Lower Cretaceous Clay in Anti-Lebanon Mountains, Syria And Their Importance in Ceramic Manufacturing

Abstract

Lower Cretaceous rocks are exposed only in the mountain regions of Syria, such as the Anti Lebanon mountain on the western side of Damascus. The lower cretaceous sequences are made up of different rocks. The upper and middle parts of the section are composed mainly of carbonate sediments and less frequently gypsum and anhydrite. The lower beds are mainly composed of sandstone, conglomerate and clay. Clay samples were collected from the study area, which is located about 45 km west of the city of Damascus, near the border village of Kfer Yabous and to the left of the Damascus -Beirut International Road, within the lower Cretaceous upper Aptian deposits. The properties of clay were carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Thermal Analysis (DTA-TG-DSC) techniques. The studied clay samples are mainly composed of kaolinite, quartz, mica-illite and same feldspar. Chemical analysis shows a content of SiO2 that varies from 46.06 to 73 % and Al2 O3 between 14.55 and 26.56 %. Total content of staining oxides (Fe2 O3 + TiO2 ) is between 4.3 and 12.5 %. The physical properties were determined by studying their behavior before and after firing. They showed low bending strength values (22.5 kg/cm²) after drying, and after firing at 1180°C (about 247 kg/cm²). Water absorption value at 1180 °C was about 10 %. The coefficient thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) at 1140°C was 2,137 x 10-5 All obtained results confirm the suitability of this clay for the ceramic industry