Applied Clay Science 118 (2015) 212–220

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Applied Clay Science

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/clay

Identification and traditional ceramic application of clays from the

Chouamekh region in south-eastern Tunisia
A. Bennour a,e, S. Mahmoudi b,⁎, E. Srasra c, N. Hatira b,e, S. Boussen d,e, M. Ouaja b, F. Zargouni d
a
Department of Geology, Faculty of Sciences of Bizerte, Zarzouna 7021, Tunisia
b
Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Sciences of Gabes, Zrig 6072, Tunisia
c
Laboratory of Physicochemical of Minerals Materials and its Applications, National Centre of Research in Materials Sciences, BP95, Hammam Lif 2050 Tunisia
d
Department of Geology, Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, 1060 Belvedere, Tunis, Tunisia
e
Industrial Rocks and Useful Substances Direction, National Office of Mines, charguia I, 3023, Tunisia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: For the first time, Permo-Triassic clays collected from the Chouamekh region in south-eastern Tunisia have been
Received 8 July 2015 studied for their possible use in the ceramic industry. In terms of mineralogy, they can be considered illitic clays.
Received in revised form 22 September 2015 However, other clay minerals, such as kaolinite, I/Sm mixed-layer and chlorite are also present. The chemical
Accepted 27 September 2015
analysis indicates that these clays are notably siliceous. The alkali content (K2O + Na2O) is high (~4.2%), thus
Available online 22 October 2015
explaining why these clays can be fired at relatively low temperatures. The amount of alumina and iron oxide,
Keywords:
with an average of 15% and 6.3% respectively, is variable. The tests show that these clays have low to medium
Tunisia plasticity values (PI = 11–28%). The firing shrinkage and the expansion are limited. A lower firing and drying
Illitic clays temperature can be translated into significant energy savings. Technical tests show that the properties fall within
Ceramic properties the ceramic International Standards (ISO). Ceramic tiles and bricks prepared from these clays have suitable char-
Tiles and bricks acteristics without defects and can be classified in group BIII according to the European Standard NF EN159
(1991).
© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction object of our characterization study, and the possibility of determining

The clays of Tunisia have a wide range of applications mainly in
the refractory and ceramic industries. Following the development
and mutations that the Tunisian economy has witnessed, there has
been insatiable demand for the use of clays in the ceramics industry
(Fig. 1).
The aim of the project is to contribute to the development of the
country's economic potential through the promotion of useful sub-
stances, and among them building materials. The project will support
the formal and informal private sector through recommendations and
appropriate actions within this context to promote the exploitation
and the rational use of local materials.
There has been insatiable demand for the use of clays in the ceramics
industry. Accordingly, in the last few decades many studies have
been made on clays and their applications (Khemakhem et al.,
2004; Mahmoudi et al., 2008; Baccour et al., 2008; Baccour et al.,
2009; Hajjaji et al., 2010; Hammami-Ben Zaied et al., 2015; Bennour
et al., 2015).
The region studied in this work is in the Tunisian south, located in
the northern edge of the Saharan platform bordering the southern
folded and faulted regions of the Atlas chain. Red clays, which are the
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: salahmahmoudii@yahoo.fr (S. Mahmoudi).
their possible applications, are part of the Cheguimi formation. Despite
the fact that the region studied (Tebaga in Médenine) has been the
subject of several studies (Mathieu, 1949; Termier and Termier, 1974;
Bouaziz, 1995; Mejri et al., 2006), the work on the Permo-Triassic tran-
sition is not abundant since the latter is still unclear due to continuous
detrital and a poor-in-fossils sedimentation.
The area studied is characterized by a red clay mass with a thickness
of 240 m and covered of thin Quaternary deposits, and showing impor-
tant reserves.
The study area is located 25 km west of the city of Médenine and in
the center of the topographic map at 1/100,000 from Matmata, between
the coordinates UTMC: X = 607,700; Y = 3,693,000. The Chouamekh
area is characterized of its heavy outcrops of gray clay of the late
Permo-Triassic. These clays, with fine sandy layers, occupy the entire
area between the towns of Halk el Jemel and Chouamekh. (UTMC: Uni-
versal Transverse Mercator: Carthage-Tunisia, zone 32).
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Sample preparation
This study focused to characterize 8 samples named from the base
ClayCh1 to tops of the section ClayCh8 taken from sedimentary
Permo-Triassic material. In order to ensure a representative sample no

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2015.09.018
0169-1317/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 A. Bennour et al. / Applied Clay Science 118 (2015) 212–220 213

Fig. 1. (a) The geological location and the synthetic lithostratigraphic log of the studied sector and (b) the importation of ceramic products (National Institute of Statistics of Tunisia).

less than 50 kg of clays are collected. The mixture sample was selected a
being representative of the Chouamekh region underwent a subsequent
compositional and technological characterization. After extraction, they
were initially dried at 105 °C until a constant weight was obtained, and
then they were powdered for 30 min. To prepare the oriented aggre-
gates, the clay fraction was purified through classical methods. The
raw material was completely decarbonated by adding a small amount
of 1 N HCl, and treated with H2O2 to eliminate any organic matter. The
material was washed five times with 1 N NaCl and excess salt was re-
moved by dialysis. The fraction b 2 μm was separated in a centrifuge,
and the suspension was dried at 60 °C (Grim, 1962; Srodon, 1981;
Bergaya et al., 2006).
In order to perform the technological tests, the clays were humidified
in 6% water content, mixed and sieved (Ø 1 mm) until a homogeneous
paste was obtained. Specimen tiles were prepared using 60 g of green
material per test piece by pressing them at 200–250 kg/cm2 using
100 × 50 × 10 mm molds and then drying them in air at room tempera-
ture for one week and at 105 °C for 24 h.
2.2. Methods
X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns were recorded on a Philips X'Pert
diffractometer at the Energy Research and Technology Center (CRTE)
using CuKα radiation (1.5418 Å), on the bulk or powder samples and
214 A. Bennour et al. / Applied Clay Science 118 (2015) 212–220

Table 1
Mineralogical, chemical, and physical analyses of the Chouamekh clays.

Analyses Samples ClayCh1 ClayCh 2 ClayCh 3 ClayCh 4 ClayCh 5 ClayCh 6 ClayCh 7 ClayCh 8 Mixture of samples (M)

Raw materials (%) Phyllosilicates 70 43 59 78 63 32 78 73 53

Quartz 18 41 11 15 23 48 12 15 26
Dolomite 6 10 22 2 10 18 2 4 15
Feldspar 1 3 2 0 0 0 2 0 2
hematite 2 1 3 3 2 0 2 6 2
Calcite 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fraction b 2 μm (%) Illite 55 34 48 37 44 18 56 61 39
Kaolinite 14 8 8 9 18 14 16 11 13
Illite/Smectite 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Chlorite 0 0 1 31 0 00 5 0 0
Chemical compositions (wt%) SiO2 54.82 64.57 41.2 53.64 48.89 61.89 47.89 48.61 49.51
Al2O3 16.98 11.81 13.91 16.39 14.88 9.75 19.72 18.7 14.95
Fe2O3 7.38 4.26 8.65 9.99 7.78 4.66 8.92 10.17 6.32
CaO 2.36 2.75 7.11 1.12 4.20 4.08 1.31 1.97 4.87
MgO 3.36 2.87 6.69 3.65 4.92 4.49 3.16 3.09 4.42
Na2O 0.28 0.24 0.40 0.28 0.24 0.16 0.92 0.52 0.49
K2O 3.60 2.67 3.15 3.87 3.33 2.62 3.95 3.93 3.08
SO3 0.14 2.67 0.44 0.23 0.16 0.27 0.58 0.19 0.42
LOI 10.09 8.90 17.68 10.12 13.79 10.73 11.65 11.26 13.7
CEC (meq/100 g of air-dried clay) – – – – – – – – 19
SS (m2/g) 73 39 55 51 62 55 87 79 73
Plasticity (%) LL 52 41 39 30 42 32 48 54 41
PL 20 21 25 20 25 19 20 22 22.5
PI 32 20 14 11 17 13 28 32 18.5

on the oriented aggregates (natural (N) and treated with ethylene
glycol (EG) and heated to 550 °C for 2 h (H)). The accelerating voltage
and filament current were maintained at 40 kV and 40 mA, respectively.
The percentages of the different mineral phases were estimated by mea-
suring the areas of representative peaks, using X'Pert HighScore Plus
software and PDF-4 (JCPDS-ICDD data base). The standard deviation
was ±5%.
The major element compositions (SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, K2O, Na2O,
MgO, CaO, MnO and TiO2) were determined by atomic absorption
spectroscopy.
Loss on ignition (LOI) was measured from the total weight after igni-
tion at 1000 °C for 2 h. FT-IR spectra were recorded in the region
400–4000 cm − 1 in an EQUINOX model 55 infrared Fourier transform
spectrometer, using the KBr pellet technique (about 2 mg of sample and
200 mg of KBr were used in the preparation of the pellets).
The cation exchange capacity was measured with the standard ace-
tate ammonium procedure (Meir and Nuesch, 1999; Bergaya et al.,
2006). The specific surface area was determined with the methylene
Fig. 2. XRD patterns of the clay fraction of mixture (M). (N) untreated sample; (EG) solvat-
ed with ethylene glycol; (H) heated at 550 °C and the bulk sample. Q: quartz; Il: illite; Kao:
kaolinite; Phy: phyllosilicate; D: dolomite; H: hematite and Feld: feldspar.
blue index method. A suspension of 10 g of powdered clay and 100 ml
of distilled water was prepared and mixed with the methylene blue so-
lution (10 g/l). One drop of this suspension was then placed on a filter
paper and the value for the specific surface was derived from the quan-
tity of the adsorbed methylene blue (Ferrari and Gualteri, 2006). This
method is commonly used in earth sciences. It is used to classify the ar-
gillaceous fraction activity and to detect sensible clays like smectite.
The plasticity parameters (liquid limit (LL), plastic limit (PL) and
plastic index (PI), PI = LL − PL) were defined by Proust et al. (2004),
Ancey (2007), Yu et al. (2007), and Modesto and Bernardin (2008).
These parameters were determined by the Casagrande method
(Casagrande, 1947; LCPC, 1987), in accordance with the French Stan-
dard NF P 94-051.
The grain size analysis was carried out by sedimentation using a
laser analyzer.
The differential thermal analysis and thermal gravimetric DTA/TG
were obtained with a SETARAM type 124. The expansion and firing
shrinkage were measured using an Adamel Lhomargy DM 15 dila-
tometer. The samples were heated from room temperature to 900 °C
at 10 °C/min.
The technological tests were performed on ten specimens of each
sample.
To determine the linear firing shrinkage, the bending strength and
the water absorption, ten flat pieces (100 mm × 50 mm × 10 mm)
were tested. The linear firing shrinkage was evaluated using the formu-
la: [(lf − ld) / ld] × 100, where ld and lf are the measured length of the
dried and fired samples respectively (ISO 10545-2, 1995). The bending
strength was measured with a three-point flexural method according
to the ISO 10545-4 (2004) norm. The average values of bending
strength were calculated with the equation: MF = 3FL/2bh2, where:
F = breaking load (kg), L = distance between supports (L =
29.67 mm), b = sample width (mm), h = sample thickness (mm).
The water absorption was determined from heated ceramic samples ac-
cording to ISO 10545-3 (1995). The pieces were soaked in water and
heated until boiling point was reached. The ceramic bodies were sepa-
rated from each other after being plunged in water in order to display
the largest free surface possible. The ceramic bodies were kept in the
boiling water for 2 h. When the water reached 35–40 °C, the ceramic
bodies were taken out, their surfaces dried, and the bodies weighed.
The value of the water absorption (WA) was obtained as follows:
WA = [(wf − wi) / wi] × 100.
 A. Bennour et al. / Applied Clay Science 118 (2015) 212–220 215

Table 2
Cation exchange capacities C.E.C. of common clay minerals.

Minerals Kaolinite Halloysite Illite Montmorillonite Vermiculite Chlorite

C.E.C. meq/100 g of air-dried clay⁎ 3–15 5–10 10–40 80–150 100–150 10–40
C.E.C. meq/100 g of air-dried clay⁎⁎ 1–10 – 10–50 80–200 150–250 b10
s.s. (m2/g)⁎⁎ 10–30 – 70–140 700–800 760 50–150
⁎ Grim (1962).
⁎⁎ Beaulieu (1979).

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Clay characterization

The mineralogical composition of the bulk and b 2 μm fraction is re-

ported in Table 1. All the studied samples show that illite is the major
clay mineral characterized by the (001) and (002) basal reflections at
10.02 and 5.01 Å, respectively (Fig. 2). Illite provides favorable proper-
ties to the clays for ceramic use (Carretero et al., 2002; Ferrari and
Gualteri, 2006; Sedmale et al., 2006; Wattanasiriwech et al., 2009).
See Table 2.
It is clear that the main sources of potassium are the feldspars and
the phyllosilicates. In this case, the distribution of potassium shows
that a great part of this element is probably combined with the illite,
as the positive correlation between illite and potassium suggests
(Fig. 3). This idea can be further confirmed by the low feldspar content
(b3%) and its absence in CH4, CH5, CH6 and CH8. In ceramics, it is pref-
erable not to use clays which are rich in iron oxide (in hematite) on one
hand, because it is an unwanted mineral in this industry due to its red
color (Stepkowska and Jefferis, 1992) and on the other hand, because
it can undergo reactions with the enamel layer to produce an undesir-
able color.
The b2 μm fraction indicates the predominance of illite (37 −
62%), a moderate presence of kaolinite (8 − 19%) and a minor
amount of interstratified I/Sm and chlorite. The total amount of
phyllosilicates ranges from 32 to 79%, whereas the non-clay minerals
in the bulk samples are quartz (11 − 42%), (2 − 23%) and hematite
(0 − 7%).
Fig. 3. Correlation between: (a) potassium and illite; (b) iron oxide and hematite of the
studied clays.

Table 3
Particle-size distribution of the studied samples.

Fraction (μm) Weight (%)

N 600 1.5
400–600 5.1
315–400 4.0
250–315 4.4
160–2500 4.8
100–160 5.2
80–100 5.5
40–80 5.7
b40 63.8

Table 4
Technical parameters of the ceramic bodies prepared from the studied clays.

Product Temperature Drying Firing Water Flexural Weight

(°C) shrinkage shrinkage absorption strength loss
(%) (%) (%) (N/mm2) (%)

Bricks 800 5.71 0.1 14.39 – 5.52

850 0.19 14.33 – 7.59
900 1.78 13.56 – 7.67
Tiles 950 0.74 1.56 13.08 25.67 11.38
Fig. 4. Infrared spectra of mixture (M)of the sample clays from the Chouamekh region
1050 1.56 12.74 26.24 11.8
(a) raw sample and (b) purified sample: wave number ranging between 400 and
1100 2.86 7.77 38.86 11.9
4000 cm−1.
216 A. Bennour et al. / Applied Clay Science 118 (2015) 212–220

The IR spectrum of the raw materials (Fig. 4) shows the presence of

illite and kaolinite as stretching bands at 3698 and 3621 cm−1, respec-
tively. Moreover, the bending bands at 914 and 696 cm−1 are character-
istic of kaolinite and other dioctahedral clay (Caillère et al., 1982). The
main non-clay mineral was quartz detected by the doublet at 779 and
798 cm−1 (Farmer, 1974). The large band near 1035 cm−1 corresponds
to the Si–O stretching vibration. The bending bands are at 535 cm−1 for
Si–O–Al, at 471 cm−1 for Si–O–Mg and at 431 cm−1 for Si–O–Si (Van
Der Marel and Beutelspacher, 1976).
The chemical compositions of the raw materials are reported in
Table 1. All samples contain major amounts of silica (41–65%), alumina
(9–20%) and iron (4–10%). The percentage of potassium (2.6–3.9%) is
also quite high in all samples, suggesting the presence of illite. This
has already been ascertained in the mineralogical analysis. A great
part of the iron content depends on the hematite ratios. A positive cor-
relation between iron and hematite can be observed (Fig. 3). This iron
content (with an average of 6.3%) is homogeneous; it reflects the unifor-
mity and stability of the tonality of color after firing (Klaarenbeek, 1961;
Kreimeyer, 1987).
The loss on ignition varies from 8 to 18% and the detected values are
attributable to the carbonate decomposition. Fig. 6. Bigot curve of mixture (M) of the sample clays from the Chouamekh region.
Concerning the physical parameters (Table 1), the specific surface
area and CEC were found to be on average 73 m2/g and 19 meq/100 g
of air-dried clay. These low values are explained by the presence of im- The grain size distribution of one representative clay mixture (M) of
purities (carbonates, quartz, hematite, etc) in these clays and the abun- eight clay samples was measured (Table 3) showing the following
dance of illite. points:
The plasticity parameters of the studied clays are illustrated in
Table 1 and show that the liquid limit varies between 30 and 52%. The − The fraction below 40 μm is high (63.8%), which plays a crucial role
plastic limit oscillates between 19 and 25%. These parameters, plotted in the properties of fresh pastes and can facilitate cohesion and com-
on a Holtz and Kovacs (1981) diagram (Fig. 5) indicate that these paction.
clays belong to the illitic clays, having poor or low to medium or moder- − The fraction above 40 μm is high (63.8%) showing a homogeneous
ate plasticity. The high content of quartz, the lack of interstratified I/Sm distribution. The problem arising by the presence of high particles
and the absence of expandable or swelling clays such as smectite and can be solved by simply crushing and sifting.
vermiculite tends to decrease the liquid limit, the plasticity index, the
CEC and SS. This result is in agreement with the X-ray diffraction results.
On the other hand, these plasticity values are suitable and encouraging 3.2. Technical characteristics
for optimal behavior in pressing (cohesion) and drying (negligible con-
traction and easy to dry) which are in agreement with the range defined To know the drying behavior, the Bigot curve was obtained for the
in the literature for ceramic production (Van der Merwe, 1964). clay mixture (M) as shown in Fig. 6. The test showed that the studied

Fig. 5. Position of the studied clays on the Holtz and Kovacs diagram.
 A. Bennour et al. / Applied Clay Science 118 (2015) 212–220 217

Fig. 7. TGA/TDA curves of mixture (M)of the sample clays from the Chouamekh region.

sample contains 8.6% moisture water and 12.9% interlayer water. The
maximum shrinkage was 5.4% on drying at room-temperature suggest-
ing a fast drying property. The parameters of Bigot curve, indicated that
clay mixture (M) is characterized by moderate drying behavior and
don't requiring the addition of a degreaser (Bennour et al., 2015). In
the ceramic industry, the clay materials undergo drying and firing
steps; these processes can be conducted via the Bigot curve, DTA/TGA
and dilatometric analyses DA (Figs. 6, 7 and 8). The Bigot curve is fre-
quently used to select the best mixture for a ceramic product and
gives information on the aptitude of clays to dry and their capacity to
expel or retain water (Ratzemberger, 1990; Tari and Ferreira, 1997).
Both aspects are very important in the manufacture of a ceramic
product.
The DTA/TGA curves of the representative sample of the Chouamekh
clays are shown in Fig. 7 with the following effects:
− The first endothermic peaks at 170 and 227 °C, proving the removal
of weakly bound water, with the weight loss being 2.2 and 1.1%, re-
spectively.
− The second exothermic peak appears at 319 °C, corresponding to the
decomposition of organic matter, with a weight loss of 1.2%.
− The third endo-reaction for decarbonation is detected at 694 °C and
is followed by a weight loss of 3.6%.
Concerning the DA curve of clay mixture (M), Fig. 8 shows a
first expansion near 150 °C due to a departure of water. The heat
treatment shows the existence of an inflection point between 500
and 600 °C attributed to the polymorphic α to β transition of
quartz. The second expansion is detected between 600 and
850 °C; typical characteristic plateaus of illitic clays (Cizeron,
1985). The expansion value is 2.8% at 748 °C; this phenomenon is
accompanied by rapid shrinkage due to vitrification. The chemical
analyses show a high content of Fe2 O 3 and K 2 O, which accelerate
the vitrification. This shrinkage is perturbed by an additional expan-
sion which is attributed to the entrapment of CO2 resulting from the
decomposition of carbonates (Peters and Iberg, 1978). The final
shrinkage is relatively low (0.8%) because the studied clays consist
mainly of illite and quartz.

Fig. 8. Dilatometric curve of clay mixture (M) of the sample clays from the Chouamekh region.
218 A. Bennour et al. / Applied Clay Science 118 (2015) 212–220

Fig. 9. Powder X-ray diffractograms of clay mixture (M)of the sample clays from the Chouamekh region calcined at 300, 600, 800, 1000 and 1200 °C. Reflections in the diffractograms are
identified as: Q: quartz;Phy: phyllosilicate; K: kaolinite; I: illite, Feld: feldspar; D: dolomite; H: Hematite; An: Anortite; W: wollastonite; Geh: Gehlenite and Sp: Spinel.

3.3. Study of the thermal behavior by XRD
The mineralogical changes during the firing process were analyzed
by X-ray diffraction. The X-ray difractograms of the raw clays after
heating at 300, 600, 800, 1000 and 1200 °C for 3 h are given in Fig. 9.
Kaolinite disappeared completely at a temperature of 600 °C. Illite,
on the other hand, gradually decreased until a temperature of 800 °C
was reached. Dolomite and feldspar minerals underwent the same pro-
cess as illite. From this temperature on, the destruction of kaolinite co-
incided with the appearance of an amorphous product which could be
metakaolinite (Kakali et al., 2001). Quartz and hematite were the only
minerals that resisted the ambient temperature to 1200 °C.
From 1000 °C onwards, remarkable changes were noticed. Accord-
ingly, new phases such as gehlenite, wollastonite and anorthite ap-
peared. Anorthite began to crystallize at 800 °C after the destruction of
clay minerals and continued to increase until 1200 °C, whereas at this
temperature, gehlenite and wollastonite disappeared (Fig. 9).
The hematite reflections appear higher than in the raw material,
suggesting the formation of a secondary iron oxide from the breakdown
of the phyllosilicate (Baccour et al., 2008; Escalera et al., 2014).
The gehlenite (2.85 Å), Ca2 Al2 SiO7, and the anorthite CaAl2 Si2 O8,
are considered the result of the multistage solid state reactions between
the clay matrix and carbonates. Gehlenite is an unstable intermediate
phase formed from metakaolinite and calcium oxide recorded in sample
clays which are rich in carbonate when processed at 1000 °C. (Azzouz et
al., 2011). This is in disagreement to what El-Mahhlawy (2008) and
Manoharan et al. (2011) published, indicating that the presence of anor-
thite in the fired specimens demonstrated that the firing process
reached the equilibrium state thus suggesting that the reaction was
completed. At 1200 °C, hematite, anorthite, quartz and spinel were the
only crystalline phases in the sample.
3.4. Ceramic tests
The technological properties of the ceramic tiles and bricks prepared
from the Chouamekh clays are reported in Table 4 and Fig. 10. The min-
eralogical, chemical, physical and technical results of the Chouamekh
clays encourage the use of these materials for ceramic production.
These results show similar characteristics to other clays which are cur-
rently used in Tunisia (e.g. Baccour et al., 2008; Mahmoudi et al.,

Fig. 10. Tested bricks and ceramic tiles of clay mixture (M) of the sample clays from the Chouamekh region.
 A. Bennour et al. / Applied Clay Science 118 (2015) 212–220
2008; Hajjaji et al., 2010; Medhioub et al., 2012; Hachani et al., 2012;
Hammami-Ben Zaied et al., 2015) and elsewhere (e.g. Strazzera et al.,
1997; Dondi, 1999; Carretero et al., 2002; Ferrari and Gualteri, 2006;
Dondi et al., 2014). The large amount of illite in these clays provokes a
large percentage of glass phase, lower water absorption (7.7% at
1100 °C) and higher linear shrinkage (b2.8%). The vitrification of these
clays is marked by a high bending strength (maximum strength
39 MPa at 1100 °C). According to the European Standard NF EN159
(1991), the majority of the ceramic bodies are classified into group BIII
(for tiles fired at 1100 °C, the water absorption N 10%), while those
fired at temperature N1100 °C are classified as BIIb (water absorption
6–10%). After minor corrections with other components (such as de-
greaser, sand, crushed glass, grogs, feldspars, pegmatite and chamotte;
the latter is made up of brick debris and biscuit waste), the clays seem
suitable for the production of monoporosa tiles.
4. Conclusion
The characterization through various techniques of the raw mate-
rials from Chouamekh region indicate that they are composed of illite
and kaolinite which are associated with quartz, feldspar, hematite and
dolomite.
The high content of K2O, Na2O and Fe2O3 is related to the appearance
of a glass phase at low temperatures, showing a low porosity and good
flexural strength from 950 °C onwards.
With the exception of quartz and hematite, that resisted up to
1200 °C, with increasing firing, illite, kaolinite, calcite, and feldspar grad-
ually decomposed and new high-temperature phases formed, namely
gehlenite, anothite, and spinel. In addition, the color of the ceramic bod-
ies was controlled by the relative abundances of hematite.
The mineralogical and physico-chemical studies of Chouamekh clays
have allowed some preliminary observations concerning their industri-
al applications. The high iron oxide content in the sample clays makes
them unsuitable for white ceramic bodies; however, they can be used
as raw materials in the production of structural ceramics.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank all the laboratory staff in these institutions where
the analyses were carried out; (Laboratoire des analyses chimique et
minéralogique de l'Office National des Mines “O.N.M”, Laboratoire des
analyses Physico-Chimique des Matériaux et ses Applications du Centre
National de Recherche en Sciences des Matériaux “C.N.R.S.M” et le
Laboratoire de la céramique du Centre Technique des Matériaux de Con-
struction de la Céramique et du Verre “C.T.M.C.C.V”).
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