Mineralogical and Elemental Analysis of Clay Sample from Iyinwaogba Umuosode Alike Ikenanzizi Obowo Local Government Area of Imo State
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Journal(of(Materials(and(( J. Mater. Environ. Sci., 2021, Volume 12, Issue 4, Page 511-531 Environmental(Science( ! ISSN(:(2028;2508( http://www.jmaterenvironsci.com CODEN(:(JMESCN( Copyright(©(2021,( ! University(of(Mohammed(Premier(((((( Oujda(Morocco( Mineralogical and Elemental Analysis of Clay Sample from Iyinwaogba Umuosode Alike Ikenanzizi Obowo Local Government Area of Imo State S.E. Anumata *, M.O.C. Ogwuegbu, C.I.A. Nwoko, C.O. Akalezi Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria ! Received 22 Dec 2020, Abstract Revised 10 April 2021, This paper characterizes five clay samples from Iyinwaogba Umuosode Alike Ikenanzizi Accepted 12 April 2021 Obowo, Southeastern Nigeria. The characterization is based on their physicochemical characterization, mineralogy and elemental analysis using Scanning Electron Microscopy Keywords (SEM-EDS), Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction ! Clay characterization, (XRD) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF). The pH ranged from 1.91 to 2.89, loss on ignition ranged from 4.75 % - 5.32 %, cation exchange capacity ranged ! kaolinite, ! Oxides, 26.49 meq/100 g to 24.11 meq/100 g, refractive index ranged from 1.45 to 1.68 while the ! Raw materials; specific gravity ranged from 2.68 to 2.96. The general data revealed that the primary ! Mineralogical constituents of the clay were kaolinite with high quartz content and average SiO2 of composition; 58.30±19.32 %. Altogether, the characteristics of the clay from Iyinwaogba Umuosode ! Industrial application Alike Ikenanzizi Obowo Local Government Area of Imo State are a good candidate as a support in the manufacture of industrial catalysts for a petroleum catalytic cracking Stanley Anumata : operation and can be used also to produce good refractory materials for high temperature [email protected] applications because of their high content of kaolinite 1. Introduction Clays are materials that occur naturally made fundamentally out of fine-grained minerals, which is commonly plastic at fitting water substance and will solidify when dried or terminated [1,2]. Clay deposits or deposit comprise of the primary and secondary stages. The primary clays are framed as a leftover deposit in soil and caught at the site of arrangement while the secondary clays have been moved by water disintegration from their unique area and saved in another sedimentary deposit [3]. Clay deposit can be found in enormous lakes and marine bowls as a result of its amazingly low vitality sedimentary condition. The development of clay takes an extensive stretch of time which is because of what is known as chemical weathering of rocks which happens step by step, typically the silicate- bearing ones, by low centralizations of weakened solvents like carbonic acid [4]. The acidic dissolvable drains the upper endured layers and afterward travel through the enduring stone, and it is in this procedure of aqueous action that some clay minerals are framed. They have differing concoction structure contingent upon both the physical and chemical changes in the earth where clay deposits are found [5,6]. Anumata et al., J. Mater. Environ. Sci., 2021, 12(4), pp. 511-531 511 ! Clay is made chiefly out of silica, alumina and water, much of the time with calculable amounts of iron, alkalies and alkali earth's metals. Two basic units are associated with the atomic cross sections of most clay minerals. One unit comprises of firmly pressed oxygen and hydroxyls in which aluminum, iron and magnesium iotas are installed in an octahedral matrix with the goal that they are equidistant from six oxygen or hydroxyls. The subsequent unit is worked of silica tetrahedrons. The silica tetrahedrons are orchestrated to shape a hexagonal system that is rehashed uncertainly to form a sheet of arrangement, Si4O6(OH)4 [7]. The development of clay minerals is reliant on physico-chemical states of the quick enduring condition, nature of the beginning materials and other related outer ecological elements [6,8], along these lines coming about into different types of clay materials. Thusly, the application capability of any clay mineral sort in nature will rely upon its concoction arrangement, structure and other innate properties [9]. The particular clay minerals are recognized by a few strategies including warm differential examination, essential investigation by nuclear retention examination, infrared spectrometry and X-ray diffraction. Substance investigation is a fundamental advance to set up the idea of minerals. On this respect, clay minerals are characterized into various gatherings as follows; Kaolinite, Smectite, Vermiculite Illite and Chlorites [10]. Clay minerals are the most significant mechanical minerals. A large number of tons are used yearly in different applications. These applications remember utilizes for geography, the process industries, agriculture, environmental remediation, development and as impetus in oil industry. The most by and large utilized in the assembling of impetuses are kaolin and montmorillonite [2]. Truth be told, catalysts giving chiefly high octane gas in oil industry have been delivered from clays made out of halloysite, montmorillonite and kaolinites [10], with the goal that the amount of kaolin utilized every year for creation of oil splitting catalysts was assessed at in excess of 200,000 tons [11,12]. The purpose behind usage of certain clay minerals in explicit application is that the physical and compound properties of a specific clay mineral are reliant on its structure and sythesis. The structure and piece of kaolins, smectites, and palygorskite and sepiolite are altogether different despite the fact that they each have octahedral and tetrahedral sheets as their fundamental structure squares. Nonetheless, the arrangement and composition of these octahedral and tetrahedral sheets represent major and minor contrasts in the physical and compound properties of kaolin, smectites and palygorskite [12]. Clays have gotten extensive consideration particularly as expected adsorbents for natural exploration. Numerous analysts around the globe, have shot their pursuit lights on the stage improvements that happened by sintering clay within the sight of certain oxides [13]. The most bountiful, pervasive, and available material on the earth outside layer is clay [14]. It was seen that an incredible accentuation is put on abusing the bountiful strong minerals enrichments in Nigeria with the end goal of enhancing the financial base of the nation, improving Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and mechanical action [12]. One of these enrichments with gigantic potential for financial usage is clay [8,12]. There are a few businesses which can use the promptly accessible and modest clay crude materials so as to help industrial growth and relieve the government off the weight of bringing in such items. The improved modern use of clay minerals in the nation will rely for the most part upon the quality and strength of the material, and for this to be acknowledged, there is requirement for thorough examinations on this asset. As of now, the neighborhood networks in Nigeria are depending on the indigenous information to make some clay items whose quality is difficult to decide and neither does it satisfy the fare Anumata et al., J. Mater. Environ. Sci., 2021, 12(4), pp. 511-531 512 ! guidelines [15]. Notwithstanding the immense possibilities, clay minerals are still horribly underutilized and the couple of pockets of existing clay-based ventures have fundamentally tackled the crude for the creation of fired products and auxiliary items. These clay deposits can possibly be a significant wellspring of unfamiliar pay worker if appropriately saddled. Along these lines, so as to decide the gainfulness of using clay from a specific deposit for any application, it is of central significance to look at the microstructural morphology, decide the mineralogical, basic and utilitarian gathering arrangement in such clay deposits. In Nigeria, clay raw material deposits are widely distributed across the six geo- political zones of the country [16] which have been widely studied. In Yola Adamawa State, North-East Nigeria, clay samples were collected and studied by James et al. [17] and results showed that the clay sample is a low-grade calcium montmorillonite, which is typical for clay in the region [17-22]. From Lakiri village, southwestern Nigeria, clay samples analyzed by Badmus and Olatinsu [23] showed that the clay were kaolinite, acidic, and contains alkaline metal in high concentrations with mean porosity of 0.46 and bulk density of 1.4 g cm -3. The author therefore concluded that the clay may serve as good additives for both industrial and mining purposes. Similarly, kaolinites clays were reported from the Abakaliki Formation in the Niger-Delta part of Nigeria [21]. Clay samples from Ubakala clays in Abia State studied by X-Ray Diffraction showed that it was composed mainly of smectites, kaolin, and albite [24]. Similar observations were made for clay deposits obtained from Okada, Edo State, South-West Nigeria [25] and from Udi in Enugu Sate, South-East Nigeria [26]. Unfortunately, very little attention has been given to clay characterization and mineralogy in Imo state despite the growing demand for clay products and the possibility of creating jobs through cottage industries. Imo state is one of the major states enriched with clay raw material deposits. These clay materials are yet to be properly characterized. It cannot be said precisely if regional distribution of clays in Nigeria play an important role in the mineralogy, elemental composition and performance of these clays since not all deposits of clay have been studied. The mineralogy of these clay deposits could be tied to the geology of the environment (basin) from which they were obtained. The qualities of clay found determine its application and suitability for ceramic products such as in bricks, ceramic wares, and refractory. In Iyinwaogba Umuosode Alike Ikenanzizi Obowo Local Government Area of Imo State, clay soils in the lower river often serve as a filter for the flowing river and thus help in its purification.