Microstructural Properties of Ceramics Produced from Granite and Zeolite

Abstract

Granite is a common type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock which is granular and phaneritic in texture. This rock consists mainly of quartz, mica, and feldspar. Zeolites are microporous, aluminosilicate minerals commonly used as commercial adsorbents. Zeolites are widely used in industry for water purification, as catalysts, for the preparation of advanced materials and in nuclear reprocessing. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility to use natural granite and zeolite in the manufacturing of ceramic products. Different compositions using natural zeolite and granite from Turkey were prepared to produce a traditional ceramic body. Zeolite and granite raw materials for the 4 different compositions were mixed; %wt. 25 Ze-75 Gr, 50 Ze-50 Gr, 75 Ze-25 Gr, 100 Ze. Mixing was performed by ball milling for 10 h with alumina balls. Samples of 20 mm in diameter were shaped by dry pressing at the pressure of 400 MPa. Prepared samples were sintered for 1 h at 1150 and 1200 $$^{\circ }$$ C in atmospheric conditions. Afterwards, products were characterized by SEM, EDS. Also, bulk densities, micro hardness and % water absorptions values of the samples were measured.