A Study on Feasibility of Untreated Sea Sand in Producing Lightweight Tiles

Abstract

This study examines the potential of using sea sand as a starting material to produce silica-based products. Preliminary characterization of sea sand is done to identify physical and chemical properties for use in various products. The results found that sea sand has a high purity of 91.69% Silicone oxide (SiO₂ ) content. In addition, the content of sea sand has a content of Iron (III) oxide (Fe₂O₃), Alumina oxide (Al₂O₃), Potassium oxide (CaO), Potassium oxide (K₂O), Sodium oxide (Na₂O), Magnesium oxide (MgO), and Titanium dioxide (TiO₂). The present findings indicated that the untreated sea sand, via wet assays analysis, contained 95.10% of silica grade. XRD analysis showed the main phase of SiO₂ in crystalline form (PDF 01-085-0794). Simultaneous Thermal Analysis (STA) observation showed that the sea sand sample was relatively stable up to 1200 °C with the detection of the exothermic peak that suggested a crystallization of a new phase, namely melilite, at 1034 °C to 1148 °C.