Manufacture of Ceramic Bodies by Using a Mud Waste from the TiO₂ Pigment Industry

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is focused in the use of a waste generated by the TiO 2 pigment industry, ilmenite mud (MUD), on the production of ceramic bodies. These ceramic bodies were produced from mixtures of a commercial red stoneware mixture (RSM) with different concentrations of mud (3,5,7,10, 30 and 50 wt.%). The samples were sintered to simulate a fastfiring process. The sintering behaviour of the fired samples was evaluated by linear shrinkage, means of water absorption, apparent porosity and bulk density. Both green powder and fired samples were characterised by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC/TG), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and bending strength measurements. Moreover, the activity concentrations of radionuclides were measured by highresolution low-background gamma spectrometry, because this mud is a NORM (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material) waste. Finally, the TCLP leaching test (Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure, USEPA) was performed to assess the risks of use tiles from an environmental perspective. The results demonstrated that MUD can be successfully valorised in the manufacture of red stoneware ceramic bodies with similar or even better technological properties than commercialmaterials used currently.

Influence of the addition of phosphogypsum on some properties of ceramic tiles

“…In the same way, the apparent porosity (AP) decreases with the concentration of PG and especially with the increase of firing temperature. Both WA and AP are directly related to the open porosity, and therefore both present the same behaviour [43,47]. WA is an important property because it is related to the effective realisation of the sintering process by the liquid phase.…”

Recycling of construction and demolition waste for producing new construction material (Brazil case-study)

“…(4)) increases as the binder (cement or lime) percentage increases (Table 3). This result is likely due to the decrease in the volume fraction of interconnecting open pores, which act as large fracture flaws reducing compression strength [54]. Samples composed with 30% of cement did not fracture because the resistance acquired by these TS exceeded the maximum capacity of the load cell utilized (2000 kgf).…”

Application of Ilmenite Mud Waste as an Addition to Concrete

“…The most promising idea found in publications is the addition of waste to red ceramic, as described by Contreras et al [18,19]. They discovered that the addition of mud to a raw mix at 3-10% had a beneficial effect on the sintering process.…”