Bida Clay: A Source of Raw Material for Engineering Applications

Clay from Bida was investigated and

characterized using XRF, XRD, SEM and physico-
mechanical methods. The XRF analysis shows high value

of 69.58% SiO2, 23.15% Al2O3, and 2.93% Fe2O3, with
low amount of other oxides like CaO, K2O and Na2O.
The clay deposit from the XRD results was found to be
kaolinitic with refractoriness of 12500C and a good 12
cycles of thermal shock resistance were observed. The
physico-mechanical characteristics of the clay studied
were found to improve as the firing temperature
increased. This was attributed to decrease in porosities
and increase in compaction of the samples. The
mechanical properties values of cold crushing strength
(CCS) of 202.41kgF/cm2 was attained and meet the
requirements for production of tiles, refractory lining of
heat treatment furnaces and kilns. The chemical
properties from XRF results were found to be within the
standard requirements for application in ceramic and
refractory applications.