Utilization of some Egyptian raw materials in glass and rock wool industry

Abstract

The glass and rock wool industries are mainly based on naturally formed raw materials. Silica sand, limestone, dolomite, feldspars and kaolin are the main raw materials for the glass whereas high quality basalt and dolomite are used for the production of rock wool industry. All these raw materials are outcropped in tremendous reserves in Egypt.

Paleozoic formations in Egypt include rock units dominated by different quality silica sand which is considered the primary source for the glass industry. The silica sand is mainly belonging to the Naqus and Abu Thora Formations of Cambro-Ordovician and Lower Carboniferous ages, respectively. The dolomite is extended along the escarpment of Maghra El- Bahari Formation at Gabal Ataqa, Suez area and belongs to the Late Cretaceous to Early-Middle Eocene. The dolomites of Maghra El-Bahari Formation are widely utilized in construction work, i.e., ready mix; however, they are not effectively adopted neither in the glass nor the rock wool industries.

The limestones of Middle Eocene outcropped in Samalut, Minia governorate, represent a huge reserve that can supply different industries. Meanwhile, the feldspar and kaolin occurrences are widely distributed in south El Tour and Um Bogma region at southern Sinai. The kaolin is of Lower Cretacous age whereas the feldspar belongs mainly to the Pre-Cambrian age. On the other hand, basalt rocks are widely outcropping in many occurrences in Egypt. The Cenozoic basalt outcropping at Abu-Zaabal, El-Fayoum and Baharyia are not effectively employed in industrial applications as building material, fertilizer, rock wool and in the high technological continuous fibers.