Utilization of muscovite granite waste in the manufacture of ceramic tiles

Granite waste is by-product from a decorative rock industry. The present study aims to investigate the effect of muscovite granite waste on the physico-mechanical properties of ceramic tiles to demonstrate its suitability for industrial production. A series of flooring- and facing ceramic tiles were prepared by adding 20, 25, and 30 wt% muscovite granite waste into the batch compositions. The sintering behavior and degrees of densification of two kinds of ceramic tiles were evaluated by determining their physico-mechanical properties and characterizing them by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. As expected, the facing ceramic tile (FacCT1) sample, containing wollastonite, hematite, anorthite, quartz, and cristobalite, with 20 wt% muscovite granite waste showed lower physico-mechanical properties than those of the flooring ceramic tile (FloCT3) sample, containing mullite, calcium aluminosilicate, quartz, and cristobalite, with 30 wt% muscovite granite waste. The reason is that lower firing temperatures cannot accelerate a complete fusion of the granite waste which behaves like an inert non-plastic material similar to quartz. These results illustrate the prospects of utilizing muscovite granite waste in ceramic tile production. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.