Granite wastes as the main constituent in tile recipes

Many researchers focus their work on solutions to ecological and environmental problems on a local scale. Waste from the granite cutting industry in the form of sludge is considered a major problem in many countries. For the purpose of this study, sludge from two local companies was subjected to wet magnetic separation in a low intensity magnetic field to free the waste from iron and steel remnants. The dry powder was fine in nature with a specific surface area of 25 m 2 /g and an equivalent particle diameter of 9 μm. In order to determine the optimum proportion, 40 to 100 % was used from wastes of both companies in ceramic recipes for tile production. Sludge readily melts at 1100 °C. High proportions of alkaline earth in the sludge led to the formation of two immiscible liquids that caused the appearance of dark glass spots on bodies containing 40 % sludge fired at 1175 °C. Incorporating high proportions of sludge in the mixes caused the formation of neogenic plagioclase minerals that improved the MOR.