TITLE:
Suitability of Some Selected Clay Deposit from Edo, Ogun, Ondo and Ekiti State of Nigeria for Ceramic Water Filters Production
AUTHORS:
Smart Adeleye Olubayode, Olufiropo Samson Awokola, Enoch Olugbenga Dare, Olubayo Timothy Olateju
KEYWORDS:
Ceramic Water Filters, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), Clay
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering,
Vol.4 No.1,
January
18,
2016
ABSTRACT: This study is designed to investigate the suitability of selected Nigeria clay deposit for clay based ceramic
water filters (CWFs). Clay samples were taken from five randomly selected locations in Nigeria
Namely: Okpella (Edo1) and Ojirami (Edo2) in Edo; Ikere in Ekiti state; FUTA in Ondo state and Onibode
in Ogun to determine their suitability for clay based ceramic water filters (CWFs). Experimental
analysis for linear shrinkage, water absorption, bulk density, compressive strength X-ray diffraction
(XRD) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) was carried out on each of the clay samples. Test results
reveal that all the clays contain high contents of alumina (Al2O3) and silica (SiO2) with minor contents
of P2O5, Fe2O3, MgO, K2O, MnO and TiO2. The average crystal sizes of the clay were between 15
and 27 nm. Lattice structure indicates that the sample is Monoclinic and Anorthic. Ceramic water filters
(CWFs) were made from a mixture of clay and sawdust at different volume ratios, and processed
into test samples. Water absorption, linear shrinkage and compressive strength of the clay based
ceramic filters (CWFs), reveal that as the volume ratio of sawdust increases these properties decrease.
Flow rate analysis indicates that Edo and Ekiti ceramic water filters (CWFs) have higher flow
rates. The research indicates that Edo and Ekiti Clay with specification of some industrial clays
shows that the samples can be recommended for use in clay based ceramic water filters production.