Physico-chemical characterisation of a Moroccan clay of Chichaoua's bassin in the perspective of erosion studies

FATHALLAH Fatima-Ezzahra1*, 2ALGOUTI Ahmed, 3ALGOUTI Abdellah
Page No. 48-58

The objective of this work is the characterization and identification of natural Moroccan clay from the High Atlas region of Morocco, "Oued de Seksaoua, province of Chichaoua". The analyses were carried out as a precaution by X-ray diffraction, infrared, and scanning microscope observations. The results obtained show that this clay is a mixture of Kaolinite, Quartz in very important proportion, and Illite. By elementary chemical analysis, we noted that the predominant constituents are: silica, Calcite, and aluminum. The ratio SiO2/ Al2O3=3.2 is a characteristic index of free quartz. SEM analysis showed the presence of dispersed clay sheets in the form of rods and some clusters of aggregates, which may be due to the presence of carbonates within the clay. EDX analysis presence of the chemical elements Si, Al, Mg, Fe, K, P, S, Ca. A strong presence of silicon is to be noted due to the presence of a majority of Quartz.      
Key words: Clay, characterization, X-ray diffraction, SEM, IR.