A STUDY ON THE BENEFICIATION OF SOME CRUDE CHINA CLAYS OF GUJARAT

The impurities like iron and titania present in kaolinite generally gi ve rise to undesirable colour and other defects in the finished cerami c products. The present investigation is an attempt to explore the pos sibility of using different methods to beneficiate low grade china cla ys for their industrial utilisation. By washing with water it can be p ossible to eliminate most of the silica and to some extent iron and ti tania. But additional treatment with chemicals are required to remove remaining iron and titania. Commercial grade sodium dithionite, ammoni um sulphate and acetic acid treatment show remarkable improvement with whiteness and brightness in china clay by elimination of iron and tit ania.