Study of clays with the addition of wood waste using the fast firing sintering process

Full text: This work has as main objective to compare the effects on the formation of pores of wood wastes introduced in a clays ceramic matrix. The study was carried out for two types of organic wastes incorporated in two different clays, using the fast firing sintering process. Initially, a preliminary study of the wood wastes was carried out in a manner that determined the ideal drying time, grain size by sieving and fire loss of the fractions retained in each sieve used. The clays were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, differential thermal analysis, thermogravimetry and granulometry. Formulations with 0, 5, 10 and 15% additions of the fraction retained in sieve #115 of the most interesting wood residue were prepared, after which 24 hours of moisture were moinstened with 8% of water and subjected to uniaxial pressing. Then, the specimens were dried at 110°C for 24h and then sintered in a fast firing furnace using the final temperature of 1100°C with two distinct cycles: heating at a rate of 2 °C / min to 1100 °C and heating at 2°C / min to 600°C and 20°C / min from 600°C to 1100°C. After firing, the specimens were submitted to the apparent porosity test using the Archimedes method, three point flexural test, and finally, characterized morphologically and mineralogically, using the scanning electron microscopy technique and X-ray diffraction, respectively. Results indicate that it is possible to use rapid sintering for the formulations studied and that the addition of wood wastes resulted in increased porosity and morphological modification in the samples, accompanied by a decrease in mechanical resistance. (author)