Appearance
The soft, earthy, and typically white mineral known as kaolinite (dioctahedral phyllosilicate clay) is created when aluminum silicate minerals like feldspar weather chemically. Pale yellow, cream, or white with occasional red, blue, or brown tints from impurities; frequently stained in a variety of colors, with tans and browns being the most common. Seldom as thin plates, crystals, or stacks. More frequently as tiny, clay-like aggregates that are collected into compact, pseudohexagonal plates and clusters of plates.
Geographical Distribution
One of the most often found minerals is kaolinite, also known as kaolin, which is mined in the following countries: the United States, France, Germany, India, Australia, South Korea, People’s Republic of China, Spain, Czech Republic, Tanzania, South Africa, Malaysia, Pakistan, Brazil, Bulgaria, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Iran.
History
Gaoling is the source of the term “kaolin.” Chinese village in the Jiangxi Province of southeast China, close to Jingdezhen. The French word “kaolin,” which gave rise to the name, was first used in English in 1727.
Chemical Composition
Al2Si2O5(OH)4 is the chemical composition of the clay mineral kaolinite. It is a layered silicate mineral consisting of an octahedral layer of alumina (AlO6) octahedra connected to a tetrahedral layer of silica (SiO4) by oxygen atoms.
Uses
About half of the time, the mineral kaolinite is used only in the manufacturing of paper, where it gives certain coated paper types a glossy appearance.
Used in toothpaste as a substance that emits light, in white incandescent lights, in ceramics (the primary ingredient in porcelain), and in cosmetics
Kaowool, an industrial insulation material made of mineral wool, is used in “pre-work” skin protection and barrier creams, paint to extend the white pigment of titanium dioxide and alter gloss levels, adhesives to modify the rheology as a spray applied to crops to prevent insect damage in organic farming, and sunburn on apples.
As a whitewash in Nepalese traditional stone-walled homes (the most popular technique is to paint the middle with red clay and the top with white kaolin clay; the red clay can even reach the bottom or be painted black).
Table
