Characterization of Timahdit oil shale for the use of their ash as a raw material for the preparation of a clinker

In this research,the mineral and the mineralogical composition of timahdit oil shale ash (osa) were followed by fluorescence (xrf),x-ray diffraction (xrd) and their morphology by scanning electron microscopy (sem). the xrf and xrd showed respectively that the mineral composition of osa comported mainly sio2 and cao with average amount of al2o3 and other minor oxide and the main crystalline phases present were quartz,wollastonite,gehlenite,anydrite,periclase and akermanite. the scanning electron microscopic analysis (sem) have permitted to observe the morphology of the particles that exist in the oil shale calcined at 900°c and hydrated for half an hour. the physic-chemical characteristics of three types of clinkers were studied. -the clinker (1) prepared in the normal processes involved in asment plant temara (cimpor). -the clinker (2) produced in the laboratory with the same raw materials as that of ordinary portland clinker. -the clinker (3) produced in the laboratory using oil shale ash in the raw materials. the results of chemical compositions of the three clinkers given by xrf showed that their major oxides are similar to those of an ordinary portland clinker. for the prepared clinkers the major phases are also those of an ordinary clinker (c3s,c2s,c3a and c4af). the same analysis for the three days hydrated clinker (3) allowed us to observe the reduction of alite peaks and the appearance of c-s-h,caco3,ca(oh)2,c4ah13 and c3ah4 and dsc allowed us to observe the endothermic behaviour of the clinker (3) hydrated for 3 days.