Comparison of Three Manufacturing Techniques for Sustainable Porous Clay Ceramics.

Fernanda Andreola,Valeria Cannillo,Luisa Barbieri,Isabella Lancellotti,Rachele Sergi

doi:10.3390/ma14010167

Fernanda Andreola, Valeria Cannillo + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14010167

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Abstract

This study proposes different manufacturing techniques (manual pelletization, powder pressing, and “shell scaffold”) to obtain lightweight clay ceramics containing recovery raw materials. The sintering in an electrical furnace (1000 °C, 1 h processing time) was conducted by traditional firing from room temperature, for pressed and shell-scaffold samples, while the flash heating (i.e., samples directly put at 1000 °C) was used only for the pellets. The porous materials (porosity 40–80%), functionalized with nutrients (K and P) in amounts to confer the fertilizer capability, gave suitable results in terms of pH (6.7–8.15) and electrical conductivity (0.29–1.33 mS/cm). Thus, such materials can be considered as feasible lightweight clay ceramics, with a positive effect on the soil. These findings permit us to hypothesize a potential use in green roofs or in agronomic applications.

Highlights

The inspiring principles of sustainability are (i) balanced and lasting economic growth,(ii) social progress and improvement of the quality of life, and (iii) protection and enhancement of the environment.During the twentieth century, in the world, the use of fossil fuels has grown 12 times, and the extraction of natural resources has grown 34 times [1]
We focused our attention on some specific aspects: use of residues mixed to a local raw material
The use of a pore-forming agent (SCGs) was necessary only in the materials prepared by manual pelletization and pressing, while for those prepared by shell scaffold, due to the use of a sacrificial skeleton that burned during firing, it was not necessary

Summary

Introduction

(ii) social progress and improvement of the quality of life, and (iii) protection and enhancement of the environment. In the world, the use of fossil fuels has grown 12 times, and the extraction of natural resources has grown 34 times [1]. Help comes from the new circular economy approach. “the biological and technical nutrients” contribute to maintain the value of products, materials, and resources for the longest possible time, by returning them to the product cycle at the end of their use, minimizing the waste generation. The new circular-economy action plan, illustrates new initiatives that affect all the product cycles, to modernize and transform our economy, safeguarding the environment. The plan has the ambition to do the following:

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