Composition and Potential Industrial Uses of Upper Cretaceous Carbonates of the Wadi Sir Limestone (WSL) and the Amman Silicified Limestone (ASL) Formations, North Jordan
Upper Cretaceous carbonate rocks in Jordan are the main resources for construction and paint-related industrial applications. This study evaluates the elemental composition, mineralogy, and petrography of two main geological formations from two localities in northern Jordan (Hallabat, Turonian age,...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-04-01
|
| Series: | Geosciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/15/4/135 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850180187150352384 |
|---|---|
| author | Islam Al-Dabsheh Ahmad AlShdaifat Aseel Almasri Faten Al-Slaty Nour Alzoubi Abdulaziz M. Alsaleh Hani Shurafat |
| author_facet | Islam Al-Dabsheh Ahmad AlShdaifat Aseel Almasri Faten Al-Slaty Nour Alzoubi Abdulaziz M. Alsaleh Hani Shurafat |
| author_sort | Islam Al-Dabsheh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Upper Cretaceous carbonate rocks in Jordan are the main resources for construction and paint-related industrial applications. This study evaluates the elemental composition, mineralogy, and petrography of two main geological formations from two localities in northern Jordan (Hallabat, Turonian age, and Ajlun, Santonian–Campanian age) to shed light on their composition, depositional environments, and potential industrial end uses. The elemental composition of the Hallabat Wadi Sir Limestone (WSL) Formation indicates notable variability between the middle and upper parts of the WSL carbonates in the area, with higher CaO content in the middle part (mean 55 wt.%) and higher silica content observed in the upper part (mean 2 wt.%) compared with the middle part (mean 0.9 wt.%). Meanwhile, analysis of the elemental composition of the Ajlun Amman Silicified Limestone (ASL) Formation indicates that the CaO content is relatively higher in the upper part (mean 56 wt.%). In addition, the lower part is more influenced by detrital input when compared with the upper part of the studied section, in contrast to the Hallabat WSL Formation. Petrographic analysis demonstrates that the WSL and ASL samples are predominantly micritic limestone. The XRD results for the Hallabat WSL and Ajlun ASL show that the mineralogical composition is dominated by calcite (CaCO<sub>3</sub>). Statistical and PCA analyses also confirm these variabilities between the two sites, indicating that all samples from both sites were deposited under variable hydrodynamic and environmental conditions that affected their physical and chemical composition. The results show that all studied samples are in the range of pure limestone and can be used for specific industrial applications in addition to their current uses, including those in the pottery and porcelain ware, soda ash and caustic soda, steel industry, sugar, and textile production industries, thus contributing to the economic resources in Jordan. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-74bc2d5a9a514860a10325834f938fef |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2076-3263 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geosciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-74bc2d5a9a514860a10325834f938fef2025-08-20T02:18:16ZengMDPI AGGeosciences2076-32632025-04-0115413510.3390/geosciences15040135Composition and Potential Industrial Uses of Upper Cretaceous Carbonates of the Wadi Sir Limestone (WSL) and the Amman Silicified Limestone (ASL) Formations, North JordanIslam Al-Dabsheh0Ahmad AlShdaifat1Aseel Almasri2Faten Al-Slaty3Nour Alzoubi4Abdulaziz M. Alsaleh5Hani Shurafat6Department of Applied Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Al al-Bayt University, P.O. Box 130040, Mafraq 25113, JordanDepartment of Applied Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Al al-Bayt University, P.O. Box 130040, Mafraq 25113, JordanEnvironment, Water, and Energy Research Center, Al al-Bayt University, P.O. Box 130040, Mafraq 25113, JordanDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Prince El Hassan bin Talal Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, The Hashemite University, P.O. Box 330127, Zarqa 13133, JordanMinistry of Education, P.O. Box 1646 Amman 11118, JordanGeography Department, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Applied Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Al al-Bayt University, P.O. Box 130040, Mafraq 25113, JordanUpper Cretaceous carbonate rocks in Jordan are the main resources for construction and paint-related industrial applications. This study evaluates the elemental composition, mineralogy, and petrography of two main geological formations from two localities in northern Jordan (Hallabat, Turonian age, and Ajlun, Santonian–Campanian age) to shed light on their composition, depositional environments, and potential industrial end uses. The elemental composition of the Hallabat Wadi Sir Limestone (WSL) Formation indicates notable variability between the middle and upper parts of the WSL carbonates in the area, with higher CaO content in the middle part (mean 55 wt.%) and higher silica content observed in the upper part (mean 2 wt.%) compared with the middle part (mean 0.9 wt.%). Meanwhile, analysis of the elemental composition of the Ajlun Amman Silicified Limestone (ASL) Formation indicates that the CaO content is relatively higher in the upper part (mean 56 wt.%). In addition, the lower part is more influenced by detrital input when compared with the upper part of the studied section, in contrast to the Hallabat WSL Formation. Petrographic analysis demonstrates that the WSL and ASL samples are predominantly micritic limestone. The XRD results for the Hallabat WSL and Ajlun ASL show that the mineralogical composition is dominated by calcite (CaCO<sub>3</sub>). Statistical and PCA analyses also confirm these variabilities between the two sites, indicating that all samples from both sites were deposited under variable hydrodynamic and environmental conditions that affected their physical and chemical composition. The results show that all studied samples are in the range of pure limestone and can be used for specific industrial applications in addition to their current uses, including those in the pottery and porcelain ware, soda ash and caustic soda, steel industry, sugar, and textile production industries, thus contributing to the economic resources in Jordan.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/15/4/135JordanWadi Sir Limestone FormationAmman Silicified Limestone Formationindustrial applicationsMesozoic limestone |
| spellingShingle | Islam Al-Dabsheh Ahmad AlShdaifat Aseel Almasri Faten Al-Slaty Nour Alzoubi Abdulaziz M. Alsaleh Hani Shurafat Composition and Potential Industrial Uses of Upper Cretaceous Carbonates of the Wadi Sir Limestone (WSL) and the Amman Silicified Limestone (ASL) Formations, North Jordan Geosciences Jordan Wadi Sir Limestone Formation Amman Silicified Limestone Formation industrial applications Mesozoic limestone |
| title | Composition and Potential Industrial Uses of Upper Cretaceous Carbonates of the Wadi Sir Limestone (WSL) and the Amman Silicified Limestone (ASL) Formations, North Jordan |
| title_full | Composition and Potential Industrial Uses of Upper Cretaceous Carbonates of the Wadi Sir Limestone (WSL) and the Amman Silicified Limestone (ASL) Formations, North Jordan |
| title_fullStr | Composition and Potential Industrial Uses of Upper Cretaceous Carbonates of the Wadi Sir Limestone (WSL) and the Amman Silicified Limestone (ASL) Formations, North Jordan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Composition and Potential Industrial Uses of Upper Cretaceous Carbonates of the Wadi Sir Limestone (WSL) and the Amman Silicified Limestone (ASL) Formations, North Jordan |
| title_short | Composition and Potential Industrial Uses of Upper Cretaceous Carbonates of the Wadi Sir Limestone (WSL) and the Amman Silicified Limestone (ASL) Formations, North Jordan |
| title_sort | composition and potential industrial uses of upper cretaceous carbonates of the wadi sir limestone wsl and the amman silicified limestone asl formations north jordan |
| topic | Jordan Wadi Sir Limestone Formation Amman Silicified Limestone Formation industrial applications Mesozoic limestone |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/15/4/135 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT islamaldabsheh compositionandpotentialindustrialusesofuppercretaceouscarbonatesofthewadisirlimestonewslandtheammansilicifiedlimestoneaslformationsnorthjordan AT ahmadalshdaifat compositionandpotentialindustrialusesofuppercretaceouscarbonatesofthewadisirlimestonewslandtheammansilicifiedlimestoneaslformationsnorthjordan AT aseelalmasri compositionandpotentialindustrialusesofuppercretaceouscarbonatesofthewadisirlimestonewslandtheammansilicifiedlimestoneaslformationsnorthjordan AT fatenalslaty compositionandpotentialindustrialusesofuppercretaceouscarbonatesofthewadisirlimestonewslandtheammansilicifiedlimestoneaslformationsnorthjordan AT nouralzoubi compositionandpotentialindustrialusesofuppercretaceouscarbonatesofthewadisirlimestonewslandtheammansilicifiedlimestoneaslformationsnorthjordan AT abdulazizmalsaleh compositionandpotentialindustrialusesofuppercretaceouscarbonatesofthewadisirlimestonewslandtheammansilicifiedlimestoneaslformationsnorthjordan AT hanishurafat compositionandpotentialindustrialusesofuppercretaceouscarbonatesofthewadisirlimestonewslandtheammansilicifiedlimestoneaslformationsnorthjordan |