Effect of Particle Size and Composition of Marble Quarry Waste on the Properties of Artificial Marble

The purpose of this study was to characterize and investigate the performance of local marble quarry waste to assess its use as filler in producing artificial marble. Marble waste was obtained from marble quarry located in Simpang Pulai, Ipoh and sieved into two different sizes; < 2mm as coarse particle and < 250 μm as fine particle. The artificial marble was prepared under vacuum condition and the composition of fine and coarse particles were modified between 40-70% (wt.) and 0-30% (wt.), respectively. The artificial marble was evaluated their performance by water absorption, flexural strength, compression strength, and Barcol hardness properties. It was found that artificial marble prepared with 60% (wt.) of fine particle and 10% (wt.) of coarse particle showed the best overall properties leading to a lowest water absorption and good flexural and compression strength. However, modification of marble waste content in the composition of artificial marble showed insignificant influence on Barcol hardness properties.