Studies of Limestone Samples Sourced from the Southern Zone of Tamil Nadu, India
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Current Research Paper ESAIJ, 5(1), 2010 [68-72] Studies of limestone samples sourced from the southern zone of Tamil Nadu, India S.VijayaChitra1, S.Thangadurai2*, R.Rajeswara Rao3, T.S.Sankara Narayanan4 1Department of Geology and Mining, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, Guindy Chennai-600 032, (INDIA) 2Raja Doraisingam Government Arts College, Sivagangai-630 561, (INDIA) 3Department of Applied Geology, University of Madras, Chennai-600 025, (INDIA) 4National Metallurgical Laboratory, Government of India, Chennai-600 025, (INDIA) E-mail : [email protected]; [email protected] Received: 4th January, 2010 ; Accepted: 14th January, 2010 ABSTRACT KEYWORDS Chemical analysis of 150 samples, which were locally sourced, was carried Chemical analysis; out using gravimetric, titrimetric, flame photometry and UV-visible spectro- Spectroscopy; scopic methods. Based on the correlation study on the analytical results of Limestone; some of the locally sourced samples were found to match with the specifi- Local source; cations recommended for limestones for industrial applications. Limestone Industry. is chiefly made up of calcium carbonate (CaCO ), its percentage in samples ±0.65 to3 96.67±0.28 with a percent- analyzed was found to range from 82.24 ±4.47. The results show that some of the limestone age mean value of 93.01 samples were found to meet some industrial raw materials specifications used in the cement, agriculture, poultry, paint, pharmaceutical, ceramics, glass, Silica bricks, metallurgical purification processes in the steel industry and some other filler applications. 2010 Trade Science Inc. - INDIA INTRODUCTION In the strict sense, limestones refer to sedimentary rocks composed of mineral calcite. As an inorganic Limestones[1] are known to include organic, marl mineral it is widely utilized both by humanity and na- and chalk. It may also include layers of clay or sand ture. The CaCO3 has received much attention owing which form the attractive flow bandings and the col- to its wide application[2] in such industrial fields as ors found in decorative marbles. Calcium carbonate paper, rubber, plastics, paint, in dentrifiers, (CaCO ) is an abundant mineral comprising approxi- deodordants, in face powder etc. 3 ’s crust. It is also a common mately 4% of the earth In addition, lime stones and dolomites are impor- sedimentary rock composed predominantly of carbon- tant reservoirs for oil and gas and are the hosts for ates of calcium and magnesium. These are the most important mineral deposits including Pb, Zn, Ag, and voluminous of the non-siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. fluorite although most of the lime stones are similar in ESAIJ, 5(1) February 2010 S.Thangadurai et al. 69 Current Research Paper chemical and mineralogical composition, the complex EXPERIMENTAL organic and chemical origins of carbonate sediments lead to a wide range of textures and fabrics finding Apparatus wide application in industrial fields in the resulting lime A flame emission spectrophotometer Systronics stones. Model-125 was used to measure the emission intensi- The State of Tamil Nadu ranks seventh in India in Limestone ties of the test samples in comparison with standard terms of production of There are 12 major solutions. cement plants functioning in the State the total lime- A Systronics UV-visible spectrophotometer, Model stone reserves are about 1,473 million tones. The crys- 106 was used for the determination of iron, and tita- talline limestones of Tamil Nadu are perhaps the old- nium at 480nm, 410nm wavelengths respectively. est 2660 million years of limestones in the world. The crystalline limestones in Tamil Nadu are found associ- Procedure ated with quartzite, calc-silicate rocks and garnetifer- One hundred and fifty (150) samples were col- ous-silimanite-gneiss. lected from the Southern Zone of Tamil Nadu, India Researchers concisely described many complex during the course of the investigation and these were relations between metamorphic rocks due to intense later on analyzed in the laboratory and the chemical metamorphism coupled with intrusive activities this for- composition of the limestone were determined. mation seen as heterogeneous assemblages of meta- Chemical analysis[3] of selected limestone samples morphic facies in comparison with similar features ob- were carried out by conventional methods and the served in Greenland by the geologists. Small amounts range of parameter determined were as follows Mois- of the arenaceous facies are represented by quartzite ture, Loss on ignition (LOI), Silica (SiO2), Oxides of and garnetiferous gneiss. A number of impersistent Iron (Fe2O3), Titanium (TiO2), Aluminium (Al2O3), bands are observed inter-banded with quartzites and Calcium (CaO), Magnesium (MgO), Sodium (Na2O), garnetiferous gneisses. Potassium (K2O) and Total Carbonates. Gravimetric The Pattamadai and Ambasamudram bands which methods[4] were used for the determination of the pro- form the southern most units occur within the portions of insoluble matter, combined oxides in the khondalite rocks in Tirunelveli district and further ex- samples. tends into north-west south east direction into Kerala, Flame emission techniques were employed for the the neighbourimg state of Tamil Nadu The charnokitic determination of the composition of Sodium (Na2O) rocks occur inter banded with the meta sedimentary and Potassium (K2O). A flame emission spectropho- rocks in southern Tamil Nadu. tometer Systronics Model-125 was used to measure The chemical and physical analysis of limestone the emission intensities of the test samples in compari- are increasingly important to the consumer as a means son with standard solutions. A Systronics UV-visible of evaluating the specific type/grade product required spectrophotometer, Model 106 was used for the de- for optimum performance among the numerous uses termination of iron, and titanium at 480nm, 410nm in which these products are consumed owing to the wavelengths respectively. wide range of these chemicals and physical charac- Jeffery et al.[5] described methods to carry out the teristics many individual specification and tolerance determination of iron, thiocyanate method and for the have been developed for lime stones. determination of titanium, peroxide method. The ab- The Indian Standards Institution (ISI) has so far sorbance of the test sample solutions was compared formulated a few specifications for limestone in vari- to those standard solutions similarly measured. ous important industries. These specifications have Percentage of carbonate in these limestone been more useful to the small and medium scale pro- samples was roughly determined[6] during LOI analy- ducers of the country and have made possible the best sis, but that was not enough to provide the actual car- utilization of the available indigenous resources. bonate / carbon dioxide content values of these samples Environmental Science An Indian Journal 70 Studies of limeston. e samples sourced ESAIJ, 5(1) February 2010 Current Research Paper since alkali carbonates do not decompose on heating. collected from Ilankulam and Parapadi villages show As such a different method was employed to deter- the presence of low CaO content being prevalent in mine the actual percentage of carbonate composition this particular area, the limestones are too impure to in the limestone samples. The reaction of the carbon- be of any value. ate samples with excess hydrochloric acid to produce Analytical results of 25 samples collected from CO2 was utilized to ascertain the carbonate levels of Kilakadavetti, Singikulam, Gangainadankulam villages the limestone samples. of Nanguneri, Palayamkottai taluk show composition Gas law calculations including correction for wa- of significant industrial utility. ’s law of partial ter vapour, gas solubility and Dalton Samples collected from Venkatarangapuram of pressure were all used to determine[7] the correct vol- Ambasamudram taluk were found to contain about ume of CO2 evolved from each sample at laboratory 45-53 % of CaO, suitable for wide range of applica- conditions. The efficiency of this method was tested tion in industries. The analytical results of samples with analar (AR) grade CaCO3. collected from Karisalapatti, Pillaikulam, Ganga- narkulam and Pattankadu villages of Ambasamudram RESULTS AND DISCUSSION taluk of Tirunelveli district reveal the presence of CaO content in the range of 45-50 % being prevalent in Limestone is a versatile material, which can sup- this particular area. port a wide range of chemical and other industries in Also the analytical results of samples collected from the state. Any limestone with CaCO3 in excess of 75% Iraipuvari village show the presence of CaO content can find some industrial use or other and therefore in the range of 1-25 % being prevalent. In the north- warrants geological prospecting in order to make an western part of Nanguneri taluk the limestones are assessment of reserves and quality and to determine too impure to be of any value. the industrial possibilities. The usual compositional dis- As regard to the industrial utility of samples at parities between the samples imposed corresponding Tuticorin district, based on the analytical report on differences in their industrial and economic utilization. samples collected