Research article

STUDY OF THE MINERAL COMPOSITION OF SAND DUNES IN AL-DIWANIYAH PROVINCE, IRAQ

Maher Nazim Karim Al-Fatlawy and Raid Shaalan Jarallah

Online First: January 20, 2023


In order to study the mineral composition of sand dunes in Al-Diwaniyah province / Iraq, two locations were identified, the first location was in Al-Bdeir district and the second location was in the Al-Shanafiya district. The samples were taken from the study areas to a depth of (0-30) and after being transferred to the laboratory, they passed through a sieve with a hole diameter of 2 mm for the purpose of conducting chemical and physical analyzes. Also, the soil was separated into sand with a 50-micron sieve, clay and silt by sedimentation method, and then the sand and silt minerals were diagnosed by X-ray and their percentages were determined by a point-counting method. As for the separated clay, it was diagnosed by saturating the sample with magnesium, air drying, saturating with ethylene glycol, saturating with magnesium and heating to a temperature of 350 and 550 degrees Celsius. The results show the following: The results of the x-rays of the sand dunes separated by sand in Al-Bdeir district showed the presence of quartz (52.7%), calcite (18.3%), Dolomite (1.6%), Albit (26.1%), Antigurite (5.1), gypsum (0.2), magnetite (2.7), and kaolinite (3.0). ), chlorite (1.0%), Ilite (2.3%), Palligorskite (3.2%), Vermiculite (3.2%), and silt separated. The proportions of Quartz minerals were 42.1% and Calcite (26.2%). Dolomite (6.6%), Albite (15.5%), gypsum (2.0%), magnetite (2.8%), Hematite (1.6%), orthoclase (2.3%), Kaolinite (3.8%), Chlorite (0.4%).and the Ilite ((9.2%) and the clay part contained the minerals Montmorillonite, Chlorite, Ilite and kaolinite. The sand is separated in the sand dunes in Al- Shanafiya district. The proportions of the minerals quartz (29.3), calcite ((21.2) and dolomite)) were 29.1. The Albite (22.7), Antigurite (5.9), gypsum (2.7), magnetite (2.8), kaolinite (3.6), chlorite (1.1), Ilite (3.0), Pallygorskite ((3.2), and Vermiculite (0.1).

Keywords

mineral composition, sand dunes, soil