Clays

Group 8
Clay
 very fine grained particles of less
than 0.004mm diameter
 as a rock composed essentially of
clay minerals
 as a mineral group known as 'clay
minerals'
Chemical & Physical Properties
 plasticity (malleable and capable of being
molded into any form when moistened with
water)
 shrinkage under firing and under air drying
 fineness of grain
 color after firing
 Hardness
 cohesion
Chemical & Physical Properties
 capacity of the surface to take
decoration
 ability to exchange ions - relates to the
charged surface of clay minerals. Ions
can be attracted to the surface of a clay
particle or taken up within the
structure of these minerals.
Formation
Clays form where rocks are in contact with
water, air, or steam. Environments of
formation include :

 soil horizons, continental and marine

sediments, geothermal fields, volcanic
deposits, and weathering rock formations
Uses of Clay
 used for making pottery of all kinds,
bricks and tiles, tobacco pipes,
firebricks, and other products
 used in foundry work for facing the
molds and preparing the molding sands
for casting metals
 filtering and deodorizing agents in the
refining of petroleum and, mixed with
other materials, as drilling muds to
protect the cutting bit while drilling
Clay as a Soil
 one of the three principal types of soil, the
other two being sand and loam
 binds other kinds of particles together and
makes the whole retentive of water
 Excessively clayey soils, however, are
exceedingly difficult to cultivate. Their
stiffness presents resistance to implements,
impedes the growth of the plants, and
prevents free circulation of air around the
roots.
 Mineral Contents of Clay
Some of the minerals found in clay:
 Kaolinite (Al2Si2O5(OH)4

white mineral consisting of a hydrous silicate of

aluminum
 Mineral Contents of Clay
 Montmorillonite
(Na,Ca)0,3(Al,Mg)2Si4O10(OH)2•n(H2O
a soft clayey water-absorbent mineral that is a
hydrous aluminum silicate
 Mineral Contents of Clay
 Attapulgite /Palygorskite
(Mg,Al)2Si4O10(OH)•4(H2O)
kind of crystalloid hydrous magnesium-aluminum
silicate mineral
 Mineral Contents of Clay
 Illite (K,H3O)
(Al,Mg,Fe)2(Si,Al)4O10[(OH)2,(H2O)]
group of clay minerals having essentially the crystal
structure of muscovite
 Types of Clay
 Residual Clay
 comes directly from gradual weathering of rock into
very fine particles.
 It gives rise to clay in three ways:
1. chemical decomposition of rocks
2. solution of rocks
3. disintegration and solution of shale
 Sedimentary Clays
 particles of weathered rocks are carried from the place in
which they were formed, and deposited in another place
 occurs in layers
 Classification of Clays according to their General
Composition and Properties:

 Kaolin Clay
 Fireclay
 Ball Clay
 Common Clay
 Bentonite Clay
 Fuller’s Earth
 Kaolin Clay
 is a fine white clay consisting chiefly of the
mineral kaolinite.
 Kaolin Clay
 comes from the Chinese
“Gaoling,” a reference to
a mountain which
provided a source of the
raw mineral
 The Chinese used this
mineral to produce their
famously fine porcelain
 Extraction of Kaolin Clay
 has traditionally been by hydraulic
mining
 Ripping, drilling and blasting of the
granite are also used to improve yields
 extracted by shovel and truck and is
transported to a primary screening
process
 Separation of Kaolin particles thru wet
refining techniques
 Extraction of Kaolin Clay
 Additional techniques are used to improve the
brightness (whiteness) and particle size
 include blending, fine grinding, chemical
reductive bleaching and/or the removal of iron-
bearing impurities
 the clay is dried to a powder or pellets, or
supplied in slurry form
 Ball Clay
 contains kaolinite and certain micas, and has
strong bonding properties
 Ball Clay
 It is a name for a group of plastic, refractory
(high-temperature) clays used with other clays
to improve their plasticity and to increase their
strength.
 used to extract the clay in rough cube shapes of
about 30 cm. 
 As the corners were knocked through handling
and storage these cubes became rounded and
‘ball’ shaped. 
 Extraction of Ball Clay
 Over the centuries there has been an evolution
in the methods used to extract the valuable
seams of ball clay.
• Shallow trenches - from the 1600s
• Small open pits - the natural development of shallow
trenches, which grew in size when pumping techniques
improved in the 19th century.
• Square pits - a development of small open pits in
South Devon, England enabling clays to be worked at a
greater depth
 Extraction of Ball Clay
 Shaft mining (underground) - widely adopted from the
second half of the 19th century
 Inclined shafts (underground) - a variant of shaft
mining adopted in North Devon, England from the end
of the 19th century until the 1960s
 Adit or Inclined tunnel mining (underground) - came
into use in the 1930s and adopted in place of most shaft
mining from the 1950s to the 1990s
 Large scale opencast working - progressively replaced
all underground mining during the second half of the
20th century: the only method after 1999.
Extraction of Ball Clay
 Extraction of Ball Clay
 Clays with too much lignite are made into a wet slurry
and the excess lignite particles are removed by fine
screens (sieves)
 clays with too much quartz sand are powdered and the
excess silica removed by air separation
 The resultant refined slurry and powder are mixed
together into a paste, extruded in 'noodles' and dried for
bulk handling.
 At the beginning of the 21st century, about 75% of ball
clay production is sold in shredded and blended form,
almost 10% in powdered form and over 15% is refined.
Less than 1% is sold 'as dug'.
 Fireclay
 Basically kaolinite with some iron oxides,
magnesia and alkalies.
 It can resist high temperatures.
 It’s cheap and abundant, that’s why refractory
bricks are made out of it.
 occur as the ‘seatearths’ that underlie almost
all coal seams
 mainly confined to coal-bearing strata
 Extraction of Fireclay
 Mining
 Stockpiling
 Crushing
 Grinding
 Screening
 Pugging
 Extrusion
 Drying
 Firing
 Common Clay
 contains more impurities than fire clay, and
does not have as great resistance to heat
 Extraction of Common Clay
 Mining
 Stockpiling
 Crushing
 Grinding
 Screening
 Mixing
 Blunging
 Air Flotation
 Slurrying
 Extruding
 Drying
 Bentonite Clay
 consists largely of montmorillonite.
 Bentonite Clay
 name bentonite is from the Benton Shale, the
formation within which the clay was thought
to have occurred
 usually form from altered volcanic ash, but
other types of rock may also serve as sources
 once it becomes hydrated, the electrical and
molecular components of the clay rapidly
change and produce an “electrical charge”
 Has the ability to absorb toxins, impurities,
heavy metals and other internal contaminants
 Bentonite Clay
 use in various applications such as drilling mud,
iron ore pelletizing and foundry use, and in civil
engineering, as well as for clarifying liquids
used in the food and drink industry
 Extraction of Bentonite Clay
 usually mined from deposits that can range
anywhere from 100 feet to several thousand
feet
 After the initial drying, it gets processed
(ground) with huge hydraulic crushers and it
then goes through the final process of
micronization, or "fine granulating".
 Fuller’s Earth
 is composed of montmorillonite and
attapulgite and is high in magnesia.
 Fuller’s Earth
 type of clay mineral deposit that has high
capacity to absorb water
 several hundred years ago when wool textile
workers or "Fullers" created a time-saving
concoction to remove the dense oils from
sheep's wool. This brew included water, urine,
soapwort and an abundant "clay" that was in
hearty supply.
 used in the chemical and pharmaceutical
industries, paper making, and agriculture
 Extraction of Fuller’s Earth
 opencast methods
 crushed, dried, screened and milled to
produce material of appropriate size
 may be dried to 10% to 50% moisture or
semicalcined
 Various-sized granular products can be
screened to make any product from 4 by 12
mesh, 30 by 60 mesh, or even as fine as 60 to
90 Tyler mesh specifications.
Thank You!