Selective destruction and differentiation of clay minerals from natural diaspore admixture by mortar grinding

A dry grinding process at several periods has been used successfully in order to differentiate among the different minerals forming a natural diaspore clay. This is achieved by selective and incongruent destruction of the clay minerals of this admixture, on the basis of their disparate structural stability, hardness and relative amount present. Kaolin clays (represented mainly by kaolinite + halloysite) are destroyed after >3 hr grinding, anatase after ～40 hr, whereas the structure of α-AlOOH is still preserved after >250 hr, as ascertained from XRD. From IR spectroscopy analysis it is inferred that as a consequence of grinding prototropy takes place in some of the clay hydroxyls. This is supported by water losses results at 600°C.