Reutilization of the Solid Waste Materials Produced by a Ceramic Tiles Industry as a Raw Material for the Production of New Ceramic Tiles

Abstract

The increasing demand for tiles to be used in civil construction has resulted in the development of industrial ceramic production in Brazil. However, a bigger production of tile means an increase in raw material consumption, which could increase the amount of industrial waste materials. One of the guidelines within the Brazilian law for solid waste materials (“Política Nacional dos Resíduos Sólidos”) is “Integrated Management”. The objective of this subcategory is to insure that research and application are being done in a way that will offer a solution and a use for the solid waste materials. Through laboratorial experiments regarding the ceramic microstructure, the properties of the ceramic waste materials were determined. These materials show great properties such as high mechanical resistance. New formulas were made that include the addition of waste materials and it was concluded that the maximum quantity of waste materials that can be added to the pre-existing formula is 4%, which will save around R$ 11,833.90 per month for the Porto Ferreira Ceramic Industry. In addition to helping the company financially, this change in the formula will also decrease the number of broken tiles and decrease the environmental damage.