Caracterização de argilas de utilização na industria ceramica por espectroscopia de reflectancia

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2003

RESUMO

Clays are among the ver) important primary, raw materiais due to their broad spectrum uses in the industIy. In the specific case of the ceramic industl) , cIays are used in many fields, incIuding the manufacturing of porcelains, pottery, chimney-flue tile, roofing tile, conduit, light-weight aggregate, floor tile, sewer pipe, drain tile and so on. The characterization of cIays from the physical, chemical, and ceramic standpoint in pre- and -within mining stages is a must in modero industry. However, succinct mining planning, lack of industry-oriented standards and the usual bond to empirical discrimination of clays as regards their use, put chemically and technologically different materiais as similar standards, with serious consequences to the mining and manufacturing industry. Considering the intrinsic complexities involved in characterizing ceramic industry-aimed materiais by conventional methods, this works aims: (i) to evaluate the potential of reflectance spectroscopy as a relevant, expedite method to define types and purity of cIays; (ii) to study the possibility to relate cIays spectral variables and parameters to their specific uses in the ceramic industIy, with emphasis on the materiais employed in the manufacturing of porcelains and floor tiles. T wo cIay deposits were investigated in this study: One, named Cruzeiro , is located in Limeira (São Paulo) , and is a source of cIays to the tile industIy; the other, named São Simão, is located in the analogous town, hosts important ball cIay-type deposits and it is an important source of primary materiais to the porcelain industIy. The Cruzeiro deposit comprises cIay-rich sediments of the Irati, Serra Alta and Corumbataí Formations (paraná Basin stratigraphic units), although the Corumbataí strata are the main source of clays. Using reflectance spectroscopy methods and data, it was possible to built a spectro-lithological column, where every compartment (Formation) and sub-divisions of the Corumbataí Formation show an unambiguous spectral signature. This signature can be directly related to cIay composition and possible uses (or not) for these cIays in the tile manufacturing industry. The São Simão days are associated to the Tamanduá river alluvium deposits, where three types of cIays were spectrally distinguished on the basis of reflectance spectroscopy methods and data. The white cIays comprise kaolinite with several degrees of crystallinity, expansive cIay mineraIs, micas and lepidocrosite (an unique fmding in Brazilian alluvium deposits). The gray cIays, also kaolinite-rich, display an intrinsic relation between organic matter and expansive cIay minerais. The brown cIays show the highest content of well-ordered, highly crystalline kaolinites; they contain expansive cIay minerais, which occur in an ideal proportion to kaolinite, conferring more plasticity to the cIays; and they also host some amounts of siderite (first time found in this alluvium). Each ofthese cIay groups characterized in the São Simão deposit coincidentally has a specific application in the fine ceramics industry. In view of the exploratory nature of this research, the results using reflectance spectroscopy to characterize particular industIy-aimed cIays proved very promising

ASSUNTO(S)

ceramica - industria pesquisa mineralogica argilo-minerais - analise

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

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