Metakaolinization Effect on the Thermal and Physiochemical Propperties of Kankara Kaolin

Abstract

The effect of Metakaolinization on the thermal and physiochemical propperties of Kankara kaolin is presented. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Thermogravimetric (DTG) scan of Kankara kaolin indicated that kaolin was transformed to metakaolin at temperature above 600°C. The TGA/DTG scan of the metakaolin produced showed that the material was thermally stable at temperature range of 600–900°C. The metakaolin was characterized using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and BrunauerEmmett-Teller (BET) texture analysis. The metakaolin formed was amorphous, having average particle size of 2.5 μm. The specific surface area values of the raw kaolin and the metakaolin formed were 12.95 and 19.38 m/g respectively. The pore volume values of the raw kaolin and the metakaolin were 0.0038 and 0.0585 cm/g respectively.