Refining Istanbul's silica sand

• Published in: American Ceramic Society bulletin Vol. 79; no. 8; pp. 89 - 91
• Main Authors: AY, N, ARICA, E
• Format: Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: Westerville, OH American Ceramic Society 01.08.2000
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Building materials. Ceramics. Glasses; Ceramic industries; Chemical industry and chemicals; Exact sciences and technology; Asia; Turkey; Ceramics industry; Raw materials; Sand; Quartz; Refining; Kaolin
• ISSN: 0002-7812; 1945-2705

Turkey has vast reserves of silica sand in the Sile region of Istanbul. Because of high kaolin (10%) and heavy metals (2%) content, this sand can only be used in ceramics bodies. The possibility of removing the kaolin and heavy metals from the sand was studied. Mineral processing techniques were used in refining. Kaolin was separated by a hydrocyclone; the underflow product was separated in a shaking table and spiral to remove heavy metals. A process flow chart is shown. Chemical analysis, density measurements, and particle size analysis were carried out, and the casting properties were determined. The results showed that it is possible to produce two high-quality products, i.e., Istanbul kaolin and quartz sand, from the Istanbul silica sand. Istanbul kaolin contains 50.56% SiO2 and 34.52% Al2O3. The quartz sand contains 99.19% SiO2, 0.03% Fe2O3 and 0.07% TiO2. The properties of Istanbul kaolin resemble those of British kaolin, and it can, therefore, be used as floater kaolin. The quartz sand can be used in the glass and ceramics industries instead of ground quartz. The tail sand can be used in the ceramic body as silica sand. 10 refs.