Research Article
Eze k. A., Nwadiogbu J.O., Nwa
Abstract
Improvement on the quality of kaolin has been conducted by treatment with different concentrations of hydrochloric acid. The raw and treated clays were analysed for SiO2, Al2O3, TiO2, K2O, Fe2O3, and MgO using energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence. The physical change in colour from pink to white as the concentration increased to 2mol/dm3 was a removal of metallic compounds, like Fe2O3 which stained the clay. The experiments showed that treatment of kaolinite in dilute hydrochloric acid clean the clay minerals by removing iron oxides and other metallic compounds from the surface of the clay.