Clays and Clay Minerals in the Construction Industry

Abstract

Clay is a naturally occurring material that can be converted to different clay minerals through thermal treatments, and can be used for the development of different products. Clays and clay minerals have been used for different applications in different sectors. Detailed information regarding the applications of these materials in the construction industry are described. Clay has been used as a supplementary cementitious material in Portland cement (OPC) mortars and concretes. These minerals decrease raw materials and CO2 emissions during the production of Portland cement clinker and, at the same time, increase the compressive strength of concrete at a later age. Therefore, they are conducive to the sustainability of construction materials. A new type of cement, Limestone calcined clay cement (LC3), and a binding material geopolymer cement have also been developed using clay minerals. The properties of these binders have been discussed. Applications of clay products for making bricks have are also described in this article.

Formula optimization and thermodynamic evolution of high-performance large-sized porcelain thin ceramic tiles mainly enhanced by contrivable multi-phases

“…A plausible explanation is the initial dense microstructure changes during sintering, resulting from the thermal decomposition of carbonates, sulfates, and organics in clays while sintering. 28,29 In conclusion, P18 is considered the optimized ceramic formula, and the optical images of the as-prepared large-sized porcelain thin ceramic tile derived from the P18 formula are shown in Figure 5. This demonstrates that the flux formula optimization process employed in this study is fully compatible with standard ceramic industry practices.…”

Fired pressed pellet as a sample preparation technique of choice for an energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis of raw clays

“…Clay is used in different industrial sectors such as construction, ceramics, pharmaceuticals, environmental remediation, conservation of historical mortars, etc. [6][7][8]. The choice of clay depends on its properties and cost.…”

Cleaning of Pesticide-Contaminated Water Using Natural Clays

“…It has been suggested that the aforementioned characteristics serve as the cornerstone for the socioeconomic growth and sustainability of small-scale and artisanal clay mining industries in emerging nations (Diko-Makia and Ligege 2020). Clays are widely distributed in practically every nation (Singh 2022). Clay minerals rank among the world's most significant and practical industrial minerals.…”