The project report includes Present Market Position and Expected Future Demand, Market Size, Statistics, Trends, SWOT Analysis and Forecasts. Report provides a comprehensive analysis from industry covering detailed reporting and evaluates the position of the industry by providing insights to the SWOT analysis of the industry.
Silica is the name given to a group of minerals composed of silicon and oxygen, the two most abundant elements in the earth’s crust. Silica is found commonly in the crystalline state and rarely in an amorphous state. It is composed of one atom of silicon and two atoms of oxygen resulting in the chemical formula SiO2 Sand consists of small grains or particles of mineral and rock fragments. Although these grains may be of any mineral composition, the dominant component of sand is the mineral quartz, which is composed of silica (silicon dioxide). Other components may include aluminium, feldspar and iron-bearing minerals. Sand with particularly high silica levels that is used for purposes other than construction is referred to as silica sand or industrial sand.
For a particular source of sand to be suitable for glassmaking, it must not only contain a very high proportion of silica but also should not contain more than strictly limited amounts of certain metallic elements. Silica sand is also normally required to be well-sorted, i.e. to have grains of an approximately uniform size. Most sources of sand used by the construction industry do not satisfy these requirements and are not, therefore, suitable for glassmaking.
Industrial uses of silica sand depend on its purity and physical characteristics. Some of the more important physical properties are: grain size and distribution, grain shape, grain strength and refractoriness.
Industrial sand is a term normally applied to high purity silica sand products with closely controlled sizing. It is a more precise product than common concrete and asphalt gravels.
Silica is the name given to a group of minerals composed solely of silicon and oxygen, the two most abundant elements in the earth’s crust. In spite of its simple chemical formula, SiO2, silica exists in many different shapes and crystalline structures. Found most commonly in the crystalline state, it also occurs in an amorphous form resulting from weathering or plankton fossilization.
For industrial and manufacturing applications, deposits of silica yielding products of at least 95% SiO2 are preferred. Silica is hard, chemically inert and has a high melting point, attributable to the strength of the bonds between the atoms. These are prized qualities in applications like foundries and filtration systems. Quartz may be transparent to translucent and has a vitreous lustre, hence its use in glassmaking and ceramics. Industrial sand’s strength, silicon dioxide contribution and non-reactive properties make it an indispensable ingredient in the production of thousands of everyday products.
Quartz Powder
Some silica sand deposits may cater for the used primarily as metallurgical sand. The copper and zinc at some smelter uses the sand as a fluxing agent which, in the molten state, reacts with various impurities in the ore and produces a slag. The slag is drawn off with the impurities, leaving a more refined metal behind. Silica sands have a large number of other industrial uses depending on their characteristics.
• Production of glass
• Foundry sand
• Ceramics
• Sandblasting and other abrasives
• building products
• Filler and extender
• Production of silicon and silicon carbide
• Pigments
• Hydraulic fracturing and propping in the oil industry
• Water filtration
Silica, The most common occurrence of silica (qv) is in the form of quartz. Silica is the primary ingredient in glass and is usually obtained from high purity sandstones or quartzites by crushing and grinding, or from high-grade sand deposits. The term glass sand may refer to a deposit of sand or, more commonly it is used to refer to the sand after it has been beneficiated from sandstones, quartzites, or natural sands.
Quartz is used extensively in the ceramic and metallurgical industries. Large single crystals, found in hydrothermal veins in Brazil, are suitable for utilizing the piezoelectric effect found in this mineral. As a refractory it is used in the manufacture of firebrick, and as a network former it is used on a massive scale in the glass industry.
When pure, it is a colourless hard material given to conchoidal fracture.
When impure it has many colours that make it an attractive gemstone: agate, onyx, amethyst, topaz, and opal, a gel form containing appreciable water, are examples.
Quartzite, the only primary raw material for silica brick, is a very hard, but unmetamorphosed sandstone consisting chiefly of micro crystals of quartz which have been so completely and firmly cemented with secondary silica that the rock breaks across or through the individual grains rather than around them. This cement grows in optical and crystallographic continuity around each quartz grain, thereby lightly interlocking the grains as the original pore spaces are completely filled with secondary enlargements developed on the grains of quartz. It is almost pure silica having the common crystal form of hexagonal prism with ends of positive and negative rhombohedra. Its refractive index is close to that of balsma. It has a weak birefringence and positive elongation. Its hardness is 7 and specific gravity 2.65.
Quartzite, which is distinct from quartz and suitable for the manufacture of silica refractories, generally occurs as surface out-crop. This rock is abundantly available in most of the countries of the world. The best quality quartzite in India is available only in and around Bihar Sharif in Bihar.
The most common mineral in the Earth’s continental crust is quartz, and most silica sand is made up of broken down quartz crystals. Silica is another name for silicon dioxide, SiO2, of which quartz is a specific latticed structure. So silica sand is quartz that over the years, through the work of water and wind, has been broken down into tiny granules. These granules can be used for many different purposes, and can be found in most non-tropical regions of the world.
Silica sand is used throughout the world, and in so many different ways it is hard to imagine a world without it. From water filtration, to glass manufacture, to industrial casting, to sand blasting, to producing concrete, to adding texture to slick roads, silica sand impacts every aspect of daily life. Many industrial suppliers carry silica sand in bulk quantities, while some smaller household stores sell it in smaller amounts for home or home construction use. One of the major uses of silica sand in the modern world is as an ingredient in industrial concrete. Silica sand produces the bulk of a great deal of concrete, although some concrete bypasses its use for safety and strength reasons.
It is intended to prepare a Feasibility Report to install a Quartz Processing Facility with a production capacity of 200TPD as a Green Field Project.
