there cannot be any question that the applicability or otherwise, of an earth for making good bricks, to a large extent depends on the mineral constitution of that earth. a chemical analysis of a sample of such earth will tell us how much silica, alumina, lime, iron, etc., is present therein, and this information is frequently of great value when given by a scientific chemist; but it does not tell us the state in which those constituents exist in the earth—an essential desideratum, if we are to understand the scientific aspects of the question of burning in the kiln. further, the size of the granules and particles composing the earth is well worth knowing, as we shall presently see. it is a great mistake to imagine that all clays are essentially chemical deposits. the majority of them have been in part derived from chemical disintegration, it is true; but the resulting deposits contain so much also that is purely of mechanical origin, that the behaviour of the whole is materially modified, from a metallurgical point of view. take one ingredient, for example—say, silica. that may exist in a brick-earth in a variety of ways, both in a free and combined state; but its behaviour in the kiln is largely dependent on the particular form assumed, not only whether it is free or combined, but as to how it is combined. in a certain sense, it is very doubtful whether even in the best-burnt brick much of the raw material29 becomes chemically combined; a sort of agglutination takes place locally, as is clearly shown by the microscope; at such points true fusion undoubtedly takes place, and there may be actual chemical combination. in the vast majority of cases, however, such fusion or possible combination is of an extremely partial and elementary character, whilst it hardly exists in the average “rubber.” the microscope shows that even in the hardest burnt brick there still remain enormous quantities of what may be termed mineral grains, that have by no means succumbed to the burning process. the edges of the grains may occasionally be seen merging into the more or less vitreous ground mass in which they are embedded, but beyond that they appear tolerably fresh, and their action on polarised light remains unimpaired.
we did not intend to say anything yet concerning the microscopic structure of bricks—that will be gone into in a subsequent chapter; but we thought it useful to state the foregoing elementary facts in order to endeavour to uproot a conviction that seems to be very firmly grounded—viz., that the chemical composition of a brick-earth imparts an accurate idea of the possible active agents, on the earth being subjected to the kiln. as a matter of fact, some of these would-be agents are imprisoned in the mineral grains and particles that have not become involved in the partial melting or agglutination of the mass, and might as well not be present in the earth for any work they may accomplish either for good or for evil. there is greater probability of the bulk of these grains and particles being of active service when they are ground up exceedingly fine; but the clayworker’s idea of “fineness,” as demonstrated by what passes through an ordinary clayworking mill, and “fineness” in the sense here intended, are two totally different things.30 we mean something that shall render the particles so small as that they shall only be observable on being magnified, say, 50 diameters. hardly any clays used in brickmaking are in bulk made of such small particles as this; there are a few, of which the best terra-cotta and porcelain are manufactured, however, but even these have to be very carefully prepared to exclude grosser foreign particles. from what we have said, it will be gathered that the terra-cotta and porcelain manufacturer is at the present time in a better position to judge of the work done in the kiln or oven than is the brickmaker. but that is simply a matter of education; the problems presented to the average brickmaker are rather more complicated than to the terra-cotta manufacturer, but they may be unravelled on sufficient application, as we hope to point out.
even under the most favourable conditions, however—when the particles composing the mass require a ?-inch objective for their elucidation—we find that the best burnt brick is largely made up of them in an unmelted condition. and we should be very sorry to get rid of them; for if they disappeared, the stony attributes of the brick would disappear also, and the general value of the substance would be deteriorated to such an extent that it would be unsaleable as a building material. the brick would nearest resemble a form of slag. all we now insist upon is that in brickmaking a chemical analysis is only useful up to a certain point, beyond which we must appeal to the microscope to aid us, and this in conjunction with as perfect a knowledge as possible as to the behaviour of earths of certain mineral composition when under the influence of high temperatures. in many instances, the value of the brick depends almost entirely on incapacity for fusion on the part of a large proportion31 of the minerals of which the brick is made. possibly, a good all-round brick would be where the bulk of its mineral particles were infusible at the temperature employed, and when the remainder were fusible enough to partially run, so as to cement or agglutinate the infusible particles firmly together. in order to bring about such conditions artificially, or to arrive at them even approximately, we must know at least three things, viz.—(1) the nature of the mineral particles involved in the whole operation; (2) their behaviour under high temperatures; and (3) a knowledge of certain branches of metallurgical chemistry. now, obviously, we cannot undertake to teach even the spirit of what is involved in these three desiderata in a small book like this; but we can, and shall, attempt to do something in that direction, and we must ask the reader’s indulgence to take for granted observations to be occasionally made, in the inevitable prospect of our not being able to explain them at sufficient length.
the following are the principal minerals found in clays used in brickmaking, together with their more important attributes from our point of view.
kaolin.
pure clay is, theoretically, composed of this mineral alone, but pure clay does not exist in nature, except as a mineralogical curiosity. what is generally called pure clay is a white, or light-grey plastic material, composed of kaolin with many other substances to a small degree, from which it frequently has to, as far as possible, be separated before being put to its highest uses in porcelain manufacture. chemically, pure kaolin may be regarded as a hydrous silicate of alumina, viz.—silica =32 46.3, alumina = 39.8, and water = 13.9. under the microscope, in reflected light, it is seen to be made up of extremely minute, thin, six-sided plates, which are said (doubtfully) to crystallize in the rhombic system; though, when regarded with the naked eye, one would not suppose that it possessed a crystalline structure, as it appears to be an earthy, unctuous substance. it is commonly mixed with grains and small crystals and fragments of quartz, which mineral will presently be described. being derived from the decomposition of felspars, the microscope reveals the fact that in addition to the six-sided plates alluded to, a great deal of opaque matter, as particles of mud, occurs in the substance universally known as kaolin. it is very difficult to satisfactorily state what this mud is; micro-chemically, its general character may be brought out. there is no doubt, however, that in converting the kaolin into china-ware, these particles are more active than the minute kaolin crystals in uniting with other substances to form a species of flux. the subject has been investigated to a very limited extent, but from the foregoing observations it will be seen that the proportion of amorphous mud particles to the minute crystals must be an important factor in determining the nature of the fluxing material, and of the quantity of this latter to be used. correlatively, the fusing point can be determined in the same manner. for, in itself, kaolin is an infusible mineral, and before it can be made use of for brickmaking, terra-cotta, or any kindred purpose, it must be rendered artificially fusible by the addition of a fluxing substance. when, therefore, we learn that kaolin is being used for these purposes, we know, if used direct as it comes from the pit, that it must be impure from a mineralogical standpoint, or that it is being mixed with33 other substances. we say that kaolin is infusible (refractory); we mean at any temperature used in the industrial arts, including brickmaking. with the recent improvements in the electric furnace, the temperature generated is so high that practically any mineral substance may be melted; it is hard to speak of anything being infusible.
but the mineral matter called kaolin in ordinary clays, such as the brown and blue london clay, the oxford clay, “brick-earths,” etc., has very little in common with the more or less pure china-clay. the microscope shows that in the vast majority of such clays scales of true kaolin are few and far between, that opaque mud particles are more frequent, and, above all, that pieces of highly decomposed felspar (called “kaolinised” matter) are present. eliminating all other and foreign substances from the clay, the whole of what would commonly be called kaolin and kaolinised matter, taken together, is of very varied chemical composition, and might, indeed, be fusible in the ordinary sense of that term. from this, the reader will perceive that the term kaolin is very ambiguous and altogether too wide in its meaning. we think it highly desirable, therefore, to describe kaolin as a true mineral and not as a rock, reserving the term for the crystalline plates. the mud particles referred to we may call “kaolinised particles;” and the highly decomposed felspar “kaolinised matter.” to sum up the relative fusibility of these substances, per se, we should say that (1) kaolin crystals are practically infusible; (2) kaolinised particles are either fusible, partly fusible, or infusible, depending on the actual nature of the particles; and (3) that kaolinised matter may be difficultly fusible or infusible. a mixture of (1) and (2) may not be34 fusible, and could not be unless a great proportion of (2) of a fusible character, so as to form a flux, were present. the reasons for this will appear in considering the different kinds of felspar, next to be described.
felspar.
this mineral, a very common constituent of nearly all clays and brick-earths is very variable in character, but may be separated into a number of mineral species, each of which possesses a definite structure and a more or less constant chemical composition. to show the range of variation, the following kinds of felspar, with their chemical composition, may be quoted:—3
chemical composition of felspars.
silica. alumina. potash. soda. lime.
orthoclase 64.6 18.5 16.9
albite 68.6 19.5 11.8
oligoclase 63.7 23.9 1.20 8.1 2.0
labradorite 52.9 30.3 4.5 12.3
anorthite 43.0 36.8 20.1
orthoclase felspar, in addition to the above, frequently has small proportions of lime, iron, magnesia and soda. amongst other things it is an essential constituent of granite, and on the decomposition of that rock is the first mineral to become affected. when attacked in the open air by rain and the ordinary agents of denudation, granite ultimately gives way by the dissolution of the felspar, and on being removed, the felspathic matter may accumulate35 in convenient situations to form kaolin. if we now compare the chemical constitution of orthoclase felspar with that of kaolin as previously given, we notice that the potash has disappeared in the decomposing process; it has been dissolved and taken away by rivulets, and the like, or washed by rain direct into the sea. we also observe that there has been a re-distribution, so to speak, of the relative proportions of silica and alumina—following well-known laws.
of the remaining felspars the commonest for our purposes is oligoclase, a mineral found in nearly all british “granites” in a greater or less degree. that contains a higher percentage of alumina than orthoclase, and there is a fair proportion of soda and little lime, but much less potash. the lime-soda felspar, labradorite, and its near ally, anorthite, are not often met with in a recognisable form in clays. if present, they are generally as “kaolinised matter,” too highly decomposed to exhibit their characteristic optical properties.
it is pretty generally stated, and too often assumed by some, that pure china-clay is derived from the direct decomposition of rocks containing “orthoclase” felspar. yet, this cannot really be so, if we reflect on the mineral composition of many of the rocks, which, obviously, have yielded the china-clays in question. take the china-clays of devon and cornwall; they have undoubtedly been derived from the “granites” of those counties. to some extent, as previously remarked, the orthoclase is attacked, and provides the material of which china-clay is made. but in the “west of england,” we have yet to learn that some of the other felspars are not also involved in the process. if we examine a fresh piece of granite from the flanks of dartmoor, or from the neighbourhood of liskeard, or36 st. austell, we find no difficulty in recognising a fair proportion of triclinic felspar (one or more of those mentioned in the table except orthoclase) in it. there is a difference in the composition (and therefore the commercial applicability) of a china-clay derived from a rock containing orthoclase alone, and one from a rock having orthoclase and one or more triclinic felspars in addition. the latter minerals are more easily decomposed than orthoclase, especially the lime and lime-soda varieties. we should not have raised this point only that, by reason of the granites being to some extent mechanically as well as chemically decomposed, a large proportion of “kaolinised particles” and “kaolinised matter” is introduced into certain china-clays, which render them different in their behaviour under intense heat from those china-clays in which orthoclase alone has been principally concerned. in other words, great practical advantages accrue from an accurate knowledge of the constitution and origin of the china-clays in question. two clays of the same chemical composition often behave in a different manner in the kiln; the cause of this is frequently to be found in the prevalence of “mechanical fragments” of felspar in one of the clays; and the absence of these, but the presence of “kaolinised particles” of the same chemical composition, in the other.
another point to which we may draw attention is the erroneous supposition that granites which have yielded china-clay have in all instances been reduced to the condition in which we now find them by the action of atmospheric agents of denudation alone. granites, as a matter of fact, yield very slowly to the action of the atmosphere, and taken as a whole no building stone is37 as durable as they. how comes it, then, that they have decomposed to such an extent as to have formed extensive deposits of china-clay in a very short space of time, geologically? we think the answer is to be sought, at any rate in some instances, in the alteration the rock as a whole has undergone in certain situations, whereby it became more easily decomposable. take the rotten china-stone of the neighbourhood of st. austell, for example. in that material we clearly see a stone from which the “life” has been sapped, and instead of a bright, sparkling, porphyritic granite, as it once was, we now notice only a ghost of its former self. the large orthoclase felspars may be seen in it as skeletons, the mica is reduced to mere iron-stains (when present at all), whilst the quartz is also slightly affected. this altered and comparatively rotten material (although sometimes hard enough to be used as building stone) extends to an enormous depth from the surface; it has not been bottomed in some parts of the district. such an extensive transformation could not possibly be due to ordinary agents of denudation which do their work at and near the surface of the rock only. it seems to arise from an enormous regional alteration, acting underground to an unfathomable depth, and which may not be unconnected with the mineral veins so common in, and in the immediate vicinity of the workings.4
yet another thing to be remembered is that, under certain conditions, as near st. austell, china-clay has been formed in situ, and has therefore not been deposited by the action of running water, as have the majority of china and other clays. mr. collins remarks that this china-clay is very irregular in its occurrence. it seems38 to be formed of various granite masses decomposed in place; it often occupies considerable surface areas, and extends to a depth unknown. he remarks that at beam mine, and also at rocks mine, both near st. austell, china-clay was found to a depth considerably exceeding 60 fathoms from the surface. this china-clay, in its natural condition, is very much the same as china-stone; but the decomposition has proceeded further, the felspar being completely changed into clay; and nothing more is necessary for extracting the clay than the disintegration of the whole mass by a stream of water directed upon it, when the clay is carried away in suspension and collected at convenient spots. thus there is every gradation between the true crystalline orthoclase and triclinic felspars, through china-stone into china-clay formed in situ, so into china-clay deposited from water by natural or artificial means, and into a pure clay containing a large proportion of kaolin crystals, “kaolinised particles” and “kaolinised matter.” but although we can state that much, a great deal yet remains to be done in connecting mineral structure with chemical composition of the purer clays, and in defining the various grades scientifically, in order that full advantage may be derived from them in a commercial sense.
