Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Specifications, Industrial Applications and Production of Kaolin Clay

Hi Friends,

In present post, we will discuss the specifications, industrial applications and production process route for manufacture of Kaolin clay as described here under.

Kaolin is the pure clay popularly known as China clay or Porcelain clay or White cosmetic.  It is100% naturally occurring material in earth crust which is mined, washed, crushed to desired size, processed and despatched in high density polyethylene (HDPE) bags to manufacturers of various industrial products. It is stiff having high refractoriness. It is generally known as Kaolinite chemically known as Hydrated aluminium silicate. It has unique features like high opacity, luster and chemical resistivity. Its fine powder swells in water which makes a great thickening ingredient.

Typical specifications:
Total Kaolinite: 97% min.
Aluminium oxide : 37% min.
Silicon oxide: 46% max.
Iron oxide : 1.0% max.
Titanium oxide : 0.30% max.
Calcium oxide:0.05% max.
Sodium oxide:0.50% max.
Volatile matters: 1.0% max.
Water soluble salts:1.0% max.
LOI: 15% max.

Physical properties:
Colour: White,
Whiteness: 65-67
Specific gravity: 2.5 to 2.7
Oil absorption: 25 to 35.
pH of 10% aqueous solution: 7 to 8
Shelf life: 5 years.

Granulometry:
Varying from 100 Mesh to 35 mm lumps required as feed stock for manufacture of various end products.

Major Industrial applications:

Ceramics, Paints, Pigments, Paper making, Coatings, Colour stabilizers, Catalyst carriers, Cosmetics, Skin care products, body powder and deodorants.

Production process route:
Kaoline clay is produced by adopting series of unit operations like crushing, grinding, thickening, classification, filtration, drying and calcination. Required unit operations are purely dependent on quality specifications and granulometry of desired product. It is generally packed in HDPE bags for despatch to desired destinations.

Hope, the subject has been covered adequately. 
Please put your views / suggestions / remarks / comments, if any.
Regards.


Kunwar Rajendra

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