Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
PAMUKKALE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING SCIENCES-PAMUKKALE UNIVERSITESI MUHENDISLIK BILIMLERI DERGISI, cilt.24, sa.6, ss.1209-1219, 2018 (ESCI)
Feldspar and clay minerals have been used in glass and ceramics industry for many years as raw material. Apart from these, feldspathoid (especially nepheline) group minerals are commonly used in ceramic industry because of their advantages such as decreasing firing temperature, lower viscosity, effect on rapid growth of glassy phase and high reactivity against quartz. Feldspathoid minerals are abundant within the alkaline igneous rocks, especially silica unsaturated syenitic rocks. Nepheline bearing syenites give limited outcrops compared to felsic rocks within Central Anatolia. Buzlukdag nepheline syenite represents one of the largest and unaltered alkaline intrusive body in Central Anatolia and located in the northwest of Kirsehir. Buzlukdag nepheline syenite is differentiated into three subgroups (coarse, medium and fine crystalline) according to textural features and grain sizes. Both subgroups have similar mineral composition but different colors and mineral proportions. Main mineral composition is nepheline (19.1-54.2%), K-feldspar (orthoclase) (41.3-69%), oligoclase (1.2-17.8%), pyroxene (0.3-4.9%), biotite (0.3-2.5%), amphibole (0.6-1.1%) with lesser amounts of melanite (0.3-11.7%), cancrinite, sphene (0.4-1.2%) and opaque minerals (0.1-2.5%). Buzlukdag nepheline syenites have K2O/Na2O and Na2O/K2O ratios between 0.38-1.12% (mean 0.70%) and 0.89-2.66% (1.53% on average) respectively, thus they are very suitable for ceramic and glass industries. As a result, Buzlukdag nepheline syenites have great potential in industrial uses with their high nepheline + low opaque mineral content, limited inclusions of magnetite and ilmenite within felsic minerals like orthoclase and nepheline and also presence of individual magnetite and ilmenite crystals compared to syenites around the world.