Characterization of espey colemanite and variation of its physical properties with temperature

It is important to characterize boron containing minerals because of their uses in a wide range of applications. The purpose of this study is to characterize Espey colemanite by minerological, petrographical and thermal means and to investigate the variation of its physical properties with temperature (up to 600 °C). Colemanite, having a non-porous crystalline structure, was found to consist of 35.8% B2O3 and 30.5% SiO2. The thermal decomposition of colemanite occurred within the temperature range of 300–600 °C. It was found that calcination, a thermal treatment method, influenced the physical properties of colemanite. The highest surface area, 131.9 m2/g, was obtained at 500 °C. The physical properties were found to have high statistical relation.

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Opracowanie ze środków MNiSW w ramach umowy 812/P-DUN/2016 na działalność upowszechniającą naukę.