Author(s)

Imed Ben Salah^1*, Moufida M’barek Jemaii¹, Narjess Karoui-Yaakoub¹, Ali Sdiri², Noureddine Ben Ayed¹

¹Department of Geology, Sciences University of Bizerte, Bizerte, Tunisia.
²Department of Georesources and Environment, National Engineering School, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia.

Gypsum is widely distributed in Tunisia occurring in the formation of Triassic age. The gypsum deposit of Mellegue is the alabastine type with a little of the porphyroblast type and contains traces of clay minerals and calcite. It is a moderately strong rock in terms of its unconfined compressive strength of 16 Mpa and tensile strength of 3.35 Mpa. Triaxial testing values indicated an apparent cohesion of 10 Mpa and an angle of friction of 26°. The gypsum studied had a percentage of SO₃ of 41.71% and a percentage of CaO of 32.9%. All the samples had low densities according to the International Association of Engineering Geology (IAEG) classification and exhibited a moderate porosity whether effective or absolute. The gypsum proved to be moderately strong when tested in unconfined compression and tensile strength. Thermal analysis indicated a total weight loss of 20.27% and the whiteness index about 90%. This proved a high degree of whiteness. The time of setting can be considered short and medium, which is quite favorable for industrial application compared with other gypsum deposits currently operated.

Triassic Gypsum Deposit, Mineralogical Analysis, Physicochemical Analysis, Geotechnical Testing, Industrial Use

Salah, I. , Jemaii, M. , Karoui-Yaakoub, N. , Sdiri, A. and Ayed, N. (2016) Properties of Debadib Evaporates (Northern Tunisia) for Potential Use in Industrial Fields. Open Journal of Geology, 6, 1525-1538. doi: 10.4236/ojg.2016.612108.