Abstract
In Malaysia, limestone is essentially important for the economic growth as raw materials in the industry sector. Nevertheless, a little attention was paid to the physical, chemical, mineralogical, and morphological properties of the limestone using X-ray fluorescence (X-RF), X-ray diffraction (X-RD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Scanning electron microscopy / energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) respectively. Raw materials (limestone rocks) were collected from Bukit Keteri area, Chuping, Kangar, Perlis, Malaysia. Lab crusher and lab sieved were utilized to prepare five different size of ground limestone at (75 µm, 150 µm, 225 µm, 300, and 425 µm) respectively. It is found that the main chemical composition of bulk limestone was Calcium oxide (CaO) at 97.58 wt.% and trace amount of MnO, Al2O3, and Fe2O3 at 0.02%, 0.35%, and 0.396% respectively. XRD diffractograms showed characteristic peaks of calcite and quartz. Furthermore, main FTIR absorption bands at 1,419, 874.08 and 712.20 cm-1 indicated the presence of calcite. The micrographs showed clearly the difference of samples particle size. Furthermore, EDS peaks of Ca, O, and C elements confirmed the presence of CaCO3 in the samples.
Highlights
In Malaysia, limestone is characterized by wide karstification with the development of a complex and large network of caves [1]
The high contents of Calcium oxide (CaO) (97.58 wt.%) in the sample indicated that the sample was high limestone purity [7], but silica constituted the common impurity (0.90 wt.%)
It is found that a trace amount of Al2O3, Fe2O3, and SrO elements are existed in the sample
Summary
In Malaysia, limestone is characterized by wide karstification with the development of a complex and large network of caves [1]. Limestone is mainly composed of calcium carbonate mineral CaCO3 This compound is one of the most common materials among the chemically precipitated sedimentary rocks [2]. Limestone is widely used in architectural applications for walls, decorative trim and veneer It is less frequently used as a sculptural material, because of its porosity and softness. It’s found that limestone was able to remove more than 90% of heavy metals from polluted water [4] Another important use of limestone (after converting to hydrated lime) is mitigation of poisonous and dangerous gases emission. The characterization of limestone as a raw material of hydrated lime was conducted using wide range of analysis to investigate the physical, chemical, mineralogical, and morphological properties of limestone
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