Production and Characterization of Wood Ash Pozzolan of Melina and Cashew Tropical Woods

In an attempt to find an alternative binding material for construction industry, this study considered the use of wood ash from two different hardwoods namely: Melina wood ash and Cashew wood ash as a pozzolan in cement production. The study investigates the chemical composition (silica (SiO2), aluminum oxide (Al2O3), ferric oxide (Fe2O3), calcium oxide (CaO), magnesium oxide (MgO), sulphur trioxide (SO3), sodium oxide (Na2O) and potassium Oxide (K2O)) of the ashes and the clinker.

The Use of Bagasse Ash as a Source of Silica for Production of Container Glass

The study focused on the feasibility of recycling sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) to produce container glass. The bagasse was calcined through a Gallenkamp muffle furnace at 6000C and then held at 7000C for 1 ½ hrs and large amount of bagasse ash was obtained. 30 and 18 mesh sieves were used simultaneously to produce a fine powdered of the materials. 5g of SCBA sieved, calcium carbonate and sodium carbonate were passed through atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The result reveals SiO2 76.34wt%, Al2O3 8.55wt%, Fe2O3 2.93wt%, Na2O 0.12wt%, TiO2 0.80wt%, K2O 1.50wt%, CaO 0.07wt%, SO3 2.25wt%, Cr2O3 0.05wt%, Mn2O3 0.06wt% and LOI 6.42wt%. Interestingly, the ash contained high amount of silica of 76.34wt% which could supply all SiO2 needed to produce soda lime silica glass. A container glass batch composition was formulated from 95.899g of SCBA, 19.220g of CaCO3 and 25.556g of Na2CO3 and fired in muffle furnace at temperature between 11000C-12000C for 3 hours. The resulting glass was amber in colour which signifies the presence of iron oxide (Fe2O3) and sulphur trioxide (SO3) in bagasse ash. This implies that the ash can be used to produce amber glass for beverages and storing pharmaceutical drugs especially those which are sensitive to light.

ICP-AES Determination of Sulfide and Sulfate Content in Pebble and Crushed Stone

Generally, the content of sulfide and sulfate (expressed as a sulphur trioxide) in pebble and crushed stone for construction is low. So use the weight method specified in the national standard method for determination, is not only tedious and time consuming, but also not accurate enough. In this paper, with reference to the pretreatment method of the relevant national standard, rapid and accurate test results can usually be obtained for the determination of sulfur trioxide in and crushed stone for construction by using ICP-AES as a new method, greatly reducing the time of the experiment and improve the efficiency. According to the analysis of spectrum interference, 182.0 nm was selected as the best analysis of spectral line for sulfur. The detection line of this method (3S) was 0.016 mg/L, the recovery rate of the sample was between 93.3%-104.0%, and the relative standard deviation (n=6) of the parallel samples was less than 1.05%.

Mineral Matter in Nigerian Coals and Tar Sand and Their Implications in Binary Blend Formulation and Co-Carbonisation

In blend simulation for metallurgical applications, the knowledge of the type and amount of mineral matter in coal and other additives, as well as their derivatives as a result of combustion is important in assessing the coke quality and blast furnace efficiency. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) techniques were used in assessing the mineral matter contents and oxides produced up on combustion of the following Nigerian coals: Afuze (AFZ), Garin-Maiganga (GMG), Lamza (LMZ), Shankodi-Jangwa (SKJ), and Chikila (CHK) in addition to a tar sand from Ondo (OTS). Coal samples from Afuze (AFZ) and Chikila (CHK) were found to contain quartz, hematite, and anhydride as the dominant minerals. The Garin-Maiganga coal sample (GMG) was found to contain quartz, magnetite, anhydride, and magnesite. Quartz and hematite were dominant in Lamza coal (LMZ), while Shankodi-Jangwa coal (SKJ) is associated with dolomite and quartz. The bitumen was found to contain quartz, kaolinite, and rutile. The XRF analysis revealed the presence of sixteen elemental oxides: the most abundant being silicon dioxide, ferric oxide, aluminium oxide, sulphur trioxide, calcium oxide, and titanium oxide. Amongst the coal samples, CHK, AFZ and GMG coals have low acidic/basic and basic/acidic ratios, which indicate that cokes originating from them may form the least slag with the best blast furnace efficiency.