New Clayey Deposit and Their Potential as Raw Material for Red or Structured Ceramics: Technological Characterization

Mineralogical and technological characterization of ceramic raw materials from a new deposit located at Caxias city, Maranhão State—Brazil, was accomplished to determine their potential as raw materials for the ceramics industry in northeastern Brazil. The ceramic raw materials were collected from three different locations on the site and characterized by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential thermal analysis (DTA), and thermogravimetry (TG). The XRF analysis of the fraction < 2 μm revealed that most samples had SiO2 (35–51 wt%), Al2O3 (19–29 wt%), Fe2O3 (2–21 wt%), MgO (0.7 to 4.5 wt%) and K2O (0.9 to 5 wt%) as components. Quartz, kaolinite, illite, hematite and montmorillonite were the main mineral phases identified. DTA and TG analysis confirmed the mineral identification. The technological potential of the ceramic raw materials was investigated by: cation exchange capacity (CEC), plastic behavior (Atterberg Limits), linear shrinkage at 950 °C (LSF), flexural strength (FS), apparent porosity (AP), water absorption (WA) and bulk density (BD). The main experimental results—WA (9–17%), AP (19–31%), FS (2.0–23 MPa), and the Atterberg limits—indicated that the ceramic raw materials investigated have high potential to be used to develop mass for red or structured ceramics, such as bricks and roof tiles.

Soil characterisation used in ceramic industries and an analysis of its feasibility in ecological bricks

In this study, we aimed to characterise soils of three sedimentary deposits used as raw material sources for ceramic industries located in the Brazilian semi-arid region. The samples were collected in deposits located in the cities of Barra de São Miguel, Juazeirinho and Santa Cecília. They were named, prepared and submitted to tests to determine the mineralogical, chemical, physical and thermal characteristics using the XRD, EDX, Casagrande, granulometric analysis, TG and DTA. The soils presented compositions containing quartz, alumina and hematite, predominantly with about 90% of the total, with well-defined peaks in the diffractograms confirming the statement, and averages of plasticity and granulometric distribution that fit them as silt-clay. When heated to 1000 °C, fire losses were 17%, 16% and 29% for samples from Barra de São Miguel, Juazeirinho and Santa Cecília, respectively, which is due to the dehydration and burning of organic matter. Thus, they have met the requirements of the Brazilian standards that deal to produce sealing (with sintering) and soil-cement bricks (by pressing). The studied deposits offer satisfactory raw material for the ceramics industry and can provide soil for soil-cement brick (ecological bricks) production.

Thermal Analysis and Energy Efficiency Improvements in Tunnel Kiln for Sustainable Environment

Kiln is a prime need in the ceramics industry, where energy loss is a major part which consumes about 60% production cost through thermal energy for different applications. Higher density of fired and tunnel kiln refractory material lowers the thermal diffusivity and the proper selection of fired material minimizes the energy loss along the kiln. In particular, this research analysed the results of a heat recovery system comprised of a metallic recuperator which gives around 8% energy savings in natural gas consumption. In this work, detailed power quality analysis of low-power factor motors of a tunnel kiln was carried out and a power factor improvement solution was suggested to save electrical energy with payback period of 0.8 y. The motor operating at a low-power factor consumes more reactive power which does not produce beneficial work. A low-power factor around 0.4 causes network power loss, increases in transformer loss and voltage drops. The solution with accumulative capacitance power of 148.05 uF was installed to achieve the power factor to 0.9. Flu gas analyzer was installed to monitor the range of O2 in pre-heating, oxidation, and firing zones of the kiln which should be ≥8% and 3%, respectively. Regression analysis for thermal energy consumption of a tunnel kiln is done to find the forecast thermal energy consumption. This analysis can be used to find operational efficiency, supporting decisions regarding dependent variable of thermal energy consumption and independent variable of production. This research is very helpful for the ceramics industry to mitigate the energy loss at SMEs as well as in mass production level.

Mechanical Properties of Concrete Incorporating Marble Powder as Partial Cement Replacement

Pakistan is a country that has an abundance of quarry deposits. The marble and ceramics industry, such as the construction industry, plays a pivotal role in the development of a country by contributing to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, the marble and ceramics industry also adversely contribute to the growing solid waste management issues in the country, as Marble powder (MP), which comes from the marble industry, causes not only constant environmental and waste management problems, but also health issues for the people associated with the marble industry and surrounding residents. A lot of research has been done to reuse this MP waste productively. Since it contains significant amount of Silica content, it could potentially be used to partially substitute cement content in the development of eco-friendly sustainable concrete. The substitution of cement has become necessary due to the carbon footprint associated with the production of cement. This research is aimed at producing M30 grade concrete in which cement content is partially replaced with 5% and 10% MP and investigate its influence on the workability, compressive and flexural strength over time. It was found that MP could potentially be used to substitute cement content partially, thus contributing to sustainability in the construction industry, resolving the disposal of MP problems, and reducing cement dependency.

Implementation of Lean Instruments in Ceramics Industries

The article presents the results of the research on the level of implementation of Lean instruments in the ceramics industry. The research was carried out in ceramic factories in Poland and Germany. Based on the results obtained, the most commonly used Lean instruments in the ceramics industry were defined. The dependence of the use of Lean instruments on the size of the enterprise was also determined. It was established that the Lean activities undertaken in the ceramics industry are focused solely on the implementation of individual methods and tools, without a pre-defined goal. This approach in the ceramics industry is ineffective, but unfortunately it is most often used in the implementation of the Lean philosophy, especially in small ceramics enterprises.