A Clay Mineral Called Kaolin

Is Kaolin a genuine clay mineral? Yes, it is. Rocks that are prosperous in Kaolin contents are called china clay or kaolin. Kaolin is stacked up silicate layer with one tetrahedral sheet linked through oxygen to a single octahedral sheet of Alumina. It is, in fact, one of the most popular minerals, and it is usually extracted in Brazil, France, USA, China, and to other parts of the world.

Kaolin is one of the commonest mineral forms found wide spread all over the world. It is described as earthy, squashy, and white as Felspar; and is found in various color combinations, can be sometimes rusty brown depending on the levels of iron composition in the clay.

Kaolin clay appears lavishly in soils that have formed from the chemical weathering of rocks in hot and moist climates particularly in tropical rainforest areas.

What are the uses of Kaolin as clay mineral?

Since Kaolin contain very small traces of Uranium and Thorium, and is very useful in radiological dating. Kaolin was long used in the production of common smoking pipes in Europe and Asia. It is also in paint to extend titanium dioxide and transform gloss levels in some semi-reinforcing properties.

Moreover, Kaolin, is generally the main component in porcelain, and is widely used in medicine, ceramics, coated paper, as a food additive, in toothpaste, as a light diffusing material in white incandescent light bulbs, and in cosmetics.

To some extent, Kaolin is largely used in the production of paper, including the gloss on some grades of paper. Commercial grades of Kaolin are supplied and transported as dry powder, or semi-dry noodle.

Medicinal uses of Kaolin

Kaolin has been an active substance in liquid anti-diarrhea medicines such as Kaomagma and Kaopectate. Kaolin is known in traditional Chinese medicine by the name chìshízhī means ‘crimson stone resin.’