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[Display omitted] • Identification and collection of raw magnetic sand from site. • Characterization of raw magnetic sand. • Synthesis of mesoporous iron oxide from the raw magnetic sand. • Characterization of synthesized mesoporous iron oxide. This paper presents the synthesis of iron oxide from natural magnetic sand that was obtained from Michika, Adamawa State, Nigeria. Characterization of the raw magnetic sand and the synthesized iron oxide was performed to investigate the effect of the synthesis method on functional groups, morphology, composition, crystallinity, acidity and surface area/pore distribution using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy – energy dispersive X-ray (SEM – EDX), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET and pyridine FTIR, respectively. The XRF analysis of the two samples revealed a significant variation in oxide composition. The raw magnetic sand had an iron oxide content of 64.69 wt%, which increased to 85.20 wt% after synthesis. Furthermore, the SEM-EDX analysis indicated a decrease in average particle size from 114.6 and 36.8 µm for the respective samples. The XRD patterns revealed that the crystallinity increased after synthesis. FTIR showed the associations of functional groups present in the sample. The wavebands in the range 550 – 630 cm−1, which correspond to the Fe – O bond, improved clearly in the synthesized iron oxide sample, particularly at 582 cm−1. The pyridine FTIR depicts that the overall acidic site is higher in the synthesized sample. The N 2 adsorption–desorption procedure shows an increased BET surface area from 9.394 m2/g (raw) to 24.851 m2/g (synthesized). Overall, the results showed that the synthesized mesoporous iron oxide exhibits properties similar to materials that have a high potential for application as catalysts in chemical processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The suitability of silica sand deposits of Gada and Muvur in Mubi North Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Nigeria for commercial glass production was assessed based on the chemical and physical properties of the silica sand samples collected along the river sides. The test was carried out at National Metallurgical Development Centre (NMDC) Jos. Chemical analysis was carried out using x-ray florescence spectrometer (XRFS) and the physical properties such as the particle size, grain morphology and specific gravity examinations were carried out using mechanical shaker (sieving method), electronic microscope to reveal the shape of the samples and the specific gravity testing machine respectively. The results obtained were assessed and compared with the standard requirements for glass making. Gada had the highest percentage of silica content of 81.00% and Muvur had the lowest percentage of silica content of 79.40%, but all samples are within the acceptable limits for glass making. The iron oxide content in all the samples was found to be high, with highest value of 1.33% for Muvur and lowest value of 1.28% for Gada. However, the iron content for all the samples was above 1% thereby limiting the range of applications to coloured and amber glass manufacturing. The physical properties that is, the grain morphology which was found to be angular with specific gravity of 2.50 for both the samples were found to satisfy the standard requirements for glass making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]