Continuous issue-2 | January - February 2013

Thermoluminescence Study of Quartz Minerals

Abstract:

The present paper reports the thermoluminescence(TL)s tudy of Q uartz minerals collec ted from the ceramic tiles manufac turing unit, Morbi,Gujarat. The natural thermoluminescence (NTL) as well as artific ial thermoluminescence (A TL+NTL), by giving a 15Gy beta dose, was recordedfor the collec ted sample.Then after Q uartz mineral is annealed and quenched from 250oC ,4500C and 6500C temperature and irradiated by25Gy beta dose from Sr-90 beta source and then the thermoluminescence was recorded. The TL results are very interes ting regarding purityof the mineral.

Keywords: Thermoluminescence, Q uartz minerals , C eramic technology A TL- A rtific ial Thermoluminescence , NTL- Natural Thermoluminescence.

Introduction:

Many natural mineral are used to manufac ture floor tiles for household floorings . The demand of a variety of flooring materials has lead todevelop various types of ceramic tiles . In India the ceramic indus try is one of the fas tes t growing indus tries , more then 200 manufac turing unitsof ceramic tiles , vitrified tiles and sanitary wares are s ituated at Morbi (Rajkot Dis tric t, Gujarat s tate, India). Many natural minerals are used asthe raw materials for the manufac turing ceramic wares . The minerals used in manufac turing the ceramic tiles are Q uartz, Feldspar, Zircon, Talc ,Frit-O , Frit-T , A luminium oxide, Sodium trypoly phosphate C hina c lay, Bikaner c lay, etc . Mos t of the minerals are from mines in Gujarat and feware from Rajas than s tate and imported from Russ ia. The phenomenon of T L has been s tudied by many inves tigators . The thermoluminescence(TL) s tudy in geology, particularly for natural minerals , is an important research tool. The TL s tudy of minerals commonly used in ceramic tilesindus try, such as Q uartz gives better unders tanding about their properties . The sys tematic s tudy of T L of such minerals is helpful to solve thebas ic raw materials quality problem the ceramic tiles indus tries .

Quartz:

The pures t natural c rys talline form of s ilica is quartz, containing more than 99.95% SiO 2. The other abundant sources of s ilica are the ac idigneous rocks , sands , sands tones and quartzite containing varying amounts of impurities . In all these raw materials SiO 2 exis ts in the form ofµ-quartz. Flint, which is a mixture of chalcedony and quartz, is also used as a source of s ilica in some countries .

Under optical mic roscope, quartz is identified by its colorless , nonpleochroic habit in plane polarized light; shape is commonly anhedral, oftenfound as perfec t euhedral c rys tal. I t does not show any c leavage, but some conchoidal frac tures are observed within the grains . A nisotropicunder c ross polarized light, quartz shows firs t order interference color which is highly variable (grey, yellow etc .). I t gives adulatory or patchyextinc tion which is one of the most charac teris tic features of Q uartz espec ially in metamorphic rocks . Refrac tive index is low, s lightly higherthan C anada balsam (1 .55), the outline being feebly vis ible in plane polarized light. Q uartz grains often show numerous tiny vitreous inc lus ionsof other minerals . Q uartz is dis tinguished from alkali Feldspar by its pos itive relief in balsam, lack of alteration and c leavage. Q uartz lacks themultiple twinning of most Feldspar and differs from the untwined oligoc lase by uniaxial figure and lack of c leavage.

Uses :

Q uartz is widely used in the manufac ture of soda-lime-s ilica glass and white wares . Q uartzite containing about 98% SiO 2 are used for themanufac ture of s ilica bricks , used in s teel making furnaces , spec ially at the roof of an ac id open-hearth, checkers , converter etc . They are alsoused in coke-ovens and the roof of glass tank furnace. For refrac tory use, the combined A l2O 3 and T iO 2 should be < 2 .5% and for superiorqualities < 1%. With Na2O and K2O < 0 .1% C aO < 0 .3% and MgO < 0 .1%, quartzite are cons idered to be of suitable quality.

The pure, untwined, c lear and transparent quartz c rys tals possess piezo-elec tric properties and are used in telecommunication. Q uartz is alsothe source of element s ilicon, used in the manufac ture of non-oxide ceramics (e.g. SiC , Si3N4) and ferro-s ilicon.

Chemical Composition of Quartz:

Source Constituents (%)

Q uartz SiO 2 A l2O 3 Fe2O 3 T iO 2 C aO MgO K2O Na2O LO I

N izamabad, A .P . 99.75 0.15 0.02 - - - - - -

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Hyderabad, A .P . 99.96 - 0 .02 - - - - - -

Gujarat 99.40 0.06 0.04 - 0 .09 tr. - - .22

Tura, Meghalaya 99.12 0.21 0.36 0.01 - - - - -

Jaipur, Rajas than 98.11 0.41 0.22 tr 0 .68 tr. 0 .07 0.15 .19

Hyderabad(Sanatnagar)

99.13 0.12 0.13 0.07 0.09 tr. 0 .10 0.06 .19

Experimental method:

Thermal Annealing Treatment:

Thermal annealing for the spec imen was carried out in the muffle furnace. The laboratory muffle furnace has temperature range up to 1200oCand the s ize of chamber for sample heating was 22cm ´ 10cm ´ 10cm. The temperature was maintained with ±1oC accuracy us ing atemperature controller, which supplied required current to the furnace. P ower supply of 230V was provided to the furnace. A s ilica c ruc iblecontaining a powdered form of virgin spec imens was kept in the furnace at required annealing temperature for des ired time. A fter completion ofannealing duration the spec imens were rapidly air-quenched to room temperature by withdrawing the A lumina c ruc ible on to a ceramic block.Such material or spec imens are called “annealed and quenched” or “thermally pre-treated spec imen”.

(H igh temperature Furnace and taking out the sample from high temperature furnace)

Beta-Radiation Source

(TL Set-Up) (Kanthal strip&Sr-90 Beta source)The natural Q uartz minerals used in manufac turing ceramic tiles are collec ted from the indus try. Mos t of the materials used for the TL analys iswere indigenous ones and a few were imported minerals . T L of Q uartz mineral was recorded us ing TL set-up supplied by Nuc leonix Sys tems,Hyderabad [1]. I rradiation was carried us ing Sr-90 beta source. Equal quantities of samples (5 mg) were used for the analys is .Results and discussion :

(4.2)TL Study of Quartz:

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Fig 1.1 is the TL of 5mg of weighed powder was taken to record TL glow curve of Q uartz (NTL) without any pre heat treatment and irradiation. Theglow curve exhibit one hump like glow peak at temperature at 3320C . There is no good TL is observed.Fig.1 .2 shows TL glow curve of Q uartz irradiated with beta dose of 25 Gy us ing Sr90. Here one peak occurs at temperature 1100C and intens ityof 1 .83au here little T L is recorded. I t is noted that after irradiation one trap developed and released carrier during the TL measurement.

Fig1.3 Fig.1.4

Fig. 1.3 is the TL glow curve of Q uartz annealed and quenched from 2500C and given a beta dose of 25 Gy us ing Sr-9o beta source TL glowcurve of 250oC A Q sample of Q uartz exhibits one well resolved peak around 109oC .

Fig. 1.4 is the TL glow curve of Q uartz annealed and quenched from 4500C and given a beta dose of 25 Gy us ing Sr-9o beta source. T L glowcurve of 450oC A Q sample of Q uartz exhibits one well resolved and isolated TL peak with high intens ity around 100oC . This peak isinteres ting TL peak in dos imetric point of view. Fig. 1 .5 is the TL glow curve of Q uartz annealed and quenched from 6000C and given a betadose of 25Gy us ing Sr-9o beta source. T L glow curve of 650oC A Q sample of Q uartz exhibits one well resolved and isolated TL peak withhigh intens ity around 102oC . This peak is interes ting TL peak in dos imetric point of view.

Table1:

Sr.No. Temperature oC AQ

Peak TemperatureoC

Peak Intensity(Arb.Unit)

1 Natural 332 3.11

2 Beta I rriated 110 1.83

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3 2500C + Beta(15Gy) 109 0.98

4 4500C + Beta(15Gy) 100 100

5 6500C + Beta(15Gy) 102 69

Table-1 shows the peak temperature and peak intens ity of Q uartz at different annealing and quenching temperature irradiated with beta sourceof 15Gy by Sr90 .

Fig. 1.10 shows the TGA of Q uartz from the TGA it is c lear that variation seen in phase between temperature range 4000C and 8000C

Fig. 1.11 shows the X RD pattern of Q uartz it is c learly matches with the s tandard peaks observed at 26 .66, 20 .88, 50 .18 and 60 o are majorpeaks of s tandard quartz sample.

Conclusion:

The natural T L [NTL] observed in both the minerals under s tudy as well as NTL+A TLfollowed by the TL observed from annealed andquenched form 2500C and 450oC and 650oC followed by beta irritation leads to the conc lus ions this may be due to traps formed due toirradiation as well as heat treatment subjec ted to the mineral.The TL s tudy of mineral Q uartz sample treated with different annealing and quenching temperature at 2500C , 4500C ,and 6500C irradiated with beta source given a dose of 15Gy by Sr90 gives remarkable result. The maximum TL intens ity exhibits by the samplewhen it treated with A Q 4000C and irradiated with beta source by giving a dose of 25Gy,at this point peak temperature is recorded1000C and intens ity of 100au,the peak at 1000C temperature is well resolved and it is important for s tudy of T L dos imetric point of view.The sys temic s tudy may be more useful in checking the purity of the raw materials which in turn leads to improving the quality of ceramictiles in ceramic indus tries . Further s tudies are in progress .

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AUTHOR INFORMATION:

H.C.MandaviaShri M. M. Science College,Morbi

Dr. K.V.R.MurthyApplied Physics Department, M.S.University of Baroda, Baroda

Dr.R.U.PurohitJoint Director ,Commissioner of Higher Eduction,Gujarat,Gandhinagar

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