Physico-Chemical and Instrumental Characteristics of Clays of Trichinopoly Group Cretaceous of Ariyalur, Tamilnadu, India: Implication for Industrial Applications

Themogravimetric-differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, and Atterberg limits were used to study physico-chemical, mineralogical and thermal properties of clays from Trichinopoly group, Cretaceous of Ariyalur, Tamilnadu, India. The chemical and mineralogical compositions of these clays differ considerably. The mineralogy indicated that the clays comprise highly quartz, illite, kaolinite, and small amount of plagioclase. The results indicate that studied clays adequate characteristics for common Ceramic industry. However, clays collected from red clay deposit possessing adequate properties for roofing tile manufacturing and can be used for the manufacturing of common brick with some modification. Keywords: Clay, Plasticity, Brick, Tiles, XRD and DTA/TGA.