Mechanical and Physicochemical Evaluation of Alkaleri Fireclay for Refractory Application

Abstract

Abstract. The mechanical, chemical and physical property of Alkaleri fireclay was investigated for its appropriateness for refractory application. The chemical composition was performed and analyzed using the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer Bench top XRF analyzer technique. Chemical property result indicated that the clay contained 67.4 % silica (SiO 2 ), 30.06 % aluminum (Al 2 O 3 ), and other impurities. The clay was subjected to mechanical activation through sintering process at varied sintering temperatures of 900 °C, 1000 °C, 1100 °C and 1200 °C. At the best sintering temperature of 1200 °C, the cold crushing strength (CCS) was 17.82 MPa, in the physical properties; apparent porosity was 22.8 %, bulk density was 1.8 g/cm 3 , and firing shrinkage was 8.9 %. The Alkaleri clay belongs to alumino-silicate fireclay group and therefore, suitable materials for refractory application of ladle, kiln dryer, boilers, cook stoves, furnace lining and bricks.

Mechanical Evaluation and Minerals Phases Identification of Fine and Coarse Okelele Block Clay Composites for Furnace Lining Application

“…Clay as a mineral that consist of silica (SiO 2 ), Alumina (Al 2 O 3 ), water (H 2 O), and other impurities are aluminosilicate, mostly answerable for its thermal property of refractoriness which applicable in the manufacturing of several refractory products. It is earthen and soil with intricate inorganic blend, whose structure diverges and generally depends on the environmental and geographical position [2].…”

“…Nigeria spends more than 2.27 billion naira yearly on the importation of refractories for industrial application [3]. The application of clay composites as a refractory material depends severally on its thermal property of refractoriness, chemical composition, mechanical and physical properties [2], [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. Refractory materials are inorganic materials containing the mixtures of oxides obtained from naturally occurring minerals capable of withstanding very high temperature conditions without cracking, deforming, softening or change in composition [3].…”

Low-temperature sintering of high-siliceous clay under conditions of oxygen deficiency

“…Type of material Phase composition Content, wt% In view of the similarity of the mineralogical composition of the so-called "clay" and "sand" and the dominant content of quartz and plagioclases in them, it is more reasonable to assign these components to quartz-feldspar sands with a somewhat different composition [7][8]. It is known that, on the basis of high-siliceous sand, refractory ceramics is obtained at high firing temperatures [2,3,[9][10][11]. For quartz-feldspar sand, precisely the presence of feldspar containing orthoclase, albite, and anorthite provides the flux-forming effect and sintering at 1050 o С [12][13][14][15].…”