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 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

Mapping of Hydrothermal Alteration Zones in the Kelâat M’Gouna Region Using Airborne Gamma-Ray Spectrometry and Remote Sensing Data: Mining Implications (Eastern Anti-Atlas, Morocco)

The mapping of hydrothermal alteration zones associated with mineralization is of paramount importance in searching for metal deposits. For this purpose, targeting alteration zones by analyzing airborne geophysical and satellite imagery provides accurate and reliable results. In the Kelâat M’Gouna inlier, located in the Saghro Massif of the Moroccan Anti Atlas, natural gamma-ray spectrometry and ASTER satellite data were used to map hydrothermal alteration zones. Natural gamma-ray spectrometry data were processed to produce maps of Potassium (K in %), Uranium (eU in ppm), Thorium (eTh in ppm) and ratios of K/eTh and K/eU. In addition, four-band ratios were computed, on ASTER data, to map the distribution of clay minerals, phyllitic minerals, propylitic minerals, and iron oxides. The combined results obtained from geophysical and satellite data were further exploited by fuzzy logic modelling using the Geographic Information System (GIS) to generate a mineral prospectivity map. Seven hydrothermal alteration zones likely to be favorable for mineralization have been identified. They show a spatial correlation with (i) known surface prospects and mineral occurrences, (ii) the granite-encasing contact zone, and (iii) the fault zones (Sidi Flah and Tagmout faults). This research therefore provides important information on the prospecting of mineral potential in the study area