Purification of Tronoh Silica Sand via preliminary process of mechanical milling

The purification of Tronoh silica sand is an important step in expanding technical applications of this silica sand. However no research on purifying of Tronoh silica sand has been reported. This study is focused on ball milling technique as a preliminary technique for Tronoh silica sand purification. The objectives are to study the effect of ball milling to the purification of the silica sand and to analyze its characteristics after the ball milling process. The samples before and after milling process were analyzed by using XRF, XRD, SEM and TEM. Results showed that the purity of SiO₂ was increased, the size of the particles has been reduced and the surface area has increased. The crystalline phases for the silica before and after 4 hour milling time were remained constant.