Natural Pozzolans-Like Bahariya Basalts Used As Alternative Raw Materials for Cement Clinker Portland Hatem M
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DJS Vol. 43 (1):(2021) pp.1-16 ISSN: 1012-5965 Delta Journal of Science Available online at https://djs.journals.ekb.eg/ Research Article GEOLOGY Natural pozzolans-like Bahariya basalts used as alternative raw materials for cement clinker Portland Hatem M. El-Desoky1, Ahmed E. Khalil2, Taher M. Shahin1,* and Ahmed M. Abdullah3 1. Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, PO Box 11884, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt. 2. Geological Sciences Department, National Research Centre, El-Buhouth St., Dokki, Cairo 12622, Egypt. 3. Geologist at El-Qawmiya cement industry. *Corresponding author: Taher M. Shahin e-mail: [email protected] KEY WORDS ABSTRACT Basalt, alternative Mid-Tertiary volcanism in the Western Desert Egypt was material, clinker, associated with the opening of the Red Sea, a period of 30 Ma. Basalts Bahariya, Western are composed of plagioclase, pyroxene, and olivine minerals. Basalt Desert, Egypt. used as natural volcanic pozzolans materials; represent large interest of researches as a real alternative to replace ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The present work was performed on six samples of experimental cement clinker, one with ordinary raw materials (limestone & shale) as a reference sample, and five others with various substance (limestone & basalts), which show the possibility of the utilization of natural pozzolan for maintainable construction material. The chemical, mineralogical composition and texture produced clinkers were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). It is concluded that the produced clinkers which made from basalt are coincidence ordinary Portland cement clinker. They are characterized by increasing in setting time, compressive strength and resistance to sulfate attack. © Faculty of Science, Tanta University. 1. INTRODUCTION Portland cement is the most well- The volcanic Tertiary basalts are known kind cement of construction widely distributed in the Eastern Desert, materials, created by heating limestone Western Desert and Sinai Peninsula and clay minerals in a furnace up to associated with the opening of the Red ~1450oC to form clinker, crushing the Sea rift (Bayoumi and Sabri, 1971; Said, clinker, and adding 2 to 3 percent of 1981 and Williams and Small, 1984). gypsum. Cement manufacture causes Basalt has wide utilized as concrete environmental pollution, 1 ton of cement aggregate, filtering agent, fibers and will around produce1 ton of CO2 (Van pozzolan materials. Oss and Padovani, 2003 and Uzal, et al., 2007), so sustainable improvement has Hassaan (2001), El-Ashkar (2002), interest to use alternatives materials. Hassaan et al. (2004), Abd El-Hafiz et al. (2015), El-Desoky et al. (2017), El- A pozzolan is a siliceous or Desoky et al. (2019), El-Rahmany aluminous siliceous material that (2019) and El-Rahmany et al. (2020) possesses a little or no cementitious have utilized gabbroic and basaltic rocks value; chemically react with calcium in different areas in Egypt as an hydroxide to form compounds alternative to shale in the cement possessing hydraulic cementitious industry. The present work aims to properties (Mehta, 1987). Natural assessment the suitability of using the pozzolans (volcanic origin) are used for Bahariya basaltic rocks as ordinary several thousands of years as cement raw mix substituting for the supplementary cementitious materials. shales in a laboratory scale. Also, it used to control temperature rise in mass concrete, and improve resistance 2. Regional geology to sulfate attack. Natural pozzolans are Bahariya oasis is located in the generally utilized as substitutes for Western Desert of Egypt at about Portland cement, due to their advantages 160Km west of the Minya city in the of cost reduction and increased Nile Valley, between 27º48ʹ and 28º30ʹN durability (Papadakis and Tsimas, 2002; latitude and 28º35ʹ and 29º10ʹE Rodríguez-Camacho and Uribe-Afif, longitude. It has elongated shape, was 2002; Uzal, et al., 2007). Recently, affected by tectonic activity along the natural basaltic pozzolan substituted Syrian Arc fold system, and shows two about 25 mass% of Portland cement opposite plunging anticlines: Ghorabi in from Saudi Arabia (Khan and the north and El-Heiz in the south, and Alhozaimy, 2010). Reduction of free El-Hufhuf syncline in between, trending lime indicates increase in burnability NE-SW (Sehim, 1993; Fig. 1). The with increasing basalt contents, geology of the oasis has been dealt by confirming that basalts are suitable for many authors: (Ball and Beadnell, 1903; clinker production, also lowering of Said, 1962; El-Akkad and Issawi, 1963; clinker formation temperature and Tanner and Khalifa, 2010). It's exposed reducing CO2 emissions (Andrade et al., thick succession ranging from Upper 2010). Cretaceous to Miocene in age. The Natural pozzolans-like Bahariya basalts used as alternative raw materials for cement clinker Portland 3 Upper Cretaceous is represented by The Oligocene is represented by Bahariya Formation, El-Heiz Formation, Radwan Formation occurring as small El-Hufhuf Formation and Khoman outcrops, composed mainly of quartz Chalk Formation. The Eocene is mainly arenite and quartizitic sandstone. carbonate rocks with iron ores represented by Naqb El-Sillim, Qazzun and El-Hamra formations. The Oligocene is unconformably overlie Cretaceous – Eocene succession, formed of clastic facies and lava flows of Oligocene-Miocene age. Bahariya depression comprises change in lithology can be traced as we move towards south western direction. The Bahariya Formation outcrop the Lower Cenomanian, characterized by cross-bedded and color-banding at the base of the formation, and composed of ferruginous sandstones, siltstones, and shales with maximum thickness up to 170m at Gabal El-Dist (Fig. 2a). It is weathered into conical-like hills and capped by basalt sills. El-Heiz Formation consists of shale, sandy clays, calcareous sandstone, up to 40m in thickness at the south of the depression, outcrop the Upper Cenomanian, (El- Akkad and Issawi, 1963). El-Hefhuf Fig. 1: Geologic map of the Bahariya Depression, Formation (Campanian) consists of Western Desert, Egypt (based on El-Akkad cherty dolostone with chert nodules at and Issawi, 1963). the base, which overlie El-Heiz Formation. The Eocene Naqb El-Sillim The Oligocene-Miocene volcanic rocks Formation is dolomitic and nummulitic occur mainly as sills, dikes and lava limestones, unconformably overlies the flows, are just restricted in the northern Bahariya Formation and overlain by the part of the Bahariya depression, and Qazzun and El-Hamra Formations. El- have dated between 22 and 16 Ma Hamra Formation is represented by (Meneisy and El-Kaleubi, 1975). mixed carbonate-clastic lithologies (Fig. Volcanic activity is contemporaneous 2f). with the Red Sea rifting and the uplifting of the Afro-Arabian dome (Abdel 4 El-Desoky et al., (2021) Meguid et al., 1992). The volcanic rocks The raw mixtures samples were are represented by five main separate pressed to form pellets, then burnt at localities of Gabal Mandisha, Gabal El- 1450ᵒC for 2hrs, using a temperature rate Hefhuf, Gabal Mayesra, Al-Agoz Hill, raising equal to 10°C/min in an electrical Gabal El-Marssos. Bahariya volcanic furnace in the Centre of Metals in El- rocks are alkaline magma type, classified Tibbin, Egypt and cooled rapidly in air into three types amygdaloidal basalt to preserve the newly formed cement (oldest) intruded by dolerite and minerals. followed porphyry olivine basalt Complete chemical analysis of covering the amygdaloidal basalt in different raw material used in clinker and Gebel El-Hefhuf. Gabal Mayesra and chemical parameters of raw-mixture are Mandisha characterized by absence of presented in Table 1. X-Ray Diffraction porphyritic basalt and deeply weathered. patterns (XRD) and Differential thermal They are dark grey to black color, analyses (DTA) of different clinker structurally controlled and characterized samples were conducted in the Housing by sheets and columnar joints sometimes, and Building National Research Center these joints form hexagonal and regular laboratories, Egypt to determined their shapes (Fig. 2b, c & d). Petrographically, mineralogical composition and thermal basalts are composed of plagioclase, behavior. Scanning Electron Microscope pyroxene, olivine and opaques as (SEM – EDX) at the Egyptian Mineral accessory minerals (Fig. 2e). Chlorite Resources Authority in Central and epidote occur as secondary minerals Laboratories by using SEM Model due to alteration. They show textures as Quanta 250 FEG (Field Emission Gun) porphyritic, amygdaloidal, ophitic and attached with EDX Unit (Energy subophitic. Dispersive X-ray Analyses), with accelerating voltage 30 K.V., 3. Materials and Methods magnification 14x up to 1000000 and resolution for Gun.1n). Basalts, limestones and shale samples were collected from Bahariya 4. Geochemical characteristics area, are crushed to 200-mesh in ball mill (automatic Agate mortar) then made The result of chemical analyses of to a remix by specific weight seven representative samples of Eocene percentages. One sample of ordinary limestone, shale and basalt are presented Portland clinker (limestone & clay) and in Tables (2). The chemical data of five sample experimental clinkers limestone of the Naqb El-Sillim (limestone and basalt) are prepared by Formation indicate the high CaO (54.86 using a computational software program wt.%) and low MgO (0.83 wt.%). The according to ES 4756-1 & EN 197-1 basaltic