Characterization of Bentonite Deposite, at Warseisso, Ethiopia

ABSTRACT

Bentonites, which consist essentially of the smectite group, have a wide range of industrial uses. The main uses of bentonites are in drilling mud, bonding foundry sand, iron ore palletizing, clarifying agent for oils and fats, agriculture, civil engineering, paper making, paints, pharmaceutical and cosmetics, The mineral which has got such varied applications is deposited in the Afar Regional state, specifically called Warseisso. In these work two exploitable properties of the clay, the drilling mud and the bonding foundry sand were investigated and compared with generally accepted quality criteria. For this purpose various parameters including physical, chemical, drilling fluid property, cation exchange capacity and petrographycal properties were measured. The generated data was compared with known quality standards of the mineral. As a result, the Warseisso clay deposit appears to posses low natural bentonitic quality. However the low natural quality has been significantly upgraded by chemical treatment

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