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1. Federal University of Technology P. M. B. 704 Akure | Ondo | Department of Chemistry |Federal University of Technology Akure-Ondo State | Nigeria| 2. Department of Industrial Chemistry Ekiti State University | P. M. B. 5363 | Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State | Nigeria | This article is made freely available as part of this journal's Open Access: ID| Fortune-Ref.1-ajira051119 |
ABSTRACT Background: Generally, the quality of kaolin is measured as a function of iron content since this element gives an undesirable reddish colour to this type of mineral. If present in excess of threshold level, these impurities affect the commercial value of products derivable from kaolin. Nigeria is blessed with abundant deposits of kaolin in various parts of the country which are under-utilized for the production of kaolin based products because of iron-bearing impurities associated with the mineral. Methods: To address this challenge, this study was conducted to assess the effect of wet processing and oxalic acid treatment in the removal of iron oxide bearing impurities from Alkaleri and Onibode kaolin to meet industrial application. Kaolin sample from two major deposits, Alkaleri and Onibode was subjected to wet processing and leaching using 0.5M concentration of oxalic acid treatment. The total mineralogical composition of the two deposits, their chemical and morphological properties were studied using XRD, XRF and SEM as well as the effect of wet processing and oxalic acid treatment in the removal of iron-bearing impurities. Results: The results showed significant removal of iron oxide using oxalic acid from 1.92 to 0.60 % for ferric oxide and 2.62 to 1.05 % for titanifferous oxide in Alkaleri and 3.45 to 1.17% for ferric oxide and 4.28 to 1.98 for titanifferous oxide in Onibode kaolin. Conclusion: It can be inferred that the use of the two treatment processes can effectively reduce the iron-bearing impurities in Alkaleri and Onibode kaolin to acceptable threshold level for industrial application. Keywords: Kaolin, Alkaleri, Onibode, wet processing, leaching, iron-bearing impurities.
