Geochemical and technological characterization of clays of Corumbataí Formation, Paraná Basin, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil for the application in the ceramic industry.

The Corumbataí Formation is a geological unit of the Paraná Basin comprises a range of predominantly argillaceous facies. These clays are important from an economic point of view, because they represent important mineral deposits suppliers of raw materials for the ceramic industry in the production of ceramic tiles.The study presents preliminary results of a research that aims to study the clays municipalities Tambaú, Ferreira and Santa Rosa of Viterbo in the State of São Paulo for their application and diversification of ceramic products. The methodology used was based on a detailed description of facies using the methodology in principles of analysis of Basin Miall (1984), followed by mineralogical identification by X-ray Diffraction, chemical analysis of major elements by X-ray Fluorescence and technological tests ceramic. According to the geological surveys of mines studied through columnar sections were identified the following lithofacies from base to top: Massive, Laminated, Intercalated and Altered. The mineralogy present on these lithofacies is composed by minerals: quartz, microclineo, albite, calcite, dolomite and hematite and by clay minerals illite, kaolinite and montmorillonite. The quartz represents the mineral more present in diffraction and occurs with d001 of 3.33Å in all lithofacies studied. The illite clay mineral represents the most frequent in studied samples presenting d 001 10Å in three conditions (natural, heated and treated with ethylene glycol) in which the blade was subjected to the analysis of X-ray diffraction, the presence of kaolinite or montmorillonite occurs or not in samples. It was observed a increased frequency of some minerals in the lithofacies studied, carbonates (calcite and dolomite), hematite and feldspar occurring in the intermediate portions of the profile with a predominance in lithofacies Intercalated. The illita clay mineral occurs throughout the profile, but with greater frequency in the lithofacies Massive and Laminated. The clay minerals kaolinite and montmorillonite occur in portions intermediate and top of the profiles studied in the intercalated and altered lithofacies. The chemical results of major elements by X-ray fluorescence confirmed the mineralogical results, with average values of 63.74 % of SiO2, 12.50 of Al2O3, 4.35% of of K2O, 0.45% of Na2O, 2,72% of CaO and 1,87 of MgO. The results chemical and mineralogical subsidized testing and ceramic formulations due to be executed later so defining the main applications of these clays in the production of ceramic products. The authors acknowledge the finantial support of Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo-FAPESP, (Process, number 2012/24219-9).