CHARACTERIZATION OF KARANGNUNGGAL KAOLIN AS RAW MATERIALS FOR CERAMIC

Widodo Widodo (1Research Center for Geotechnology, Indonesian Institute of Sciences)
Subari Subari (Center for Ceramic, Ministry of Industry)
Bagus D. Erlangga (Center for Ceramic, Ministry of Industry)

Indonesian Mining Journal
Vol 19, No 2 (2016): INDONESIAN MINING JOURNAL VOL. 19 NO. 2 June 2016

Kaolin from Karangnunggal had been characterized. This kaolin has a brownish white in color and is associated with tuff. To identify characteristics, the samples was analyzed by XRD, optical microscope, AAS, and SEM. The results showed that the kaolin consisted of kaolinite, halloysite, cristobalite, dickite, muscovite, illit and hematit while petrographic analysis describes halloysite, kaolinite, dickite, and quartz. SEM analysis showed the crystal forms such as kaolinite, halloysite and dickite; while chemical analysis confirmed that kaolin composition comprised SiO2 = 65.78 %, Al2O3 = 19.55 %, Fe2O3 = 0.90 % and LOI = 8.29 %. Based on characterization results Karangnunggal kaolin originated from tuff alteration. Referring to such properties, this kaolin can be used as raw material for white ceramic products such as sanitary, ceramic tiles and insulation.