Preparation and characterization of metakaolin from Nigeria Okpella kaolin for zeolite synthesis
Keywords:
Kaolin, Characterization, Refining, Dehydroxylation, Metakaolin
Abstract
The suitability of Nigeria Okpella kaolin (NOK) and metakaolin for the synthesis of zeolite has been investigated.
Refined kaolin of <14 µm particle size and an estimated kaolinite content of 90.23 % were obtained. The optimal
calcination parameters were 750 °C and exposure time of 15 minutes. The conversion of the kaolinite to
metakaolinite was confirmed through XRD and TGA/DTA and BET analyses of the raw and thermally treated kaolin samples. The NOK and thermally treated metakaolin samples produced straight lines for the BET plots between relative pressure regions of 0.05 to 0.30 with BET surface areas of (14.5773 ± 0.0894) m2g-1, (11.7811 ± 0.1245) m2g-1 and (11.8714 ± 0.1197) m2g-1 respectively with the respective coefficient of determination, R2=0.9998, 0.9995 and 0.9996. The BET surface area of NOK is within the reported acceptable range for kaolinite. The results obtained for kaolin and metakaolin showed that NOK is a good precursor for zeolite synthesis with minimal impurity.
References
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Bergaya, F. and Lagaly, G. (2006). Handbook of Clay Science, Vol. 5, 2nd ed., edited by F. Bergaya, B.K.G. Theng, and
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Pabst, W., Havrda, K.K. and Gregorova, E. (1999). A note on particle size analyses of kaolin and clays, Journal of
European Ceramic Society, 20, 1429-1437.
Pavlov, M.L., Basimova, R.A., Travkina, O.S., Ramadan, A.K. and Imasheva, A.A. (2012). Improvement of synthesis
methods of powdery mordenite type zeolite. Oil and Gas Business, 2, 459-469.
Rahier, H., Wullaert, B. and Vanmele, B. (2000). Influence of the degree of dehydroxylation of kaolinite on the
properties of aluminosilicate glasses, Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, 62, 417-427.
Ramaswamy, S. and Raghavan, P. (2011). Significance of impurity mineral identification in the value addition of
kaolin – A case study with reference to an acidic kaolin from India, Journal of Minerals & Materials
Characterization Engineering, 10 (11), 1007-1025.
Richerson, D.W. (2005). Modern Ceramic Engineering: Properties, Processing, and Use in Design, CRC press.
Robert, L.L. and White, J.L. (1966). Infrared studies of hydrogen bonding interaction between kaolinite surfaces
and intercalated potassium acetate, hydrazine, formamide and urea. Journal of Colloid and Interface
Science, 21 (2), 127-152.
Rytwo, G. (2008). Clay minerals as an ancient nanotechnology: Historical uses of clay organic interactions, and
future possible perspectives. Macla, 9, 15-17
drying and desulphurization of Liquidified Petroleum Gas. Iraqi Journal of Chemical and Petroleum
Engineering, 14 (1), 1-13.
Ajayi, A.O., Atta, A.Y., Aderemi, B.O. and Adefila, S.S. (2010). Novel method of metakaolin dealuminationpreliminary investigation. Journal of Applied Science & Research, 6 (10), 1539-1546.
Alkan, M., Hopa, C., Yilmaz, Z. and Guler, H. (2005). The effect of alkali concentration and solid/liquid ratio on the
hydrothermal synthesis of zeolite NaA from natural kaolinite, Microporous & Mesoporous Material, 86,
176-184.
Amber, I., Folayan, C., Suleiman, R. and Atta, A.Y. (2013). Application of synthesized zeolite A from Kankara kaolin
for solar adsorption refrigeration. Journal of Mechanical Engineering & Technology, 5 (1), 33-44.
Basaldella, E.I., Torres, R.M. and Tara, J.C. (1998). Iron influence in aluminosilicate zeolite synthesis, Clays and Clay
Minerals, 46 (5), 481-486.
Benco, L., Hafner, D.T. and Lischka, H. (2001). Upper limit of the O-H...O hydrogen bond, Abinitio study of the
kaolinite structure. Journal of Physical Chemistry, 105 (44), 10812-10817.
Bergaya, F. and Lagaly, G. (2006). Handbook of Clay Science, Vol. 5, 2nd ed., edited by F. Bergaya, B.K.G. Theng, and
G. Lagaly, Elsevier.
Bloodworth, A.J., Highley, D.E. and Mitchell, C.J. (1993). Industrial minerals laboratory manual: Kaolin, BGS
Technical Report, 1, 24-33.
Brigatti, M.F., Galan, E. and Theng, B.K.G. (2006). Handbook of Clay Science: Structure and Mineralogy of Clay
Minerals, Elsevier Amsterdam, 1224-1270.
Brown, I.W.M., Mackenzie, K.J.D. and Meinhold, R.H. (1985). Outstanding problem in kaolinite-mullite reaction
sequence investigated by 29Si and 27Al solid state NMR: High temperature transformation of metakaolinite.
Journal of American Ceramic Society, 68, 298-301
Christian, S.D. and Tucker, E.D. (1981). Characterisation of Bidor kaolinite and illite. America Laboratory, 13 (10),
47-55.
Chandrasekhar, S. (1996). Influence of metakaolinization temperature on the formation of zeolite 4A from kaolin.
Clay Minerals, 31, 253-261.
Chandrasekhar, S. and Ramaswamy, S. (2007). Investigation of a grey kaolin from south east India. Applied Clay
Science, 37, 32-46.
Chipera, S.J. and Bish, D.L. (2001). Baseline studies of the clay minerals society source clays: Powder X-ray
diffraction analysis. Clays and Clays Mineral, 49 (5), 398-409.
De Boer, J.H. (1958). The Structure and Properties of Porous Materials, Butterworth, London.
Duane, M.M. and Robert, C.R. (1997). X-ray Diffraction and the identification and analysis of Clay Minerals, second
ed. Oxford University Press.
Elton, N.J., Salt, P.D. and Adams, J.M. (1994). Determination of quartz in kaolin by X-ray powder diffractometry.
Analytica Chimica Acta, 286, 37-47.
Eva Mako, R.L.F., Janos K. and Erzsebet H. (2001). The effect of quartz content on the mechanochemical activation
of kaolinite. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 244, 359-364.
Foldvari, M. (2011). Handbook of thermogravimetric system of minerals and its use in geological practice,
Occasional Papers of the Geological Institute of Hungary, Budapest, 213, 17-70.
Kotoky, P., Bezbaruah, D., Baruah, J., Borah, G.C. and Sarma, J.N. (2006). Characterization of clay minerals in the
Brahmaputra river sediments, Assam, India. Current Science, 91 (9), 1247-1250.
Kovo, A.S. (2010). Development of zeolites and zeolite membranes from Ahoko Nigerian Kaolin, PhD. Thesis,
University of Manchester, UK. 90-108.
Liew, K.Y., Khoo, L.E. and Bong, K.T. (1985). Characterisation of Bidor Kaolinite and Illite. Pertanika, 8 (3), 323-330.
Mostafa, A.A., Youssef, H.F., Sorour, M.H., Tewfik, S.R. and Shalaan, H.F. (2011). Utilization of Egyptian kaolin for
zeolite-A preparation and performance evaluation, IPCBEE, 6, 43-48.
Murray, H. (1980). Major kaolin processing developments, International Journal of Mineral Processing, 7, 263-274.
Olaremu, A.G. (2015). Physico-chemical characterization of Akoko-mined kaolin clay. Journal of Minerals and
Materials Characterization Engineering, 3, 353-361.
Onwualu P.A. and Ibrahim H.D. (2010). Non-metallic mineral endowments in Nigeria, 34-40.
Osabor, V.N., Okafor, P.C., Ibe, K.A. and Ayi, A.A. (2009). Characterization of clay in Odukpani, South Eastern
Nigeria. African Journal of Pure and Applied Chemistry, 3 (5), 79-85.
Pabst, W., Havrda, K.K. and Gregorova, E. (1999). A note on particle size analyses of kaolin and clays, Journal of
European Ceramic Society, 20, 1429-1437.
Pavlov, M.L., Basimova, R.A., Travkina, O.S., Ramadan, A.K. and Imasheva, A.A. (2012). Improvement of synthesis
methods of powdery mordenite type zeolite. Oil and Gas Business, 2, 459-469.
Rahier, H., Wullaert, B. and Vanmele, B. (2000). Influence of the degree of dehydroxylation of kaolinite on the
properties of aluminosilicate glasses, Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, 62, 417-427.
Ramaswamy, S. and Raghavan, P. (2011). Significance of impurity mineral identification in the value addition of
kaolin – A case study with reference to an acidic kaolin from India, Journal of Minerals & Materials
Characterization Engineering, 10 (11), 1007-1025.
Richerson, D.W. (2005). Modern Ceramic Engineering: Properties, Processing, and Use in Design, CRC press.
Robert, L.L. and White, J.L. (1966). Infrared studies of hydrogen bonding interaction between kaolinite surfaces
and intercalated potassium acetate, hydrazine, formamide and urea. Journal of Colloid and Interface
Science, 21 (2), 127-152.
Rytwo, G. (2008). Clay minerals as an ancient nanotechnology: Historical uses of clay organic interactions, and
future possible perspectives. Macla, 9, 15-17
Published
2020-07-26
How to Cite
Olafadehan, O. A., Okolie, I. J., & Kehinde, A. (2020). Preparation and characterization of metakaolin from Nigeria Okpella kaolin for zeolite synthesis. Journal of Engineering Research, 23(1), 100-111. Retrieved from http://jer.unilag.edu.ng/article/view/974
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