Pristine Clay Mineral Deposit For Water Purification and Other Potential Industrial Applications

Abstract

Clays are used extensively in water purification and several other industrial processes due to their porosity, large surface area and cation exchange ability. Given their vast potential importance, four Nigeria clay samples were characterized taking into consideration their potential application for water purification and some other industrial interests. The chemical and mineralogy composition were determined using the EDX, XRF and XRD while FTIR investigated the functional groups of the clay minerals. Clay morphological properties were characterized using SEM, CEC, BET and the zeta potential carried out to analyse the stability in aqueous solution. The study revealed that the clays were mainly kaolinite, while the clay minerals were primarily quartz having other associated minerals like anatase and pyrite. The clay samples were found to show satisfactory fitting for water purification owing to their exchangeable cations, zeta potential, and BET results. Additionally, they were also found to be suitable for industrial applications for production of firebricks, production of super-heat duty fireclay refractory materials, inhibition of shrinkage during sintering process, inhibition of bacteria growth, and refractory clays. The study outlines the usefulness of the clay mineral deposits in Nigeria that will improve the natural water purification, thereby creating a cheap and readily available purifier for locals and global usage.