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Abstract
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In this study, the major deposit dune fields located in Mih-Ouensa municipal of El Oued region, Algeria country, were characterized by analyzing its mineralogical, textural and chemical composition, in order to exhibit its importance for various using in several engineering fields. This considered site is not previously explored by investigation works. The qualitative and quantitative mineral content of sand samples is investigated using x-ray diffraction (XRD), x-ray fluorescence (XRF), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and UV-vis absorption, reflectance spectroscopy and SEM/EDX analysis. Additionally, the physical properties were also determined in this work, namely: density and water absorption measurements, sand equivalent, and sieving analysis. According to the results obtained from the different investigation analyses, it has been revealed that the El-Oued dune sand (DS) is mainly composed of SiO2 with a high concentration around of 97 mass%, with the presence of a small amount of other oxides like CaO, Al2O3 and Fe2O3. The mineralogical identification indicates the existence of α-quartz with a significant crystallinity and a low amount of calcite and alumina minerals, 1.55 and 2 mass%, respectively. Moreover, the UV absorption of α-quartz was observed at 370 nm (3.35 eV) of the emission band. The microscopic observations revealed the presence of different morphologies of sand grains, as illustrated by the several morphologies. The must results of this work concluded that the deposit of dune sand located in Mih-Ouensa municipal of El Oued region could be significant sources of quartz, which is the rawest material in several application fields, such as semiconductor materials and also in civil engineering.
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