Abstract
Porcelain tiles are a building material that has been widely used in recent years and that consumes substantial resources during the sintering process. This study reports on the production of low-temperature porcelain tiles by using low-grade lithium ore (LO) and silica crucible waste (SCW) in a new SiO2–Al2O3–Na2O–K2O–Li2O system. The firing temperature of the porcelain tiles was reduced from 1260 °C to 1070 °C by adding 30% LO instead of feldspar in a modified triaxial ceramic body, and SCW was recycled and used as a raw material. These actions help to reduce the carbon emissions produced during sintering and achieve sustainable development. The effect of phase transitions on the sintering and technological properties of the porcelain tiles was studied by quantitative phase analysis, using X-ray diffraction (XRD). Secondary mullite (0–19%) can be formed at 1040–1100 °C, where more quartz and cristobalite will be retained, which increases the rupture modulus of the porcelain tiles. While the vitreous phase increases rapidly at 1100–1160 °C, the closed pores (0.1–33.1%) will simultaneously expand, causing a decrease in compactness. The results show that low-grade LO (with a cost similar to that of feldspar) allows for the production of porcelain tiles with better process performance at lower temperatures (≤1100 °C).
Highlights
Porcelain tiles have been widely used as building materials in recent years because of their excellent technical properties, such as water absorption (≤0.5%), rupture modulus (30–75 MPa), deep-abrasion resistance (120–160 mm3 ), chemical resistance, and high fracture toughness [1,2,3,4]
The effects of CaO–Li2 O–K2 O–Na2 O as fluxing agents in porcelain ceramic tiles was discussed by Zhou et al [16], who showed that a multicomponent eutectic system can produce a liquid phase at a lower temperature
The results show that lower firing temperatures are beneficial for obtaining porcelain tiles with improved mechanical properties
Summary
Porcelain tiles have been widely used as building materials in recent years because of their excellent technical properties, such as water absorption (≤0.5%), rupture modulus (30–75 MPa), deep-abrasion resistance (120–160 mm3 ), chemical resistance, and high fracture toughness [1,2,3,4]. With the consideration of protecting the environment and reducing the costs, considerable research has been devoted to reducing the firing temperature and replacing natural minerals with industrial-waste products. The use of lithium-bearing minerals as a liquid-phase sintering aid has been investigated in various ceramics, to reduce the firing temperature or to improve the thermal-shock resistance of the ceramics [10,11,12,13,14,15]. The effects of CaO–Li2 O–K2 O–Na2 O as fluxing agents in porcelain ceramic tiles was discussed by Zhou et al [16], who showed that a multicomponent eutectic system can produce a liquid phase at a lower temperature. The influence of a lithium-bearing fluxing agent
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