NOVEL APPROACH on VALUE ADDITION to SRI LANKAN MICA Anoja Senthilnathan1,2*, D.M.S.N
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Proceedings of the 34th Technical Session of Geological Society of Sri Lanka, 2018 GSSL-2018-A01 HEMATITE NANORICES DEPOSITED MUSCOVITE SURFACES: NOVEL APPROACH ON VALUE ADDITION TO SRI LANKAN MICA Anoja Senthilnathan1,2*, D.M.S.N. Dissanayake2,3, G.T.D. Chandrakumara4, M.M.M.G.P.G. Mantilaka2,3, R.M.G. Rajapakse1,5, H.M.T.G.A. Pitawala3,6 and K.M.N. de Silva2,7 1Academy of Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology, Nanotechnology and Science Park, Mahenwatte, Pitipana, Homagama, Sri Lanka 2Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology, Nanotechnology and Science Park, Mahenwatte, Pitipana, Homagama, Sri Lanka 3Postgraduate Institute of Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka 4Department of Science and Technology, Uva Wellassa University,Badulla, Sri Lanka 5Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka 6Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka 7Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, Colombo 3, Sri Lanka *Corresponding Author Email: [email protected] Industrially important mica mineral deposits are widespread in many parts of Sri Lanka such as Matale, Talatu Oya, Badulla, Maskeliya, Halmadulla, Kabitigollawa and Balangoda. However, industrial applications of mica minerals in Sri Lanka are limited to production of paints, plastics, lubricants and traditional medicinal ingredients even though there are advanced technologically important materials from mica minerals available in the world. Therefore, this study focused on the synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles on the surface of thin sheet of natural muscovite mica. In this study, 75 mL of 0.37 M ferric chloride solution and 25 mL of 1.11 M urea were mixed together and heated at 90 °C under reflux conditions for 30 min to synthesize iron oxide nanoparticles. Cleaved thin sheets of 0.5 cm × 0.5 cm natural mica were suspended in the colloidal solution of iron oxide nanoparticles and stirred for 24 h using a magnetic stirrer to synthesize iron oxide nanoparticles deposited on muscovite material. Synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles and advanced material of mica was characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and revealed that iron oxides are in rice grain-like morphology (nanorices) with average particle size of 50 nm and the nanoparticles are uniformely deposited on mica. Fourier Transformed Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns showed that the final product is comprised of hematite nanoparticles and muscovite. X-ray Florescence (XRF) and Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) showed the elemental destributions of the synthesized material which contain the composition of muscovite and hematite material. Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) confirmed that the final product is thermally stable even at 1000 ᴼC. The synthesized advanced synthesized material is having the potential applications in water purification, photocatalytic processes and thermal insulation process. Keywords: Nanorices, Nanoparticles, Muscovite, Water Purification,Thermal Insulation 1 Proceedings of the 34th Technical Session of Geological Society of Sri Lanka, 2018 GSSL-2018-A02 PURIFICATION AND WHITENESS ENHANCEMENT OF KAOLIN FROM A TROPICAL IN-SITU DEPOSIT G.T.D. Chandrakumara1*, H.P.T.S. Hewathilake1, K.R. Kudahetty2 and A.N.B. Attanayake1 1Department of Science and Technology, Uva Wellassa University, Badulla, Sri Lanka 2Lanka Ceramics PLC, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka *Corresponding Author Email: [email protected] Whiteness of kaolin is considered as a significant optical measurement which is used for grading kaolin in the industry. The main contaminating elements contained in kaolin are iron and titanium which cause reduction of the whiteness values. Enhancing the whiteness values of kaolin to higher levels makes it more suitable for high whiteness applications such as porcelain, paint and paper. Meetiyagoda Kaolin (MK) deposit located in the Southwestern part of Sri Lanka is a result of intense tropical weathering of pegmatitic rocks rich in feldspars. It has been intensively exploited by Sri Lankan ceramic industry. Whiteness of MK has been significantly affected by iron and titanium contaminants. This work aims at enhancing the whiteness of refined MK by purification using potassium persulfate treatment followed by phosphoric acid leaching method. Five hundred micrometer size refined MK was dispersed with sodium silicate in a slurry and treated with potassium persulfate. The resultant powder obtained from the filtration was oven dried and leached for 2 hours by various concentrations of phosphoric acid solutions. Reflectance spectrophotometer analysis, FTIR and AAS were used to characterize the treated and untreated kaolin. Reflectance spectrophotometer analysis results of the fired kaolin pellets revealed that the “L” value can be improved from 89.8 % to 94.5% at the 2 mol dm-3 phosphoric acid concentration while the optimum “a” value of +6.1 and optimum ”b” value of +3.4 were recorded in 3 mol dm-3 phosphoric acid concentration after 2 hour reaction time. The maximum iron leaching capacity was recorded as 77.4 mg L-1 in the 2 mol dm-3 phosphoric acid concentration with 2 hour treatment time. The experimental results suggest that the tested purification method can significantly improve the quality of kaolin in industrial point of view. Keywords: Kaolin, Impurities, Whiteness, Purification 2 Proceedings of the 34th Technical Session of Geological Society of Sri Lanka, 2018 GSSL-2018-A03 VALUE ADDED PRODUCTS FROM SRI LANKAN LATERITES D.M.S.N. Dissanayake1,2*, M.M.M.G.P.G. Mantilaka1, H.M.T.G.A. Pitawala3, K.M. Nalin de Silva1, R.T. De Silva1 and G.A.J. Amaratunga1 1Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology, Nanotechnology and Science Park, Mahenwatte, Pitipana, Homagama 2Postgraduate Institute of Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya 3Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya *Corresponding Author Email: [email protected] Laterites are widely distributed in various localities of Sri Lanka. Locations such as Colombo, Kaluthara and Rathnapura districts and most parts of the south western coastline consist of iron-rich laterites with less aluminium content in large minable quantities, although Al –rich laterites are uncommon in Sri Lanka according to the literature. However, based on the preliminary studies, it was noted that Al-rich laterite deposits are found in the Matale district. Current application of laterite is limited to small- scale production of bricks. Nevertheless, such laterite deposits could be used to manufacture value-added products such as oxides and metallic forms of iron, aluminium and silicon, and their nanomaterials which have a large global need and demand. This research focuses on producing value added products from Sri Lankan laterites and their applications in various industries. In a typical extraction procedure, a 3-step continuous procedure was applied for orderly extraction of Fe, Al and Si. First, laterite samples were powdered and sieved after which Fe extraction was done by acid leaching using HCl. The supernatant (S-1Fe) was Fe rich and the residue was Al and Si rich. In the second step, the resulted residue was allowed to react with concentrated NaOH solution in a high-pressure reactor under high temperature to extract Al components by dissolving it - as (AlO2) (aq). The second supernatant (S-2Al) was used to synthesize value added chemical products of Al including Al2O3 and Al(OH)3. The second residue was rich in Si which was used to synthesize value added high purity SiO2 product. However, further purification methods are needed to get high purity products from these extractions. Iron oxide nanoparticles of various morphologies, were synthesized using extracted iron components of laterites. The purity and the chemical properties were characterized by X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffractrometry, Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. Therefore, this study assures an innovative route for the preparation of industrial Fe, Al and Si based products from Sri Lankan Laterites Acknowledgement: Financial assistance by the National Research Council Grant no. 16- 123 is highly appreciated. Keywords: Value added products, Laterite, Metal extraction, Nanomaterials, Sri Lanka 3 Proceedings of the 34th Technical Session of Geological Society of Sri Lanka, 2018 GSSL-2018-A04 FIELD SURVEY ON MAGNETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY OF SRI LANKAN BASEMENT ROCKS: A USEFUL TOOL FOR CHARACTERIZATION OF CRUSTAL DOMAINS AND PROCESSES Bernard Prame1*, S. Samarakoon2, S.N.B. Thaldena4, A.G.S.R. Perera and C.H.E.R. Siriwardana4 116/27, Maligawa Road, Ethulkotte Sri Lanka, 2Deptartment of Physics, University of Sri Jayawardanapura, Sri Lanka, 3Quantec Geoscience Ltd., Toronto, Canada. 4Geological Survey and Mines Bureau, 569, Epitamulla Road, Pitakotte, Sri Lanka. *Corresponding Author Email: [email protected] Magnetic susceptibility is a measure of the extent to which a substance can be magnetized when it is placed in an external magnetic field. On rock out crops, it is an easily measurable petrophysical parameter. Main magnetic carriers in rocks are magnetite, pyrrhotite and maghematite. As these phases belong to accessory minerals that are often sensitive indicators of geological processes and conditions, the magnetic susceptibility is useful in characterizing the host rocks containing them. During present study magnetic susceptibility of Sri Lanka