Abstract

TORRES, Janneth; DE GUTIERREZ, Ruby M; CASTELLO, Ricardo  and  VIZCAYNO, Carmina. Análisis comparativo de caolines de diferentes fuentes para la produccion de metacaolín. Rev. LatinAm. Metal. Mater. [online]. 2011, vol.31, n.1, pp.35-43. ISSN 0255-6952.

The present work is a comparative study between five different Kaolins from various regions of Colombia. The main purpose of this study was to produce Metakaolin (MK), a high performance pozzolan to be used in the construction sector. The Kaolins were characterized by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM). After the characterization, a thermal treatment was carried out to the Kaolins with the aim of transform them into MK. An evaluation of the MK was done by using XRD and it was found that the conversion to MK is a function of the mineralogy of the raw material. Furthermore, the pozzolanic activity was evaluated for the thermally treated materials through the compressive strength. It can be concluded from this study that the reactivity of the materials is function of the amount of Kaolinite present in the original sample

Keywords : Kaolin; Metakaolin; thermal treatment; pozzolanic activity; mortars.