Elaboración de una guía metodológica para la recolección y caracterización de materiales arcillosos

Abstract

Abstract: The objective of this degree work was to develop a methodological guide for the collection, treatment and characterization of clay materials, taking as a zone of study the basin of Loja, Catamayo, Malacatos in the Province of Loja, south of Ecuador. The guide was structured with the methodology used for the collection, treatment and analysis of the mineralogical and chemical composition by means of X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), respectively. For the elaboration of this methodological guide, nine clay samples were considered, which were collected in three different outcrops of the study area. The mineralogical characterization by means of XRD, allowed to conclude that the main mineralogical phases present in the collected clays were quartz, cristobalite, montmorillonite, vermiculite, muscovite, illite, among others. Regarding the chemical composition, the XRF analysis showed that all the clays have a high content of SiO2 and Al2O3 as well as other oxides, among them: MgO, P2O5, K2O, CaO, TiO2, MnO and Fe2O3. With this methodological guide, it is intended to contribute to the standardization of the processes of collection, treatment and characterization of clay materials that are frequently used by the personnel who work in the New Materials Laboratory of the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL)