Fabrication of unglazed floor tiles containing Iranian copper slags

Abstract

Thermal behaviour of reverberatory furnace copper slag was investigated using simultaneous thermal analysis (STA), dilatometry and X-ray diffraction techniques. The results were used to study the effect of progressive addition of copper slag to a standard floor tile body formulation. It was observed that SO 2 emission at high temperatures resulted in bloating of the bodies, limiting the possibility of slag addition to a maximum of 40 wt%. The most promising body, containing 40 wt% copper slag, after firing at 1025°C for 1 h had a bend strength of 57 MN m −2, water absorption of 2 wt%, hardness of 750 HV and a very good acid resistance. ©