Geochemical assessment of carbonate and clay rocks for the cement industry: a case study from Gabal Akheider, Ain Sukhna area, north-west Gulf of Suez, Egypt

Abstract

This study aim is to examine the petrographical, mineralogical, and geochemical analyses of carbonate and clay rocks of Gabal Akheider, Egypt using XRD/XRF analyses to assess raw materials suitability for cement production. The sequence is divided into pre-rift Middle Eocene Sannor carbonates overlain by syn-rift Oligocene-lower Miocene Hagul clays. The carbonate rocks show microfacies variety, ranging from wackstone, packstone and grainstone, and extensive diagenetic processes (neomorphism, micrtitization, cementation, dissolution, dolomitization, dedolomitization, fracturing, and void-filling). Calcite is the main limestone component (>95%), while Hagul clays are dominated by montmorillonite and kaolinite. The Sannor carbonates geochemistry are: CaO (30.9-55.9%), MgO (0.3-15.0%), SiO 2 (0.3-24.0%), Al 2 O 3 (0.1-0.5%), Fe 2 O 3 (0.0-1.1%), K 2 O (0.02-0.08%), Na 2 O (0.03-0.05%), SO 3 (0.03-0.5%) and Cl (0.0-0.3%) and Hagul clays SiO 2 (49.2-67.4%), Al 2 O 3 (12.9-20.1%), Fe 2 O 3 (7.2-11.7%), CaO (0.9-4.3%), MgO (0.1-1.7%), NaO (0.5-1.0%), K 2 O (0.5-0.7%), SO 3 (0.1-4.5%) and Cl (0.3-1.02%). Raw mix parameters are calculated and checked for clinker phases (C 2 S, C 3 S, C 3 A, C 4 AF) and appeared suitable for high-quality cement production. Hagul clay contains higher SO 3 and Cl values. Therefore, different types of clays (Melha and Rod El Hamal) were added as corrective materials to obtain low Cl and SO 3 values needed to attain the desirable chemical composition of clinker for Portland cement production.