Arid Zone Journal of Engineering, Technology and Environment, December, 2018; Vol. 14(4): 540-546
Copyright © Faculty of Engineering, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Nigeria.
Print ISSN: 1596-2490, Electronic ISSN: 2545-5818, www.azojete.com.ng

540

CHARACTERIZATION OF CLAY FROM OZA-NOGOGO IN DELTA STATE,
NIGERIA FOR POTENTIAL INDUSTRIAL USES

S. E. Uwadiae* and V. Ekeleme

(Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Benin,
PMB 1154, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria)

*Corresponding Author’s E-mail: sylvester.uwadiae@uniben.edu.ng

Abstract
The aim of this study was to characterize clay from Oza-Nogogo in Delta State for its physical and
chemical composition in order to assess its potential industrial applications. The clay samples were
collected by means of a plastic shovel and digger, hand-picked to minimize the possibility of
contamination and placed in a small polyethene bags. The samples were dried at ambient temperature
for 10 days, pulverized and sieved screened to obtain fine particles before analysis. The physiochemical
properties were determined using x-ray diffraction (XRD) for the mineralogical composition, X-ray
florescence (XRF) for the chemical composition and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) for the
microstructures of the clay sample. The cation exchange capacity (CEC), specific surface area and pore
volume of the sample were also determined. The XRD studies showed that the clay sample is
predominantly kaolinitic with some quantities of quartz, illite and feldspar. Kaolinite being the dominant
clay mineral alone constitutes between 70-76% and quartz ranged from 22-28% and other minerals
ranged from 1-6%. The XRF analysis showed that the sample contained high amount of silica (SiO2) by
mass of 51.3% followed by Alumina (Al2O3) 40%, iron oxide (Fe2O3) 3.703%. All other minerals
present were in negligible proportion. The major elemental contents of clay samples detected in the
study were Si, Al, Fe, Ti and K. The SEM micrographs showed the relative sizes in the clay particles
and revealed that the clay particles seem to consist of much smaller platelets which indicated that the
clay sample was made up of very fine particles. The specific surface area, CEC and pore diameter were
7.846 m2/g , 6.8 meq/100 g and 28.642 nm respectively. Due to the high kaolinite content, Oza-Nogogo
clay showed a potential of a basic raw material for pharmaceutical, drugs, paints, paper and ceramic
industries.

Keywords: X-ray diffraction; X-ray florescence; Scanning Electron Microscope; Cation
Exchange Capacity, Oza-Nogogo clay

1. Introduction
Apart from petroleum, gas and coal resources, the exploration, mining and exploitation of
mineral resources in Nigeria have not received sufficient attention (Abolarin et al., 2006).
Delving into geological survey of Nigerian soil, it was reported that clay as one of the major
Nigerian mineral deposits cover an estimated proven reserves of billions of tones (Durotoye and
Elueze, 1989).
Clays have been severally defined as anhydrous complex compounds of alumina (Al2O3) and
silica (SiO3) that exist in various proportions and contain varied amounts of impurities of iron,
organic matters and residual minerals (Akinfolarin and Awopetu, 2014); naturally occurring
material that composed primarily of fine-grained minerals, which is generally plastic at
appropriate water contents and susceptible to hardening when fired at high temperature (Dogan
et al., 2002) and abundant fine earthly powders produced by the weathering and disintegration
of granite and feldspathic rocks (Nweke and Ugwu, 2007). Although clay usually contains
phyllosilicates, it may contain other materials that could impart plasticity when wet and also
harden when fired. However, associated phases in clay may include organic matter and
materials that do not impart plasticity (Bakker, 1993).They have varying chemical composition
depending on both the physical and chemical changes in the environment where clay deposits
are found (Salawudeen et al., 2010). The nature of clay and its composition determines, not
only its quality and commercial value but also, to a large extent, its engineering behaviour

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Arid Zone Journal of Engineering, Technology and Environment, December, 2018; Vol 14(4):540-546
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(Grim, 1968 and Onyeobi et al., 2013). Among the characteristics of clays that influence their
engineering performance are clay mineral composition, physical properties such as particle size
distribution, porosity, structure and geologic history.
Clay minerals share a basic set of structural and chemical characteristic and yet each clay
mineral has its own unique set of properties that determine how it will interact with other
chemical species. The variation in both chemistry and structure, among the clays leads to their
applications in extremely diverse fields. The specific clay minerals are identified by several
techniques including thermal differential analysis, scanning electron microscope, infrared
spectrometry and X-ray diffraction. Chemical analysis is an essential step to establish the nature
of minerals (Newman, 1987).
Depending on the physical and chemical characteristics, clays may find application in a number
of industries such as plastics, paint, ceramics, ink, catalysts, pharmaceutical and fibre
glass among others (Murray, 1980; Emufurieta et al., 1992).
Despite the abundance clay deposits in Nigeria, there is a dearth of information on their
characterization for various applications in agriculture, industry and environment. It is the aim
of this study to characterize clay from Ozan-Nogogo using different analytical techniques with
the view to assessing their physicochemical properties and relating them to their suitability for
use in the relevant industries.

2. Methodology
2.1 Sample Colletion and Preparation
The clay samples used in this study, were collected from the deposits at Oza-Nogogo in Ika
South Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria, at depths of 40 cm with the aid of shovel
and digger and then hand-picked to minimize the possibility of contamination. The samples
were dried at ambient temperature for 10 days. Thereafter, the samples were finely ground with
a mortar and passed through a 2 mm mesh sieve (Njoka et al., 2015) to obtain very fine
particles used in analysis.

2.2 Characterization of Clay Samples
Phenom Scanning Electron Microscope (Model Pro X) with energy dispersive X-ray
spectrometer was used to determine the microstructures of the clay samples (Osabor et al.,
2009). Qualitative chemical analysis of minerals was carried out on the clay samples to produce
Backscattered images (BSI) (Osabor et al., 2009). The mineralogical composition of the clay
was obtained by XRD (Empyrean XRD, Panalytical BV of Netherland) studies. (Chiari et al.,
2003) X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (Mini Pal for EDXRF) was used to determine the
chemical composition of the clay samples (Dean et al., 2004). Cation exchange capacity (CEC)
of the clay was determined using the BaCl2 compulsive exchange method as prescribed by Soil
Science Society of America (Sumner and Miller, 1996). The specific surface area of the
samples was determined using Micromeritics instrument (Tristar 3000) and by using Brunauer–
Emmett–Teller (BET) method. The specific surface area of Oza-Nogogo clay was determined
from the Brunauer,Emmett and Teller (BET) multipoint method (Bruanuer et al., 1938; Brame
and Griggs 2016).

Also pore volume was determined using the surface area analyzer which utilizes the BET
theory for the analysis and plots of each sample data and then presents the results of pore
volume (De Lange et al., 2014). Three replicates was done and average value was calculated.

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Uwadiae and Ekeleme: Characterization of Clay from Oza-Nogogo in Delta State, Nigeria for Potential
Industrial Uses. AZOJETE, 14(4):540-546. ISSN 1596-2490; e-ISSN 2545-5818, www.azojete.com.ng

542

3. Results and Discussion
The X-ray diffractogram result of the Oza-Nogogo clay sample is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: X-ray diffraction pattern of Oza-Nogogo clay

The diffractogram (Figure 1) shows the X-ray diffraction pattern of the clay sample. The results
of mineralogical analysis of the clay samples in the present investigation show that the clay
samples are predominantly kaolinitic and quartz. Careful investigation of Figure 1 reveals that
the samples were composed essentially of Al8Si8O36H0 (kaolinite 2M) and Si3O6(Quartz).
Kaolinite group observed at the following peaks 12, 20, 25, 35,36,38,48, 51,63 and 72Å while
quartz were seen att the following peaks: 27, 37, 39, 50 and 60Å. A simple comparison with the
mineral composition of some well-known clay deposits indicates that the investigated deposit is
similar to Kaduna and China clay deposits which also had kaolinite and quartz with very small
variations in the mineral contents (Osabor et al., 2009). The clay samples are all of sedimentary
origins and seem to have gone through different level of transformation before depositions,
which affects their physical properties like plasticity and shrinkage (Osabor et al., 2009). Due
to the high kaolinite content, this clay can serve as basic raw materials for pharmaceutical,
drugs, paints, paper and ceramic industries.

The results of the X-ray Fluorescence analysis of the elements in the clay sample are shown in
Table 1.
In the XRF analysis, the chemical compounds present in the clay and their concentrations were
obtained with major elements present expressed in form of their oxides. The XRF result shows
the compounds presents with its related concentration unit. From the result obtained (Table 1)it
is observed that the sample contains high amount of silica by mass of 51.3% followed by
Alumina 40%. All other minerals present are in negligible proportion. The major elemental
contents of clay samples detected in the study were Si, Al, Fe, Ti and K.
The sample is found to be a mixture of kaolinite and illite in various proportLow electrical
conductivity and high permeability can be brought about by high levels of quartz and low levels
of clay mineral content.

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Arid Zone Journal of Engineering, Technology and Environment, December, 2018; Vol 14(4):540-546
ISSN 1596-2490; e-ISSN 2545-5818; www.azojete.com.ng

543

Table 1: Chemical composition of Oza-Nogogo clay sample
Oxide Percent
Al2O3 40
SiO2 51.3
K2O 0.274
CaO 0.144
TiO2 3.06
V2O5 0.11
Cr2O3 0.02
MnO 0.009
Fe2O3 3.703
NiO 0.006
CuO 0.008
ZnO 0.001
Ga2O3 0.021
Ag2O 0.74
Ta2O5 0.03
Re2O7 0.093
Bi2O3 0.094

The low plasticity generally exhibited by kaolinitic clay materials might be due to the levels of
mineral oxide impurities such as TiO2, MnO, and Fe2O3 present in the clay and the slightly low
shrinkage is associated with the presence of high amount of quartz which tends to decrease the
magnitude of shrinkage (Ombaka, ‎ 2016).
Clay from Oza-Nogogo can be used for refractory purposes since Ryan (1976) showed that for
good refractory characteristics, clay should have a percentage composition of Al2O3, between
30 and 50% with a limited amount of Fe2O3, TiO2 and CaO. Also, for kaolinite mineral to be
utilized industrially, other accessory minerals such as quartz should first be reduced to
acceptable levels through appropriate beneficiation techniques (Njoka et al., 2015).
The SEM micrograph of Oza-Nogogo clay sample is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: SEM Micrographs of Oza-Nogogo Clay (Magnification x3000)

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Uwadiae and Ekeleme: Characterization of Clay from Oza-Nogogo in Delta State, Nigeria for Potential
Industrial Uses. AZOJETE, 14(4):540-546. ISSN 1596-2490; e-ISSN 2545-5818, www.azojete.com.ng

544

Figure 2 is the SEM micrograph of the clay sample at magnification of x3000. On examination
of SEM micrographs, the clay particles seem to consist of very small platelets which indicate
that the clay sample is made up of very fine particles. Well crystalline kaolinite particles of
varying sizes that are rough edged are also observed. Some kaolinite particles are below 1µm
size. The coarse region is an indication of the presence of some particles of quartz (Henderson
et al., 1970). Rounded nature of quartz particles and spherical grains indicate recycled nature
and maturity of sediment accumulation. Quartz particle at this high magnification shows
spongy surface and microcracks. The spongy quartz might have resulted due to the soil
environment at Oza-Nogogo. Here the quartz-kaolinite contacts are more sharply defined and
more parallel, indicating a closer control on corrosion of the quartz by the later-forming
kaolinite crystallites themselves.
Hot and humid weathering environment also favour weathering of kaolin group minerals.
Formation of an intermediate between micas and clay minerals are also possible. Coarse
fraction also shows patches, rich in Ti and Fe bearing minerals and containing traces of Mn
indicated by XRF, which coats quartz and kaolinite particles as impurities are also observed.
The results of pore size characterization and the CEC of the sample is shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Pore size characterization and CEC of Oza-Nogogo clay sample
Parameter Value
Specific surface area (m2/g) 7.846
Average pore diameter (nm) 28.642
CEC (meq/100g) 6.8

As observed, the specific surface area for the clay is 7.846 m2/g; this is below the range of 10 to
20 m2/g established for kaolinite (Bohn et al., 1985) and far less than the value for standard
adsorbents and catalysts. This may be due to the high quartz content of the clay. The CEC of a
clay is defined as the milli-eequivalents of cation that can be exchanged under standard
conditions per100 gm of clay and it is expressed as a number. It is a measure of the capacity of
soil to hold on to cations (Neal and Worral, 1977). The CEC was also observed to be low (6.8
meq/100 g). This is however within the range of values of 3 and 15 meq/100 g for Kaolinite
given elsewhere (Grim, 1968). With a pore diameter of 28.642nm, Oza-Nogogo clay is
mesoporous based on the classification of pore size as recommended by International Unit of
Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) (Sing, 1985). Hence this clay is not suitable for use as an
adsorbent.

4. Conclusion
The combination of the three characterization techniques adopted in this research work (XRD,
XRF & SEM) showed consistency in the revelation of the quantities of different constituents of
the clay sample. The mineralogical analyses (XRD) showed that the clay samples are
predominantly kaolinitic with some quantities of quartz.
The chemical analysis (XRF) showed the compounds present with its related concentration unit.
From the result obtained it is observed that the sample contains high amount of silica by mass
of 51.3% followed by Alumina 40%. All other minerals present are in negligible proportion.
The major elemental contents of clay samples detected in the study were Si, Al, Fe, Ti and K.
Due to the high kaolinite content, Oza-Nogogo clay can serve as basic raw materials for
pharmaceutical, drugs, paints, paper and ceramic industries only after reducing the level of
quartz in it to an acceptable level. However, this in its present form will be suitable for use as a
refractory material.

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