Elaboration and characterization of mullite-anorthite-albite porous ceramics prepared from Algerian kaolin

Abstract

Abstract Mullite-anorthite-albite porous ceramic materials were successfully prepared by a solid-state reaction between kaolin clay and two different additives (CaCO3 and Na2CO3). The starting raw material was characterized by X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and dynamic light scattering techniques. The effect of CaCO3 and Na2CO3 concentration (10 to 70 wt%) on structure, morphology and thermal properties of the obtained ceramics was investigated by XRD, scanning electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques. The XRD patterns showed that mullite (3Al2O3.2SiO2), anorthite (CaO.Al2O3.2SiO2) and albite (Na2O.Al2O3.6SiO2) were the main crystalline phases present in the materials. The morphology investigation revealed the porous texture of obtained ceramics characterized by the presence of sponge-like structure mainly due to the additive decomposition at high temperatures. The DSC results confirm the presence of four temperature regions related to the kaolin thermal transformations and the formation of minerals. The temperature and enthalpy of mineral formation are additive concentration dependent. As a result, the optimal content of additives which allowed the coexistence of the three phases, a sponge-like morphology, and high porosity without cracks corresponded to 15 wt% CaCO3, 15 wt% Na2CO3, and 70 wt% kaolin.

Keywords

• clay materials
• kaolin
• porous ceramics
• structure
• morphology
• thermal analysis