How to get quartz sand from river. How quartz sand differs from ordinary building sand. For road surfaces

Quartz sand is a type of foundry sand. This is crushed quartz, which is used in various fields. It is mined in different ways. In our article, you can see a photo of quartz sand in order to further understand what it is actually about.

Classification

Quartz sand is divided into:

  • river (is the cleanest and most expensive);
  • marine (particles are mixed with clay and silt elements. Demand for it is less than for river);
  • soil (cellar, located under a layer of clay, soil. It is characterized by an acute-angled shape and roughness. It is used in construction work);
  • ravine (has impurities of silt. These are rough fractions of an acute-angled shape. They are part of the solutions of plaster, concrete);
  • mountainous (the origin is located in a mountainous area. According to its characteristics, it is close to a ravine).

Quartz sand is divided into natural and artificial. In the first case, rounded, natural sand appears as a result of the action of water and air. Quartz grains become smooth and round.

In the second case, a quartz vein is crushed, obtaining crushed sand. The rock is blown up, obtaining acute-angled elements, which are divided into fractions. Artificial sand is monomineral.









Its advantages include the following:

  • Silicon oxide IV is 98%.
  • Contains no organic impurities.
  • Resistant to mechanical and chemical influences.
  • High temperatures withstand easily.

Application

This inorganic mineral has a number of properties that make it a unique material. Quartz sand:

  • does not react with other chemicals;
  • has a high bulk density;
  • durable (grains are almost not subject to abrasion);
  • radiation safe;
  • is a good sorbent;
  • may be stained.

Due to its characteristics, the mineral has become a necessary material in many areas. How is quartz sand used? It is used in:

  • light and heavy industry (fractionated sand is filled with high quality building mixtures. It is one of the components of the self-leveling floor, decorative plasters);
  • metallurgy (founding sand is involved in the creation of molds for casting. The resulting products have refractory properties and are highly durable);
  • glass production (participates in the manufacture of glass containers, fiberglass, and other materials. Magnetic cleaning eliminates iron impurities from the material);
  • construction (participates in the creation of silicate bricks, concrete with refractory properties);
  • housing and communal services;
  • transport services;
  • water treatment (included in the filters, due to the absorbent characteristics);
  • animal husbandry (added to feed);
  • production of composite electrical fuses (used due to dielectric properties).

Mineral deposits

Where to find quartz sand? This inorganic mineral is often found at the bottom, on the banks of natural reservoirs, in quarries. Its deposits are known in Russia, India, Switzerland, Burma and other countries. It is formed as a result of the decay of granite. In Russia, it is mined in the Bryansk, Moscow, Volgograd, Kaluga regions. Also, near Orenburg, in the Urals. There are deposits in the channels of the Samara and Ural rivers.

Mining Features

Quartz can be divided into primary and secondary. The first variety is formed directly during the decay of granite, located under a layer of clay, mixtures. This is a decomposed granite, which lies in one place for a long time, without being exposed to water, sun, air.

Secondary quartz is a mineral that is affected by water. Streams of water erode and carry it to other places. As a rule, accumulations form at the bottom of rivers.

Mining of primary quartz

It is extracted from the places of occurrence, transported for processing. Then the clay is dissolved, the quartz is dehydrated, calcined. The material is divided into fractions, packaged.

Extraction of secondary quartz

Raw materials are collected from reservoirs by a pump. Then the mixture is transferred to the places of accumulation. They form a quarry on the ground, collect deposits with the help of an excavator and other equipment.

crushed quartz

Received as a result of an explosion. Then processed into ground quartz sand. Used for sandblasting. Its sieving is optimal, and its composition is granulometric. This allows you to make sandblasting surfaces efficient. Crushed quartz can be used to clean metal, wood, plastic, glass, concrete and brick surfaces.



How to pick up sand

For each type of work, you need to select the sand of the appropriate thickness. Quartz sand can be fine, coarse-grained, medium in size. The larger the fraction, the more rough the processing will be.

The material is more expensive than ordinary sand. Its processing is not easy and cheap. The mineral is very durable and lasts a long time.

Photo of quartz sand

- granular material with a particle size of 0.05 to 3 mm, formed during the destruction of quartz-containing rocks. Typically, quartz sands contain various impurities in their composition: iron oxides, clay materials, feldspars, carbonates, and others. Impurities give the sand a color ranging from yellow to red-brown. Pure quartz sands contain up to 99% silica.

Production of quartz sand

Natural quartz sand mined in a quarry goes through a complex processing cycle: it is washed, cleaned of impurities, enriched and then, if necessary, dried. Artificial is obtained by crushing and screening of quartz-containing rocks. Quartz sands are sorted into fractions: sand is considered a fraction of 0.1–0.4 mm, coarse sand - 0.5–1.0 mm, and pulverized quartz - anything less than 0.1 mm. A mixture with grains larger than 1.0 mm is considered to be quartz chips.

Application of quartz sand

Due to its high sorption capacity, quartz sand is widely used in purification filters for drinking water and wastewater treatment.

Quartz sand is very immune to atmospheric, chemical and physical actions, is not afraid of aggressive environments and high temperatures, which is why it is common in construction organizations when producing cement (including Portland cements used in cementing gas and oil wells), brick, asphalt, for production of decorative and finishing building materials, when plastering facade and interior interiors, for design work. Concrete blocks made using silica sand come in soft pastel colors in all sorts of colors.

Quartz sand is also used in faience, glass and porcelain production, in the production of paint and varnish products, various filters, in sandblasting machines, in chemical. Industry, foundry. Quartz sand is used instead of material for the production of refractory building materials. Due to its good abrasive properties, it is widely used in grinding lenses and other polished materials, when sawing stone. As an arc-extinguishing element, quartz sand is also used in the manufacture of electrical fuses.

In industry, quartz sand is divided into two main groups. The first of them is aggregate sand, which is produced in various fractional compositions from 0.2 mm to 5 mm and is used for filling filters, for cleaning, as well as for the manufacture of dry mixes and concretes, and of course for sandblasting. The second group are foundry sands, which are used in the foundry industry. These sands are sufficient with a rigid fractional composition, for example, 0.25 mm or 0.3 mm. They have a high coefficient of uniformity, which is 72-80%. These characteristics make it possible to use fractionated sands not only in foundry production, but also as an additive in the production of dry mixes and metal processing (sandblasting).

Characteristics of quartz sand

Humidity less than 10%.

Sand for the production of silicate products is divided into classes: A (SiO2 content of at least 70%), B (SiO2 content of at least 60%), C (SiO2 content of at least 50%).

Quartz sand marking

The marking of quartz sand for the glass industry contains an alphabetic index indicating the scope of application, the mass fraction of iron oxide in thousandths, the product grade of this brand (highest, first, second).

Letter indices:

"OOVS" - for especially responsible products of high translucency;

"OVS" - for responsible products of high translucency;

"VS" - for products of high translucency;

"C" - for translucent products;

"B" - for colorless products;

"PB" - for semi-white products;

"PS" - for products of reduced translucency;

"T" - for products made of dark green glass. Advantages of quartz sand

Uniform structure and monomineral (does not contain impurities). High strength and resistance to mechanical, chemical, atmospheric influences. Possibility of dyeing in any color. It has a large intergranular porosity, which gives quartz sand a high dirt holding capacity and provides excellent sorption capacity.

Quartz is the most common mineral found in the earth's crust. Sand obtained as a result of its natural or artificial crushing is called quartz.

Types of quartz sand

Distinguish quartz sands natural and artificial origin. Sand of natural origin is extracted from quarries by mechanical means. Artificial - by crushing quartz rocks into fractions of different sizes.

According to the shape of the grains, quartz sand is divided into rounded and crushed. Rounded has a rounded appearance, crushed has an uneven, chipped shape.

From the area in which quartz sand is used, it is classified into sand glass brand, molding and fractional.

Distinctive features

Features of production and technical indicators of quartz sand make it a fairly valuable raw material for industry. It is not used as a filler for building mixtures, they do not level the surface of the earth with it in construction, they do not fall asleep in trenches. This will be unprofitable from an economic point of view. The cost of quartz sand is much higher than the price of conventional building sand.
If we compare quartz sand with building sand, then it will compare favorably with its monomineral (homogeneity) composition. The intergranular porosity provides it with the highest dirt holding capacity compared to other materials, and the slight wear of sand grains makes quartz sand quite valuable as a filter material.

Mining and production of quartz sand

Quartz sand is obtained by mining its deposits, or by crushing rocks containing quartz.

Extraction of natural quartz sand
The extraction of quartz sand in its natural occurrence occurs in various ways.

open way
It is used for quarry, mechanical mining method. In this case, the following construction machinery and equipment is used: excavators, dump trucks, bulldozers, scrapers, cable cars. According to the technology of open-pit mining of quartz sand, the upper layers of soil that hide the deposit are first removed. Then trenches are laid for the entrance of transport equipment.

Closed way
It is used in the development of underwater deposits of quartz sand, in riverbeds and reservoirs. In the closed method, a hydromechanical mining method is used. In this case, floating installations and dredgers are used. A powerful earthen pump is installed on fixed floating platforms. The rock loosened with the help of a mechanical baking powder is sucked into the pipe system by a pump and poured into the dumps, from where the water that has got along with the sand flows back into the river. In the future, the dried sand is poured with the help of excavators into the bodies of dump trucks and taken out to the place of its further processing.

Quartz sand obtained during the development open and closed method, contains a large amount of impurities and therefore subject to further processing. It is washed and freed from all kinds of contaminants, then dried to the required level of humidity.

Feature of natural quartz sand in the round shape of its grains of sand, which served to get them the name - rounded. Such sand is often used for playgrounds and various sports arenas, as it is less traumatic and meets the sanitary standards for such facilities.

Production of artificial quartz sand
Artificial quartz sand is obtained from rocks containing quartz, by crushing them in special stone crushers. The processing process also includes washing and further drying.

When crushing quartz, its particles get an uneven shape and have different sizes. To obtain crushed sand, homogeneous in composition, it is sifted and distributed into fractions.

The following fractions are distinguished depending on the size of its grains of sand:

  • dusty - with a particle size of less than 0.1 mm;
  • medium fraction - has a diameter of 0.1 to 0.4 mm;
  • coarse sand - the size of the grains is from 0.5 to 1 mm;
  • quartz crumb is the largest fraction with grain sizes over 1 mm.

Artificial crushed quartz sand has a more uniform and pure composition than natural, as it is obtained by crushing whole rock. It is not polluted by foreign impurities, inevitable in the extraction of sand from the soil. The price of such sand will be much more than the cost of natural.

An integral feature of crushed quartz sand is its porous structure, which is due to the technology of its production. This feature gives artificial quartz sand the ability to collect a large amount of dirt on its surface, which is widely used in the production of industrial and household filters.

Characteristics and properties

Grains of quartz sand can have a diameter of 0.05 mm to 3 mm. Depending on the impurities contained in their composition, sand can be of different colors. For example, a high iron content gives it a brown color. Pink sand is obtained from quartz, which has titanium in its composition. Pure, free from impurities, quartz is colorless, or may have a milky tint. The sand obtained from such a rock is pure white in color.

The density of quartz sand is not less than 1400 g/cm3
Use by radioactivity - class 1
Mohs hardness - 7
Crushability - 0.3
Abrasion - 0.1

Chemical and physical properties

Quartz has a crystalline structure. This structure gives this mineral and the sand obtained from it exceptional strength and resistance to acids and alkalis. Quartz sand is a very hard and refractory material, its chemical composition determines its fire safety and increased fire resistance. Sand obtained from quartz is inert to most chemicals and has dielectric properties.

Requirements for industrial quartz sand
According to the chemical composition, industrial quartz sand must have at least 95% of the silicon oxide content. The ratio of clay impurities should not exceed 1%. The presence of iron oxide - no more than 1%. The moisture content in the dried sand should not exceed 10%.
Special requirements apply to glass grade sand. Depending on its chemical composition, it is divided into grades having the following letter designations:

  • OOVS - especially responsible for high translucency;
  • ОВС - responsible for high translucency;
  • VS - high translucency;
  • C - translucent;
  • B - colorless;
  • PB - semi-white;
  • PS - reduced translucency;
  • T - dark green glass.

Quartz sand for the silicate industry has a division into classes:

  • class A - the content of silicon oxide is more than 70%;
  • class B - not less than 60%;
  • class C - not less than 50%.
Applications of quartz sand

High physical and chemical properties of quartz sand find their application in a wide variety of industrial fields. At the same time, its use in a particular industry directly depends on the type of sand and its physical parameters.

Glass Grade Sand
It is used in the glass industry, for the production of fiberglass, glass containers, insulating materials, porcelain and ceramic products. Such sand has a fraction from 0.1 to 0.4 mm. The content of iron oxide in the feedstock affects the grade of the resulting glass. To clean sand from iron-containing impurities, its magnetic enrichment is used. In this case, the raw material is subjected to magnetic separation by dry or wet methods.

foundry sand
It is used in metallurgy in the manufacture of molds for casting. For foundry production, fractions that are uniform in particle size are used. The uniformity coefficient of molding sands should be between 72 and 80%. Products obtained from this kind of sand are characterized by increased refractoriness and strength.

Fractional sand
It finds its application in a wide variety of industries.
Fractions with a particle diameter of less than 0.1 mm (pulverized) are used as a filler for high-quality building mixtures. For example, pulverized quartz is included in epoxy or polyurethane-based self-leveling floors, decorative plasters, and as a tinting pigment in finishing materials.

Quartz sand with a grain size of 0.2 to 0.8 mm is used for abrasive treatment of metal, glass and stone surfaces using sandblasting machines. At the same time, metal products get rid of foreign contaminants, rust and scale. Thus, it is possible to remove the old paint and prepare the product for re-painting. Glass and stone surfaces are ground with quartz sand to the required degree of smoothness.

Large fractions of quartz sand (quartz chips) are used in landscape design for the device of bulk paths and paths.
In everyday life, coarse quartz sand is used to decorate decorative elements of the interior.

Filters for industrial and domestic water treatment contain mixed fractions of quartz sand, but not below average. Such heterogeneity provides the best sorption properties of the filler. Quartz sand is also used in the purification of petroleum products from impurities.

As a primer for aquariums and in children's creativity, colored quartz sand. The principle of painting is to apply epoxy or polyurethane-based paint to the surface of quartz grains. Such sand is resistant to physical and chemical influences, does not wear out and does not burn out.

Colored quartz sand used in the production of mosaic plasters and other finishing materials, giving building mixtures the desired color and for road marking of asphalt pavement.

In the food industry, quartz sand is used in the preparation of brewed coffee.

In the construction industry, quartz sand is used for the production of silicate bricks and refractory concretes.

Quartz sand is used in road works, as an anti-slip element of the road surface.

In animal husbandry, large fractions of quartz sand are added to feed to facilitate mechanical grinding of grain feed in the poultry crop.

The dielectric properties of quartz sand are used in the production of electrical fuse elements.

Application of quartz sand for pool water filtration

Currently, swimming pools with a water purification system using quartz sand as a filtration material have become widespread.

How quartz sand filters work
The pool filter consists of a pump and a filtration device that looks like a rounded container with a volume that can accommodate up to 50 kg of quartz sand. With the help of a pump, water is supplied to the upper part of the filtration device. After passing through a layer of sand, the water is purified and pours back into the pool through the outlet at the bottom of the filter.

What kind of sand is suitable for the filter
Crushed quartz sand with a particle fraction of 0.1 to 1 mm is used as a filler for the filter. At the same time, the purity of water directly depends on the size of the grains of sand. The finer the fraction, the smaller particles of dirt it can hold and the better the cleaning process will be. The size of the filter capacity will also affect the purity of the water. The larger the volume, the more quartz sand it will hold, and the cleaner the water will be. A good filter is capable of trapping dirt particles as small as 20-25 microns.

Advantages of quartz sand as a pool filter
Replacement of quartz sand occurs no more than 1-2 times a year, depending on the degree of load. Compared to the cartridge cleaning method, the quartz sand filter is much more convenient and economical, as it does not require frequent replacement of the filter element.
Caring for a filter containing quartz sand does not require special knowledge and does not take much time.

The use of quartz sand in sandblasting

One of the main applications of quartz sand is its use as an abrasive material for mechanical cleaning or grinding of various types of surfaces and materials using sandblasting machines.

The basic principle of the sandblasting machine
The principle of operation of sandblasting machines is to supply a jet of air containing abrasive particles to the surface to be cleaned or sanded. The blows of sand grains knock down the dirt protruding beyond the surface of the material and polish it to the required state.
Very often, a jet of water is used as a kinetic force. Such sandblasting is used when it is necessary to obtain a degreased surface, with a minimum dust content.

What surfaces can be sandblasted?
Metal, stone and glass surfaces are suitable for sandblasting with quartz sand.
Rust, old paint and other types of contaminants are removed from metal.
Building surfaces made of stone, brick, concrete and reinforced concrete are cleaned with sandblasting machines before the final construction work.
Glass surfaces are polished with the smallest fractions of quartz sand to the required state.

Which sand is suitable for sandblasting?
For sandblasting machines, sand of various fractions is used. The diameter of the abrasive depends on the type of sandblasting and the surface to be treated. For rough cleaning of old and deep dirt and rust, coarse sand is taken, its diameter can reach up to 5 mm. Medium and fine fractions are used at the final stage of cleaning and polishing.

Requirements for quartz sand
There are generally accepted requirements for the quality of quartz sand for sandblasting. So, for example, the moisture content of sand with a dry cleaning method should not exceed 0.1%. An increase in the total volume of moisture will lead to the adhesion of sand grains to the nozzle wall and reduce the speed of their escape, and, accordingly, the impact force.

The specific density is determined by the mass and escape velocity of the quartz particle. At the same time, an increase in mass leads to a greater speed and power of impact of a grain of sand on the treated surface.

Another important indicator is the impact strength of the abrasive material. Depends on the composition of quartz sand and the presence of impurities in it. The impact strength depends on the strength of the particles supplied to the surface to be cleaned and the quality of the work performed.

Sand is the most important material, without which it is almost impossible to imagine any major construction or any minor repairs. To date, there are three main types of such material: river, quartz and ravine. Accordingly, each has a name according to its origin.

The main applications of quartz sand are: finishing materials, glass production, road marking paint, filtration and water treatment.

But quartz sand is becoming more and more popular every day. What does he represent? And what is its main purpose? It is very important to know all this if you want to use such material in construction. Therefore, we will consider these points in more detail.

Characteristics and main properties of quartz sand

Quartz sand is loose quartz - the most durable material in nature. Such sand can be obtained both naturally, when natural stone crushing occurs, and artificially, when quartz is deliberately crushed. But most often quartz is crushed independently.

Quartz sand is most often a very loose homogeneous material, which, depending on the specific subspecies of quartz and the nature of its crushing, differs in fractions. The minimum grain size will be about 0.05 mm, the maximum - 3 mm. Very often quartz material contains additional impurities in small quantities, but may contain up to 90% silica.

Whatever way it is mined, it undergoes additional thorough cleaning, sifting, and also sorting into fractions. This makes it possible to divide the material into grades, as well as to weed out low-quality sand and debris from it.

It has several more properties that distinguish it favorably from all other types of sand. This is a high adsorption capacity, an unusual resistance to mechanical and thermal stress, and a high degree of adhesion to various materials and mixtures.

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Areas of use

To date, the scope of quartz sand is quite wide.

It covers manufacturing, construction, the food and pharmaceutical industries, and other industries where the use of such material is often quite unexpected, but quite justified.

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Use in construction

The principle of operation of the filter with quartz sand for water purification in the pool

Quartz sand is quite often used to make all kinds of blocks and bricks. Concrete blocks with the addition of quartz material have a rather calm color scheme of pastel shades. And this, in turn, makes it possible to successfully apply them for facade construction and decoration. The same goes for bricks. Moreover, bricks and blocks are extremely durable. Therefore, bricks for kilns are often made with the addition of precisely the quartz type of sand.

Special attention deserves cement and various mixtures for asphalt laying. So, their most high-quality options are still produced on the basis of sandy quartz. As for cement, all brands of modern Portland cement are now on sale with the addition of sand. This increases the adhesion of the future solution to the surface. In some cases, such an amount of this material is added to the cement that it is not necessary to add it additionally.

Expensive asphalt pavements also have quartz-type sand in their composition. This is especially true for roads where there is increased traffic. After all, the load on the coating is quite large, so the durability of the asphalt should be appropriate.

Quartz sand is the best additive in plasters for exterior or interior types of decoration. In this case, you can choose not only the brand corresponding in functionality, but also its shade. And this will greatly affect the final shade of the plastered coating.

Quartz sand-based plastering mortars are the most beautiful and reliable. For a long time, they do not give absolutely no cracks, and they also facilitate the process of imparting ideal smoothness to the surface due to the fact that it is the quartz mixture that is selected for a particular fraction suitable for work.

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