Physico-Chemical, Mineralogical Properties and Valorization of Bentonite Material from Iboughardain Area (North-Eastern Rif, Morocco): Application in Dyes Removal

This paper focuses on the characterization and valorization of Moroccan bentonite in dye removal. The stratiform Iboughardain deposit is located in Kert basin (Northeast Rif, Morocco), It is accessible via a tarred road connecting Nador-Seghanghan-Dar Kabdani at a distance of approximately 30 km from Nador. Its Lambert coordinates are X = 709.300, Y = 501.000 (topographic sheet Kebdani to 1/100.000). Bentonite outcrops occur as alterations of the lower horizontal layers of trachyandesite tuff and cinerite. This alteration is in contact with greenish Miocene marl. The mineralogy composition of the samples examined indicates the presence of various contents of montmorillonite and associated minerals such as feldspars and quartz. The mineralogy dominated by aluminosilicates is reflected in the chemical composition which shows high contents of SiO2 and Al2O3. The other oxides have moderate proportions. It is Fe2O3 (1.90 wt%), K2O (0.90 wt%), MgO (5.65 wt%), and MnO (0.07 wt%). Geotechnical results show that the sample is very plastic. Importantly, the experimental adsorption results clearly demonstrate that the clay from the Iboughardain region effectively clarifies the dyeing. The removal of methyl orange (CMO = 140 mg/l) was shown to be significant (98%) under activated bentonite compared to doped bentonite (B-TiO2 20%wt). In addition, the removal of methylene blue staining at a high concentration (CMB = 120 mg/l) was able to reach significant removals of 80 and 99.9% using raw and doped bentonite, respectively

Effects of Lizardite Addition on Technological Properties of Forsterite-monticellite Rich Ceramics Prepared from Natural Magnesite and Dolomite

Lizardite rich peridotite has never been used to prepare ceramic specimens, especially in Morocco. For this raison, potential use of naturally abundant lazirditic material from the Rif domain, as a supply for ceramic industry, has been evaluated. The effects of lizardite addition to magnesite and dolomite mixtures on the thermomechanical properties of the calcined ceramics were also detailed. To achieve this target, natural lizardite, magnesite and dolomite samples were collected in ultrabasic Beni Bousra massif. Those raw samples were used for the synthesis of a forsterite-monticellite rich ceramics. Both raw and sintered samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and fourier transform infrared. The obtained results showed that both magnesite and dolomite were mainly composed of MgCO3 and CaCO3. In contrast, lizardite sample showed high amounts of SiO2, MgO and Fe2O3. An increased amount of lizardite in the initial mixtures enhanced mechanical and dimensional properties of the prepared ceramic specimens, and subsequently, the production of ceramics with the required technological properties. Thus, the preparation of Moroccan lizardite-based ceramics is technically feasible, economically justifiable and socially desirable due to the contribution to the economic growth of the raw materials sector, especially ceramic industry

Effects of slag addition and sintering temperature on the technological properties of dolomite based porous ceramics

This work focuses on the synthesis of basic porous ceramics prepared from Moroccan dolomite. The effect of the addition of slag on the technological and mechanical properties of the final product was also described. The starting materials were characterized in terms of chemical composition (XRF), mineralogical (XRD), and thermal characterizations (DTA-TG). Next, Different ceramic bodies were prepared by the uniaxial pressing and sintering methods at different temperatures up to 1300 °C. The effect of sintering in the range of 1100–1300 °C on the morphology, composition of the developed phases, technological properties (i.e., porosity, water absorption, density and shrinkage), resistance to flexural stress, and also chemical resistance were investigated. The optimum sintering temperature is 1200 °C, in which the porosity was 50.28–41.4%, the density was 1.7–1.89 g/cm3, the water absorption was 28.07–24.8%, and the shrinkage was 1.55–6.25% as well as varying the amount of slag added. The experimental results showed clearly that slag was a good candidate to enhance the quality of ceramic products especially for mechanical properties