CHARACTERISATION OF BANA KAOLIN AS ZEOLITE-SODALITE PRECURSOR
This research aimed to assess the physicochemical properties of Bana/Niger Kaolin for its application as a zeolite- sodalite precursor. First, X-Ray Fluorescence, X-Ray Diffraction and thermogravimetric and differential thermal techniques were used to carry out the characterization of Bana Kaolin. To prepare metakaolin, the kaolinitic claywas subjected to calcination at 650°C for 3 hours. The gel resulted from alkaline treatment with 3 mol/Lsodiumhydroxide conducted at 50°C for one hour on the calcined product. Following this, the obtained gel underwent crystallisation at 110°C for 4 hours. To remove alkali, the resulting products were washed using distilled water. After drying, the resulting zeolite (sodalite) was characterized. It was found that the major phases in the rawclaysample are kaolinite and quartz, with minor elements found through chemical analysis. The high proportions of Silicon (52.17%) and Aluminum (32.8%) correspond to the major peaks of quartz and kaolinite foundinmineralogical analysis results. The resulting synthesis product consisted of a mixture of sodalite and quartz.
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