This study aimed at assessing the potential uses of alluvial clayey materials from Batouri. Their mineralogical, chemical and some physicomechanical characteristics are presented with some characteristics of fired bricks at 900, 950, 1000, 1050 and 1100 °C. The raw materials consisted of kaolinite, quartz, K-feldspars, anatase, and goethite. The phases formed during the firing process were mullite, quartz, hematite, and anatase. The linear shrinkage increased with firing temperature and remained <12% while water absorption decreased and remained <25%. Flexural strength increased due to the formation of dense phases (especially mullite) and, except for one sample, was at least 2 MPa. The SEM micrographs showed cracks that accounted for overall moderate mechanical responses. For firing above 1000 °C, the flexural strength of the three samples makes them usable as raw materials for roofing tiles manufacturing if the convenient amendment is done. The overall properties highlighted that all the studied materials are usable for brick manufacturing.
Clayey deposits of Nanga-Eboko (central Cameroon) were studied to assess their potential as building materials. Characterization was performed using XRD, FTIR, XRF, DTA/DTG and firing testing. Clays appear as discontinuous pockets with the same textural characteristics in three villages located on both sides of the Sanaga River. The average thickness of the exploitable layer is about 3m. The estimated tonnage ∼7–17×105 m3 can supply a brick industry of great importance. SiO2 (∼70%), Al2O3 (∼15%) and Fe2O3 (∼4%) are the predominant oxides of the natural clays. Quartz (∼55%), kaolinite (∼33%), illite (∼5%) and K-feldspar (∼4%) are major minerals. Clays are not suitable for building construction due to their fine-grained size and high plasticity properties. Firing properties of bricks (950 and 1050°C) are good despite the high shrinkage values. Therefore the addition of “degreasers” is recommended to control shaping and drying.
The determination of the processes responsible for the mineralization of groundwater requires a large number of samples and physicochemical data, the treatment of which proves to be tedious. Many statistical methods are developed to facilitate the treatment of a certain volume of data. In this study, multivariate statistical analysis including principal components analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) have been applied on the groundwater physicochemical data of the upper Kambo watershed. The aim is to simplify the data in order to evaluate the relationships between the parameters and also to detect the factors that influence the water chemistry. For the PCA, three factors were retained representing 70% of the total inertia. Factor 1 shows the heterogeneity of sources of acquisition of the mineralization by the positive correlation with all the variables. Factor 2 indicates the dissolution of carbonates and anthropogenic input. Factor 3 highlights the silicate, anthropogenic and atmospheric or marine origin. The HCA enables to differentiate 4 groups of water according to the degree of mineralization. Groups 1 and 2 represent the most mineralized waters, dominated by calcium. The poor mineralized waters are groups 3 and 4 with the rather close contents in calcium and sodium.
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