Microstuctural Evaluation of a Clay Ceramic Incorporated with Granite Rejects from Stone Sawing Using Diamond Wire

Abstract

The Brazilian sector of ornamental stones is concentrated in the country’s southeast part. This sector has both the social and economical relevance because of the magnitude of the production, including that for exportation, in association with a large number of job positions. In particular, the state of Espirito Santo (ES) is responsible for more than half of the Brazilian exportation of ornamental stones. Consequently a huge amount of wastes and rejects is generated in this ES industrial activity. The present work evaluated the microstructure of red clay ceramics incorporated with a reject from the sawing of granite blocks using the technology known as diamond wire. The clay ceramic was incorporated with 40 wt% of reject and fired at 750 and 1050oC. The microstructure was evaluated by optical and scanning electron microscopy as well as X-ray diffraction. The results indicated that the incorporation sensibly changed the microstructural aspects in which more consolidated characteristics are observed at 1050oC.