tile may then undergo a glazing process.
Some ceramics for advanced applications may undergo a machining and/or polishing step in order
meet specific engineering design criteria.
Ceramic sintering is part of the firing process used in the manufacture of pottery and other ceramic
objects. These objects are made from substances such as glass, alumina, zirconia, silica, magnesia,
lime, beryllium oxide, and ferric oxide. Some ceramic raw materials have a lower affinity for water
and a lower plasticity index than clay, requiring organic additives in the stages before sintering.
The general procedure of creating ceramic objects via sintering of powders includes:
 Mixing water, binder and unfired ceramic powder to form a slurry;
 Spray-drying the slurry;
 Putting the spray dried powder into a mold and pressing it to form a green body (an
unsintered ceramic item);
 Heating the green body at low temperature to burn off the binder;
 Sintering at a high temperature to fuse the ceramic particles together.
Typical ceramic processing Flow Diagram (Crystalline Ceramics)

Raw materials procurement

Powder synthesis (Beneficiation and purification)

Casting, Extrusion, compaction (Green components)

Firing / sintering
Flow Diagram for Ceramic Glass Processing (Noncrystalline ceramics)

Raw material procurement

Melting at elevated temperature

Pressing, Blowing, Drawing

NOTE: The melt is then process by different routes to form different products;

 Pressing: To form shapes like plate and dishes.

 Blowing: To produced objects like jars, light bulbs and bottles.
 Drawing: To form objects like rods and tubes.
 CHAPTER 2
Clay minerals refers to a group of hydrous aluminosilicates that predominate the clay-sized (< 2
microns) fraction of soils. These minerals are similar in chemical and structural composition to the
primary minerals that originate from the Earth's crust; however, transformations in the geometric
arrangement of atoms and ions within their structures occur due to weathering. Primary minerals
form at elevated temperatures and pressures, and are usually derived from igneous or metamorphic
rocks. Inside the Earth these minerals are relatively stable, but transformations may occur once
exposed to the ambient conditions of the Earth's surface. Although some of the most resistant
primary minerals (quartz, micas, and some feldspars) may persist in soils, other less resistant
minerals (pyroxenes, amphiboles, and a host of accessory minerals) are prone to breakdown and
weathering, thus forming secondary minerals. The resultant secondary minerals are the
culmination of either alteration of the primary mineral structure or neoformation (new formation)
through precipitation or recrystallization of dissolved constituents into a more stable structure.
These secondary minerals are often referred to as phyllosilicates because, as the name implies
(Greek: phyllon, leaf), they exhibit a platy or flaky habit, while one of their fundamental structural
units is an extended sheet of SiO4 tetrahedral.

Used by man since prehistoric times, clay has always been an important industrial commodity s
Because of its many types and the many commercial uses for them.

Structure of Clay minerals

The properties that determine the composition of a mineral are derived from its chemical
foundation, geometric arrangement of atoms and ions, and the electrical forces that bind them
together.
Tetrahedral coordination
We speak of the silicon as having tetrahedral coordination because the four oxygen atoms are
placed at the corners of a regular tetrahedron with the silicon at its center, the oxygen atoms are
larger than the silicon atom which is effectively "buried" within the tetrahedron; reactions with
other ions result from the free valences of the oxygen atoms at its corners,
The figure below shows the silicon tetrahedron shape.
 Octahedral coordination
Aluminum ions tend to surround themselves with six oxygen and/or hydroxyl ions, and we call
this octahedral coordination because the ions are disposed at the six corners of a regular
octahedron , This nomenclature is initially confusing because one might think "octahedral" refers
to eight atoms; an octahedron, however, has eight sides but only six corners.
The figure below shows the aluminum octahedron shape.

Isomorphous substitution
The structural arrangement of the elements described above forms the template for the silicate clay
minerals. However, the composition varies frequently due to substitution of ions within the mineral
structure. Weathering allows for the substitution of Si4+, Al3+, and Mg2+ with cations with
comparable ionic radii in their respective tetrahedral and octahedral sheets. Consequently, Si4+
may be replaced by Al3+ in the center of the tetrahedron without changing the basic structure of
the crystal. Moreover, cations such as Fe3+/2+ and Zn2+ (ionic radius = 0.074 nm) may replace Al3+
and Mg2+ in the octahedral. The process of replacing one structural cation for another of similar
size is referred to as isomorphous substitution, “iso (equal or same)” and “morphous (Size)”. This
replacement represents the primary source of both negative and positive charges in clay minerals.
For example, the substitution of one Al3+ for a Si4+ in the tetrahedron results in a gain of one
negative charge. Alternatively, replacement of a lower valence cation by one with a higher valence
(Fe2+ by Fe3+) results in a gain of one positive charge.
The extent of this isomorphous replacement of ions is extremely important because it determines
the surface properties of the minerals and it accounts for the large and bewildering variety of clay,
and other layer type silicate minerals, the extent of this replacement by "foreign" ions probably
depends upon many factors, but certainly an important one is the chemical composition of the
parent rock (if no iron is present, for example, then there would be no replacement by Fe3+ ions).

Whenever a cation replaces another of a different valence, a residual electric charge remains in
the mineral. For example, when Al3+ replaces Si4+ in the tetrahedral coordination, or Mg2+
replaces Al3+ in octahedral coordination, there is a deficiency of positive charges, and the
mineral particle is left with a net negative charge. As this type of replacement appears to be the
most common, most of these minerals have a "built-in it negative electric charge , Cations (Na+,
H+, Mg2+ etc.) are attracted by these negative charges and cling at or near the surface of the sheet
in sufficient quantity to make the particle electrically neutral.
Clay minerals group
There are three main groups of clay minerals base on mineralogy:
Kaolinite formed by the decomposition of orthoclase feldspar (e.g. in granite); kaolin is the
principal constituent in china clay.
Illite formed by the decomposition of some micas and feldspars; predominant in marine clays
and shales.
Smectites or montmorillonites - also includes bentonite; formed by the alteration of mafic
igneous rocks rich in Ca and Mg; weak linkage by cations (e.g. Na+, Ca++) results in high
swelling/shrinking potential.
 1. Kaolinite (Kaoline clay)
Kaolinite clays have long been used in the ceramic industry, especially in fine porcelains, because
they can be easily molded, have a fine texture, and are white when fired.
Kaolinite is the purest of clays, meaning that it varies little in composition. It also does not absorb
water and does not expand when it comes in contact with water. Thus, kaolinite is the preferred
type of clay for the ceramic industry.
They have the chemical formula Al2Si2O5(OH)2.

The kaolinite mineral is a two-layer clay arrange in 1:1 phyllosilicate layer (Te - Oc)

The layers are arrange consisting of Silicon Tetrahedron and Aluminum Octahedron in a 1:1
ratio.

Rocks rich in feldspar commonly weather to form kaolinite.

Figure 1: Example of kaolinite

 2. Illite
The Illite clays have a structure similar to that of muscovite, but is typically deficient in alkalis,
with less Al substitution for Si. Thus, the general formula for the illites is: KyAl4(Si8-y, Aly)
O20(OH)4, usually with 1 < y < 1.5, but always with y < 2. Because of possible charge imbalance,
Ca and Mg can also sometimes substitute for K. The K, Ca, or Mg interlayer cations prevent the
entrance of H2O into the structure. Thus, the illite clays are non-expanding clays.
Illite type clays are formed from weathering of K and Al rich rocks under high pH conditions.
Thus, they form by alteration of minerals like muscovite and feldspar. Illite clays are the main
constituent of shales.
The Illite mineral is a three-layer clay arrange in 2:1 phyllosilicate layer (Te – Oc - Te)

The layers are arrange consisting of Silicon Tetrahedron and Aluminum Octahedron in a 2:1
ratio.

Figure 2: Example of Illite

 3. Montmorillonite/ Smectite (Bentonite clay)
Montmorillonite or smectite is family of expansible 2:1 phyllosilicate clays having permanent
layer charge because of the isomorphous substitution in either the octahedral sheet (typically from
the substitution of low charge species such as Mg2+, Fe2+, or Mn2+ for Al3+)
Montmorillonite is the main constituent of bentonite, derived by weathering of volcanic ash.
Montmorillonite can expand by several times its original volume when it comes in contact with
water. This makes it useful as a drilling mud (to keep drill holes open), and to plug leaks in soil,
rocks, and dams.
Montmorillonite, however, is a dangerous type of clay to encounter if it is found in tunnels or road
cuts. Because of its expandable nature, it can lead to serious slope or wall failures.
They have the general formula (Ca, Na) (Al, Mg, Fe)4(Si, Al)8O20(OH)4. nH2O
Montmorillonite is formed from surface weathering of rocks, with the presence of solutions
containing Na, Mg, Ca and ferrous iron. It can also be formed by weathering of volcanic ash and
is likely to have been present in the early earth since it is believe that there were higher levels of
volcanic activities. After the weathering and deposition, the soft phyllosilicate minerals then
precipitate from water solution as Microscopic crystals.
The Montmorillonite mineral is a three-layer clay arrange in 2:1 phyllosilicate layer (Te – Oc-
Te)

The layers are arrange consisting of Silicon Tetrahedron and Aluminum Octahedron in a 2:1
ratio.
The interlayer in montmorillonite or smectites is not only hydrated, but it is also expansible; that
is, the separation between individual smectite sheets varies with the amount of water present in the
soil. Because of this, they are often referred to as "swelling clays”.
Soils having high concentrations of smectites can undergo as much as a 30% volume change due
to wetting and drying or these soils have a high shrink/swell potential and upon drying will form
deep cracks.

Figure 3: Example of Montmorillonite

Occurrences of clay minerals

The raw material for sedimentary rocks comes from weathering. Clay sediments are usually carry
by water agent, wind agent and or ice agent.
 Water agent (Alluvial clays, marine clays, lacustrine clay)
 Wind agent (Aeolian clays)
 Ice agent (glacier clay)
Clay deposits are usually found in;
 Marine sediments
 Soil horizon
 Geothermal field
 Volcanic deposits
 Weathering areas
Most clay minerals are form when rocks are in contact with water and or air.
Rock + water Clay
In Cameroon there exist numerous occurrence of clay deposits, some of which occurs in localities
like: West Region (Foumban, Bafang, Koutaba), Center Region (Etoa, Monatele), North West
(Sabga, Ndop plain) and Northern part of Cameroon.
Assignment: Check on the occurrences of clay deposits in Cameroon.
Some Case Studies of Clay occurrences in Cameroon
 Koutaba, West Region
The kaolin clays occurring in the hills at the Koutaba area, west Cameroon, were formed from
alteration of a granite-gneiss basement.
The clays consist principally of quartz, kaolinite and illite. According to their chemical
composition, the clay materials form are suitable for use in white ceramic products.
They are also suitable for production of common bricks and hollow ceramic products.
 Ndop plain, North West Region
The Ndop plain exhibits important clayey materials with color ranging from brown, grey, dark
grey, yellowish brown and clayey to sandy texture.
The studied clayey materials are siliceous, aluminous with small iron and have kaolinite as
major clay mineral.
The Ndop plain clayey materials are characterized by a high percentage in fine particles and
are very plastic thus good for ceramic applications (roof tiles, light weight blocks and hollow
bricks).
Good properties (high flexural strength) of the tested mixtures suggest that the mixing of the
clayey and the silty materials from this area are suitable for structural ceramic products.
Considering these favorable characters, the mechanical properties which can be improved, the
positive results from the ceramic tests, the Ndop clays represent a very important resource to
the Cameroonian ceramic industry for the production of tiles, bricks and pottery.
 Sabga, North West Region
The clay samples from Sabga (NW Cameroon), mainly consist of smectite with varying
amounts of kaolinite, cristobalite, k-feldspar, plagioclase and ilmenite. They have high
abundance of montmorillonites (smectite) clay minerals.
  Foumban, West Region
kaolinitic clays are found in Foumban (West Cameroon). The combination of
mineralogical, physico-chemical and technological properties of the clays, classify them
sufficient for bricks production.
 Sekande and Gashiga, North Region
Mineralogical, physico-chemical and ceramic properties of the Sekande and Gaschiga
clays were investigated in order to produce earthenware products. The mineralogical
composition of samples includes quartz, feldspar, plagioclase, kaolinite, illite and smectite.
In view of these evaluations, these raw materials are suitable for porous colored structural
ceramics. According to the firing properties obtained in the studied temperature range
(900–1100 C), the studied clays are suitable for the production of earthenware from 900 C.
 Lokoundje, South Region
Study was aimed to investigate the physical, chemical, mineralogical and technological
properties of fired alluvial clay specimens from Lokoundje in order to evaluate their
potential suitability as raw materials in ceramics. Mineralogical analyses of the Lokoundje
alluvial clays indicate that they are mainly composed of kaolinite and quartz. According to
evaluation, the Lokoundje alluvial clays could be used for white ceramic manufacturing..

Physical and chemical properties of clay minerals

The characteristic common to all clay minerals derive from chemical composition of clay mineral,
structure and size.
 They have swelling properties when absorb water and shrinkage properties as a result of
temperature changes in the environment. This makes them not suitable as base material for
road construction and pavement.
 The properties of clay to be evenly distributed in water are use as carrier to evenly mix
color pigment (dye) to paint base. This is because they have high affinity for dye
 They exhibit plasticity at appropriate water content, this property is used by potters and
those in the ceramic industries.
 They have high affinity for water i.e. they absorb water readily
  They exhibit cation exchange capacity. This property makes them to be used for water
treatment as they enhance the flocculation of impurities in water, thus making it easier for
the impurities to be drain easily in a sedimentation tank.
Cation exchange capacity of a clay is the maximum amount or quantity of cation a clay can retain
in milli equivalence per 100g of clay.
Equivalence = Molar mass / valency
The quantity of cation in a mineral can be calculated as;
Quantity of cation = Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) X Equivalence
Example:
Calculate the maximum quantity of Fe2+ and Fe3+ that smectite with cation exchange capacity of
102me/100g of clay.
Solution
Fe2+ has a valence of 2 and molar mass of 56g
Then equivalence = 56g / 2 = 28g
Quantity of Fe2+ = CEC x equivalence = 102 x 28
= 2856mg/100g of clay
Fe3+ has a valency of 3 and molar mass of 56g
Then equivalence = 56g/ 3 = 18.67g
Quantity of Fe3+ = CEC x equivalence = 102 x 18.67
= 1904mg/100g of clay
Methods of clay minerals investigation
The methods used for clay minerals investigation are;

 X-Ray Diffraction (XRD)

 Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
 X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis (XRF)
 Infrared Spectroscopy (IS)
 CHAPTER 3
Clays are categorized into six groups by the U. S. Bureau of Mines. The categories are;
 kaolin
 Ball clay
 Fire clay
 Bentonite
 Fuller’s earth
 Common clay and shale.

Kaolin is defined as a white, claylike material composed mainly of kaolinite, which is a hydrated
aluminum silicate (Al2O3·2SiO2·2H2O), and other kaolin-group minerals. Kaolin has a wide
variety of industrial applications including paper coating and filling, refractories, fiberglass
and insulation, rubber, paint, ceramics, and chemicals.

Ball clay is a plastic, white-firing clay that is composed primarily of kaolinite and is used mainly
for bonding in ceramic ware, primarily dinnerware, floor and wall tile, pottery, and sanitary
ware.

Fire clays are composed primarily of kaolinite, but also may contain several other materials
including ball clay, and bauxite clay and shale. Because of their ability to withstand temperatures
of 1500°C (2700°F) or higher, fire clays generally are used for refractories or to raise sintering
temperatures in heavy clay products.

Bentonite is a clay composed primarily of smectite minerals, usually montmorillonite, and is used
largely in drilling muds, in foundry sands.

Fuller’s earth is defined as a non-plastic clay or claylike material that typically is high in magnesia
and has specialized decolorizing and purifying properties. Fuller’s earth, which is very similar to
bentonite, is used mainly as absorbents of pet waste, oil, and grease.

Common clay is defined as a plastic clay or claylike material with a sintering point below 1100°C
(2000°F). Common clay and shale are composed mainly of illite but also may contain kaolin and
montmorillonite.
Clay Mining
Most domestic clay is mined by open-pit methods using various types of equipment, including
excavators, power shovels, front-end loaders, backhoes, scraper-loaders. In addition, some kaolin
is extracted by hydraulic mining and dredging. Most underground clay mines are located in
Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, where the clays are associated with coal deposits. A higher
percentage of fire clay is mined underground than other clays, because the higher quality fire clay
deposits are found at depths that make open-pit mining less profitable.

The picture above shows an excavator that is used to mine bentonite on the earth surface using
open pit method

The picture above shows front-end loaders and haul trucks that transport the excavated mined clay
to a muck pile site/ dump site from where the materials will be taken for beneficiation (purification)
and processing.
Advantages of Clay
Clays have good advantages, such as:
 They are locally available.
 Their mining, processing, transportation and maintenance is not that much energy
intensive.
 They are not harmful to human health, i.e. do not cause any harmful emissions, do not
irritate skin, they are odorless, do not have chemical additives, are not electrostatic, absorb
harmful radiation.
 Clay additives are more environmentally friendly
 Clays contribute to a comfortable room climate by absorption of moisture that is under
different conditions rereleased into the room, regulate the room temperature by cooling in
the summer and heating in the winter climate, absorb smells.
 Stability and durability of clay construction elements is almost unlimited.
 Clay products do not require additional thermal insulation.
 Clays are recyclable.

Industrial Application of clay and clay minerals

The use of clays in various fields is well known due to their vast abundance, low cost, low impact
from both the environmental protection and resource savings point of view, effective recycling
and other particular properties mentioned above.
Clay minerals also has many other applications in various fields which include the production of
bonding, filling and solidification agents, oil drilling, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, sealants,
farming and hydraulic containment. Also, today an application of clay minerals in environmental
protection is especially very interesting and important since it is used to remove heavy metallic
ions from waste water.
Requirements for the quality of clay for industrial use
Industrial application defines the requirements for clay quality which can include: mineral
composition, content of Al2O3 and SiO2, impurity content, pH value, chemical stability, swelling,
fire resistance, coarseness of particles, whiteness. Depending on the application and customer
requirements, clays must have certain properties:
  For the paper production, a high degree of whiteness as well as a low abrasiveness is
necessary.
 The paint industry needs a high degree of whiteness, a large proportion of the fine particles
and good dispersion properties.
 In the plastics industry, requirements are mainly related to the particle size.
 Ceramics industry primarily requires good shaping ability (plasticity).
 Production of refractory materials, e.g., fine and coarse bricks, requires a high content of
aluminum oxide.
In addition, there are also some limitations based on the chemical content and application, e.g.,
 For the ceramics industry allowed contents are: Fe2O3 lower than 1.5%, Al2O3 minimum
31%, SiO2 maximum 55%, CaO than 1%.
 Kaolin clay used in the ceramics industry should meet the following requirements: Fe2O3
maximum content around 0.6-1.5%, TiO2 maximum content around 0.6-1.2%, CaO up to
0.8%, Al2O3 content higher than 30%.
Industrial application of Bentonite
 Bentonite is used in the drilling of oil and water wells. The clays are turned into mud, which
seals the walls of the boreholes, lubricates the drill head and removes drill cuttings.
 Contaminant Removal: Clay slurry’s have effectively been used to remove a range of
contaminants, including Phosphorus and heavy metals, and overall water clarification.
 Filtering: Clays are used to decolorize, filter, and purify animal, mineral, and vegetable oils
and greases due to their high absorbing properties.’
 Environmental Sealants: Bentonite is used to establish low permeability liners in landfills,
sewage lagoons, water retention ponds, golf course ponds, and hazardous waste sites.
 Pharmaceuticals/ Cosmetics: Bentonite is used as a binder in tablet manufacturing and in
diarrhea medications. Clays are used as thickeners in a wide variety of cosmetics including
facial creams, lipsticks, shampoos and calamine lotion.
 Pelletizing: Bentonite is used to bind tiny particles of iron ore, which are then formed into
pellets for use as feed material for blast furnaces.
 Paints: Finely ground clays are used in the paint industry to disperse pigment evenly
throughout the paint. Without clays, it would be extremely difficult to evenly mix the paint
base and color pigment.
Industrial application of Kaolin
 It is used in as an absorbent in water and waste water treatment
 To manufacture tooth paste
 It is used to manufacture porcelain products
 It is used for soap production and in cosmetic
 Used as additives during paint production
 Used as fillers in paper making

Typical examples of historical uses of clays

 The used of clay as bleaching agent for laundry: The term fullers earth gotten from Latin
word “Fullo” means to remove oils from cloths. Here clay and soil combined with urine
was used as bleaching agent in Cyprus.
 Chinese Porcelain: (A white, hard translucent i.e. allowing light to pass through, ceramic
material made by firing Kaolin with other materials) the raw materials where quartz,
feldspar and kaolin. It was used to make drinking vessels
 Cosmetic use: People used clay as cosmetic material for soap and rubbing oil ointment etc.
 Medical uses: Clays were used for therapeutic purpose by adsorption of toxins from skin.
 Fining and clarification of juices, oils and wines: They were added to wines, juices to
combat turbidity
 Ritual and artistic uses