Sanitaryware Body Research Articles

Utilization of rhyolite and red syenite rocks as an alternative of potash feldspars in manufacturing the sanitary ware bodies

Utilization of rhyolite and red syenite rocks as an alternative of potash feldspars in manufacturing the sanitary ware bodies

Influence of Stone Cutting Waste Addition on Technological Properties of Ceramic Sanitaryware Bodies

Influence of Stone Cutting Waste Addition on Technological Properties of Ceramic Sanitaryware Bodies

Investigation Of The Effect Of Vermiculite (Yıldızeli/Sivas) Addition On The Properties Of Sanitaryware Ceramic

Sanitaryware is the generic term used to describe items which traditionally were made from pottery. i.e. toilets, washbasins, pedestals, bidet, urinals, sinks, bathtubs installed within a bathroom or washroom. Sanitaryware products are primarily made of clay, kaolin, feldspar and quartz but they may also include small quantities of other raw materials. Its high gloss, stain resistant surface is ideal for use in both bath-rooms and kitchens. Vermiculite, a mineral in which the hydromicas group occurs naturally, becomes a high-efficiency thermal insulation material when heated above 300 ℃. The expanded vermiculite can be used as a filler for heat insulating materials due to its unique properties, low bulk density, low thermal conductivity, relatively high melting point, chemical inertia, durability and environmental safety. In this study, the effects of vermiculite obtained from Yıldızeli/Sivas region on sanitaryware body properties were investigated. The materials used in this study are calcined vermiculite, quartz, clay, kaolin and feldspar ceramic raw materials. Sanitaryware compositions were prepared by using kaolin-feldspar-quartz ternary equilibrium diagram according to the appropriate recipe from the raw material. In accordance with this purpose; prepared sanitaryware bodies %0, 10 and 20 by weight calcined vermiculite (1050 oC 1 hour) was added to formed the body compositions. The samples were coded as S20V1100 (S: Sanitaryware; 20V: 20% vermiculite addition and 1100: 1100 °C firing temperature). Mixtures homogenized in Alumina ball mills (60 rpm, 24 hours) were shaped by uniaxial dry pressing (100 MPa). Then, the prepared pressed samples were fired at 1050-1100 and 1150 °C for 1 hour. Microstructure (SEM), phase analysis (XRD), mechanical (hardness, 3-point bending) and physical properties (% shrinkage, water absorption, porosity and density) tests were performed on the sanitaryware bodies produced. The obtained data were presented in graphs and tables and commented. Accordingly, the properties of the vermiculite doped specimens were successfully developed and the optimum parameters were clearly shown. According to the results, it has been shown that sanitaryware properties are improved with the increase of calcined vermiculite.

Contactless field enhanced sintering (cFES): A spot glaze repair technology (SGRT)

We report the successful development of a novel Contactless Field Enhanced Sintering (cFES) process for sanitaryware repair: “Spot Glaze Repair Technology (SGRT)”. A hot glaze melt system has been applied on sanitaryware bodies without the use of a kiln. The faults were re-glazed using a mixture of 50 vol% original glaze and 50 vol% low temperature glaze developed in house. Surface faults with diameters of 1–2 mm were successfully repaired using a custom built cFES rig and special low temperature glaze, without any sign of surface cracking. Using a combination of a hot flame and a low frequency electric field, the repairs required just 3 s. The flame provided the thermal energy required to reduce the dielectric breakdown voltage of the surrounding air, leading to the generation of plasma under applied potential. This setup is simple enough to be industrially scaled, and does not require expensive electrode materials.

Mixed Alkali and Mixed Alkaline-Earth Effect in Ceramic Sanitaryware Bodies Incorporated with Blast Furnace Slag

Raw materials and energy are among the most important costs in ceramic sanitaryware production. With the decrease in raw material sources and increasing costs of energy in recent years, researches on alternative raw materials and energy have started to gain importance. In this study, blast furnace slag and spodumene were used to reduce both energy and raw material costs. In standard vitreous china ceramic sanitaryware, a maximum of 15% blast furnace slag and 4% spodumene was used instead of sodium feldspar. In this study, the effects of CaO, MgO, and Li2O on microstructure, technological properties such as flexure strength, water absorption, porosity, bulk density; and also, thermal properties such as sintering analysis were investigated by using a non-contact optical dilatometer and thermal expansion. The dry strength and flexure strength of fired samples increased. The increase in dry strength was approximately 47%. The increase in flexure strength was approximately 67%. The reduction in the thermal expansion coefficient values was approximately 17%, which is also important in terms of stability of the final product. As a result, the use of blast furnace slag and spodumene will result in a reduction in both energy and raw material costs. The spodumene and BFS provided a reduction in sintering temperature at a rate of approximately 60 °C. The flue gas emissions may also reduce because flue gas emissions are higher as the temperature inside the furnace is higher. The spodumene and blast furnace slag addition provide a decrease in the peak of sintering temperatures so that flue gas emissions will reduce.

The effect of zircon particle size on the surface properties of sanitaryware glaze

Zircon (zirconium silicate; ZrSiO4) is an essential compound of sanitaryware glaze due to contributions to the final properties of the surface. In this study, the effect of zircon particle size on the surface properties (microstructural development, opacity, roughness, hardness and bacterial activity) were studied. Initially, zircon powder was milled by planetary mill at different times (0–25 min) and added to an industrial sanitaryware glaze recipe. Four different glaze suspensions were prepared, applied to a sanitary ware body and sintered in an industrial tunnel kiln at 1220 °C for 16 h. The effect of milling is clearly observed via SEM investigations by uniform distribution of zircon grains with a size reduction to 0.38 μm. This uniform distribution and reduction in particle size provides improvements in opacity (L* value measured as 91.47) and hardness (Hv was 6.3 (±0.3) GPa) values. According to AFM studies, the average roughness decreased to 10.94 nm when a 25 min milling process was used. The antibacterial activities of two samples (milled for 0 and 25 min) were analyzed against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Although both samples did not show any antibacterial activity, the number of viable bacteria on the samples milled for 25 min decreased drastically compared to the one not milled. A smoother glaze surface facilitated less sites for adherence and accommodation of bacteria and hence a decrease in bacterial colonization was obtained.

Influence of postsintered wastes incorporation on physico‐mechanical and structural evolution of vitreous ceramics

AbstractDue to high consumption of conventional materials such as quartz and feldspar in most ceramic products processing, the recent practice has been targeted at exploration and utilization of some industrial wastes with similar characteristics to solely or partially replace these conventional materials to reduce cost of production, and serves as a means of solid wastes management. In this regard, this work aims at incorporating postsintered wastes as partial and sole alternatives to quartz and feldspar in the production of vitreous sanitary ceramics. Vitreous sanitary ware bodies containing discarded sanitary wares and waste soda‐lime glasses as substitute to quartz and feldspar respectively were prepared using slip casting process. Several samples measuring 120 × 50 × 10 mm were cast, left to dry at ambient temperature for 24 hours followed by oven‐drying at 105°C for another 12 hours. The cast samples were then subjected to sintering at temperatures of 1150 and 1200°C, respectively, and then soaked for 90 minutes. Physico‐mechanical, phase, and structural evaluations were carried out to assess the performance of the vitreous sanitary bodies. The results showed that samples containing postsintered wastes displayed better physical, mechanical, and structural properties, while the chemical compositions of the prepared samples showed close similarity to standard Twyford sanitary ware. However, better properties were observed for samples sintered at 1200°C which might be attributed to high vitrification at elevated temperature.

Influence of Lampang pottery stone: local materials in Thailand on C-Q-F ratio, key properties, mullite formation and glaze-body fit of vitreous ceramic sanitary ware

This study was aimed to investigate the key properties, mullite formation and glaze-body fit of sanitary ware bodies, by using pottery stone from Lampang, Thailand as a substitute for kaolin, feldspar, and silica. Seven samples of formulated bodies were prepared by wet milling, formed by plaster mold casting, and fired at 1175 °C, 1200 °C, and 1225 °C. Testings were carried out in accordance with ASTM C373-88, ASTM C326-09, ASTM C689-09, and ASTM C372-94. Phase analysis and microstructure of selected formulations were analyzed by using XRD and SEM. For the formulation having 37.7-20.7-41.6 of C-Q-F ratio and pottery stone in substitute for 100% silica, after firing at 1200 °C showed 9.27% total shrinkage, 0.17% water absorption, and 60 MPa flexure stress. The crystal structure resulted in higher amount of mullite. The linear thermal expansion and thermal expansion coefficient were lower to 0.34 and 7.07 × 10−6/°C, respectively. The difference of linear thermal expansion between the formulated body and commercial white-opaque glaze was − 0.02 at 500 °C. The shrinkage difference of body and glaze showed that the glaze-body fit was under slightly amount of compression. As a result, the formulation with the substitute for 100% silica could be vitrificated at lower temperature and indicated positive trends towards lower dunting during firing.

Usage of ZnO containing wastes in the sanitaryware bodies

Galvanized waste is characterized from a mineralogical point of view in order to investigate the effects of its utilization in sanitary ware bodies. Galvanized waste was added to a sanitary ware body recipe at 1–10% weight in place of albite and kaolin content. In an attempt to investigate the effects of its utilization on the firing temperature of the body, the bodies were sintered at the temperatures 1200 °C and 1250 °C. The physical properties, such as deformation, water absorption, and coloring parameters were investigated. The phase and microstructural development of the selected samples were characterized using XRD and SEM, respectively. Experimental studies have shown that the utilization of galvanized waste at an optimum level, in place of albite and kaolin in sanitary ware bodies sintered at 1200 °C, has similar water absorption (%), lower deformation, and higher whiteness values compared with standard sanitary ware bodies sintered at 1250 °C. It was foreseen that a 4.75% energy saving would be achieved by decreasing the firing temperature from 1250 to 1200 °C.

Investigation of sintering behavior of sanitaryware ceramics by controlling glassy phase

The focus of this study was to investigate the effects of glassy and crystalline phases in sintering behavior of the sanitaryware body. To achieve this aim, two different phase analysis methods, the ratio of slopes and Rietveld methods, were compared. This research was carried out in three steps by using X-ray analysis values. In the first step, different amounts of metallic Si were added to pure mullite and quartz materials and their reference analysis lines were drawn. Secondly, sanitaryware samples were analyzed and their analysis lines were also drawn and compared with references. Therefore, a comparison between the slopes of the reference and analysis lines was allowed for the determination of the amount of quartz, mullite, and amorphous phases as 22.1, 18.8, and 59.1 wt.%, respectively. These results were used to estimate the chemical composition of the glassy phase that formed in standard sanitaryware microstructure. In the last step of research, new glassy phase compositions were prepared based on a standard sanitaryware glassy phase composition. Different mixture ratios of alkaline and earth alkaline oxides (Na2O/K2O, Na2O + K2O, SiO2/Al2O3, and MgO/CaO) were used to modify the glassy phase compositions. Results show that softening point and viscosity of the glassy phase can be controlled by controlling these certain parameters, and this helps to consume energy in the sintering process.

Investigation of the effects of blast furnace slag on ceramic sanitaryware bodies

Bu çalışmada seramik sağlık gereçleri üretiminde vitreous china bünyelerde yüksek fırın cürufu (YFC) alternatif bir hammadde kaynağı olarak kullanılmıştır. Maksimum % 10 oranında yüksek fırın cürufu sodyum feldispat yerine kullanılmıştır. Tüm kompozisyonlar endüstriyel koşullar altında Ece Banyo fabrikasında hazırlanmıştır. Numuneler 1220 ⁰C de 15 saat endüstriyel rulolu fırınlarda pişirilmiştir. Bu çalışma kapsamında, hazırlanan çamurların reolojik özellikleri yanında ayrıca pişirilmiş numunelerin küçülme, su emme, harkord ve eğme dayanımı gibi teknik özellikleri de incelenmiştir. Sonuç olarak yapılan bu çalışmada yüksek fırın cürufu içeren bünyeler standart bünyeye kıyasla teknolojik özellikler açısından üstünlük sağlamıştır. Bu sonuçlar seramik sağlık gereçleri üretiminde yüksek fırın curufunun alternatif bir hammadde kaynağı olarak kullanılabileceğini göstermiştir

Sanitser, an innovative sanitary ware body, formulated with waste glass and recycled materials

Abstract In the present paper, the results of “Sanitser” Life European project are presented. The aim of this study was to reduce the firing temperature for ceramic body (from 1250 to 1170 °C). This was achieved substituting feldspar and quartz with recycled blend materials and a little percentage of flux (less than 3%); in a sanitary ware vitreous china formulation a waste glass, granitic materials and fired broken ceramic pieces were introduced. Tests performed on the Sanitser formulation showed that it has the same final physical-chemical characteristics of the industrial vitreous china (VC) body. Besides, different ceramic pieces (wash basin, bidet and WC pan) were compared with VC production. The results showed that Sanitser body can replace vitreous china in the sanitary ware production. In this project, the firing temperature of the ceramic body is reduced significantly with a supposed decrease of the CO2 emissions. In Sanitser formulation, about 43.6% of recycled materials that would end in dumps were utilized.

Pyroplastic deformation behavior of vitreous porcelain bodies in presence of spodumene

Pyroplastic deformation tendency of vitreous body compositions is a major production problem. In this work, a vitreous sanitaryware body composition (ST) which was developed in a previous work was taken as standard, and the sodium feldspar content of this recipe was changed with spodumene as a source of Li2O. Six different compositions were formulated by applying two different approaches: weight percent formulation and Seger formulation. Bodies were fired at 1250 °C and after firing deformation, firing shrinkage, and water absorption values were measured. Pyroplastic deformation behavior of bodies was determined by using fleximeter with a peak temperature of 1250 °C. According to the results, it was observed that spodumene addition with Seger formulation gives better results than weight percent formulation. The body which contains 0.1 mol% of Li2O (L2 body) has deformation value which is 11% lower than that of standard body due to its different phase composition and microstructure than ST body.

Casting and sintering of a sanitaryware body containing fine fire clay (FFC)

The focus of this study was to investigate the effects of casting and sintering behavior of fine fire clay at different particle sizes on the sanitaryware body. Bodies were shaped by casting and fired in a tunnel and box kiln. Findings showed that the particle size of fire clay decreased as casting rates increased. Firing shrinkage also increased in the body containing finer particle size. Deformation in the body containing finer grain was found to be higher than that in the coarse-grained body. Therefore, it can be said that sanitaryware bodies containing small particle-sized fire clay can be cast faster and in shorter time. Durable and long-life products without cracking should be determined according to either the rate of raw materials, soaking time, or thermal expansion coefficient between the body and glaze.

Utilization of Pottery Stone as a Replacing Material for Vitreous Ceramic Sanitary Ware Production: A Case Study in Khon Kaen, Thailand

The aim of this work was to determine the properties of vitreous ceramic sanitary ware bodies according to the production of Khon Kaen ceramic sanitary ware industry, Thailand. Pottery stone was used as a replacing material in the commercial ceramic sanitary ware body formulation. The cast slurry of seven formulations was prepared by wet milling. The rheological properties (density and torsion viscosity) were investigated before slip casting. The test pieces were fired at 1175, 1200 and 1225๐C and the physical-mechanical properties (firing shrinkage, flexural strength, and water absorption) were compared. As a result, pottery stone shows a possibility to replace quartz in the production. It could enhance all of the good properties at lower firing temperature. Using of pottery stone could reduce production cost in term of energy fuel by 4.45% when compared with commercial formulation.

The Effect of Nepheline Syenite Addition on Sanitaryware Body

The effect of the addition of Nepheline syenite on the sintering, and properties of a sanitaryware porcelain body was studied. Two ceramic bodies were compared: a commercial sanitaryware body and one, where 40% of the mass of Na feldspar was substituted nepheline syenite. The sintering was evaluated by the linear shrinkage, the water absorption. Samples, sintered at 1220 and 1190 oC, were used for the evaluation of the the bending strength. The addition of Nepheline syenite had a positive effect on the formation of the liquid phase during the sintering. The sintering and the mechanical properties were improved by heat treatment in the 1190oC range

The Features of Wollastonite in Balikesir and its Use in Ceramic Materials as an Alternative Raw Material

In this work, the influences of wollastonite in Balikesir (Turkey) on ceramic sanitaryware properties were investigated. Samples of wollastonite were collected from the Serceoren deposit in Balikesir. Their characterizations were carried out with the determination of petrographic, physical, mechanical and chemical composition, and by TG-DTA, XRD and SEM. In a second part of the work, tests in sanitaryware compositions were conducted in order to evaluate the suitability of the addition of wollastonite instead of albite in the sanitaryware compositions used in the production of ceramic sanitaryware. The rheological, physical and firing tests of developed sanitaryware bodies were done with the Creavit® new body development test procedure and, results were compared with each other. After evaluating test results it was seen that wollastonite can be used in ceramic sanitary ware bodies as an alternative raw material.

Rheological Behaviour and Thermo-Mechanical Evaluation of Vitreous Sanitaryware Compositions Containing Fired Sanitary Scrap

Fired sanitary scrap after fine grinding has been incorporated in a standard vitreous sanitaryware body and the influence of its addition on the rheological and thermo-mechanical properties, vitrification behaviour and microstructure has been investigated. The incorporation of 5-10 wt% scrap resulted in about 8% increase in flexural strength, reduction in vitrification temperature by ∼30°C and broadening of vitrification range of body by 40°to 90°C. This has also resulted in significant improvement of rheological properties of the casting slip at a reduced electrolyte demand without altering the unfired strength of body mixes.

Use of Beneficiated Blended Clays in Traditional Ceramics

An attempt has been made to develop a singular blended clay having all the plastic and dry properties required for the casting of traditional ceramic products, especially sanitaryware and table wares. One semi-processed china clay, one plastic ball clay and one plastic fireclay from Indian origin were crushed and blended together in a predetermined proportion and beneficiated using the existing techniques of levigation, sieving, hydrocycloning, deironing and filter pressing.The physico-chemical properties of feed raw materials as well as blended clays were studied. The investigation also included the rheological properties of the blended clay. The results indicated that the blended and beneficiated clay obtained by levigation as well as by hydrocycloning, apart from ensuring consistency, showed higher unfired strength and increased particle fineness. The content of atumina in the levigated blend and the levi-gation-cum-hydrocycloned blend increased by 41 and 72% respectively in comparison to that of the feed. The investigation regarding their use in a standard sanitaryware body showed an increase in unfired strengths by 23.4 and 77.2%.

Development of Fast Firing Vitreous Sanitaryware

Compared to tiles, which are fired very rapidly (30 min), sanitaryware products are fired in a long firing cycle ranging from 10 to 12 h. There is a scope to reduce the firing cycle time in sanitaryware. Fast firing cycle will increase the efficiency and decrease the cost of production. Conventional sanitaryware bodies contain roughly 64% silica, 22% alumina and 5% flux and the body composition in the present study is so chosen as to reduce the firing cycle and also the firing shrinkage and thermal expansion of the body with suitable raw materials. A marginal increase in flux improves the vitrification. Talc and wollastonite were added to get the fast firing body and different body and glaze compositions were prepared. The sanitaryware was cast and fired at 1200 C. Finally, suitable body and glaze compositions were identified and were fired in 7 h quick cycle. This present study shows the possibility of producing sanitarywares which can be fired within 7 h of firing cycle.