Ceramics

History :
The term ‘ceramics’ is derived from the Greek ‘keramos’
meaning ‘burned earth’. Recent research shows that
the processing of clay started around 19000 BC. The
oldest findings of pottery in southern Japan are dated
between 8000 BC and 9000 BC. As early as 4000 BC
fired bricks were used for the construction of temple
towers, palaces and fortifications. More than 2000
years ago the Romans spread the technique of brick
making into large parts of Europe. In Egypt, glazed
ceramic plates were used as wall decorations for the
pyramids in 2600 BC and in China, the art of china
porcelain making has been known since 1000 BC.
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-
resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by
shaping and then firing an inorganic, non-metallic
material, such as clay, at a high temperature.

Common examples are: earthenware, porcelain, and

brick.
Types :

‍ here are four basic types of pottery,

T
porcelain,
stoneware,
earthenware,
and Bone China.
Those four vary in accordance to the clay used to
create them, as well as the heat required to fire
them.
 Ceramic materials are brittle, hard, strong in
compression, and weak in shearing and
tension.
 They withstand chemical erosion that occurs in
other materials subjected to acidic or caustic
environments.
 Ceramics generally can withstand very high
temperatures, ranging from 1,000 °C to 1,600
°C (1,800 °F to 3,000 °F)
Properties :

Characteristic properties of ceramic products

include :
•high strength,
•wear resistance,
•long service life,
• chemical inertness and non-toxicity,
• resistance to heat and fire.
Uses :

Ceramic products are hard, porous, and

brittle.
As a result, they are used to make bricks,
tiles, cements, and glass.
Ceramics are also used at many places in
gas turbine engines.
Bio-ceramics are used as dental implants
and synthetic bones.
 What is ceramic waste?

Ceramic waste powder (CWP), produced during the

process of polishing ceramic tiles, is dumped in
landfills and can cause soil, air and groundwater pollution
leading to serious environmental problems.
Generally the term ‘ceramics’ (ceramic
products) is used for inorganic materials (with
possibly some organic content), made up of
non-metallic compounds and made permanent
by a firing process. In addition to clay based
materials, today ceramics include a multitude
of products with a small fraction of clay or
none at all. Ceramics can be glazed or
unglazed, porous or vitrified.
Firing of ceramic bodies induces time-
temperature transformation of the constituent
minerals, usually into a mixture of new
minerals and glassy phases.
KEY ENVIRONMENTAL
ISSUES

Emissions to air: particulate matter/dust, gaseous

emissions (carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides, sulphur
oxides, inorganic fluorine and chlorine compounds,
organic compounds and heavy metals) can arise from
the manufacture of ceramic products
Emissions to water:
process waste water mainly contains mineral
components (insoluble particulate matter) and also
further inorganic materials, small quantities of
numerous organic materials as well as some heavy
metals
Process losses/waste:
process losses originating from the manufacture of
ceramic products, mainly consist of different kinds of
sludge, broken ware, used plaster moulds, used sorption
agents, solid residues (dust, ashes) and packaging waste
Energy consumption/CO2 emissions:
All sectors of the ceramic industry are energy intensive,
as a key part of the process involves drying followed by
firing to temperatures of between 800 and 2000 ºC.
Today natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (propane
and butane) and fuel oil are mainly used for firing, while
heavy fuel oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG),
biogas/biomass, electricity and solid fuels (e.g. coal,
petroleum coke) can also play a role as energy sources
for burners.
 Ceramic Products :
• bricks and roof tiles
• vitrified clay pipes
• refractory products
• expanded clay aggregates
• wall and floor tiles
• table- and ornamental ware (household ceramics)
• sanitary ware
• technical ceramics
• inorganic bonded abrasives.
 Bricks and roof tiles

Brick products are produced in large quantities, which are used as

materials in numerous branches of building and contracting. For the
most part, bricks and tiles are not designated according to the shaping
technique used, but according to the intended application:
• building bricks (e.g. clay blocks, facing bricks, engineering bricks
(‘klinker bricks’) and lightweight bricks
• roof tiles (e.g. extruded tiles, pressed tiles)
• paving bricks
• chimney bricks (e.g. chimney pipes).
Due to the different techniques in manufacture, different types of
brickyards have specialised in various groups of products, e.g. clay roof
tile works and building bricks works.
Vitrified clay pipes

Vitrified clay pipes and fittings are used for

drains and sewers, but also tanks for acids and
products for stables.
 Refractory products
Refractory products are ceramic materials capable of withstanding
temperatures above 1500 ºC. Numerous refractory products in a wide
variety of shapes and forms are used in many industrial applications of
the steel, iron, cement, lime, glass, ceramic, aluminium, copper and
petrochemicals industries, in incinerators, power plants, and house
heating systems including night storage heater blocks.
They are vital to high temperature processes and resist all types of
stresses (mechanical, thermal, chemical) such as erosion, creeping
deformation, corrosion and thermal shocks.
The resistance of refractory materials to high temperatures is
defined so that their softening point is not less than 1500 ºC. A
classification of ‘refractory materials’ with a softening point of
between 1500 and 1800 ºC and ‘high refractory materials’ with a
softening point of more than 1800 ºC is commonly used
Refractory products are usually applied in industries that are
major energy consumers like the metals, the cement, the
petrochemical and the glass industries. As the quality of the
lining of the furnaces is very important for the energy efficiency
of their processes, the refractories industry has a considerable
impact on the energy efficiency of these industries. The
continuous improvement of refractory products leads – through
better insulation and longer lifetimes of the lining – to a
decreasing specific energy consumption of the operations of the
consuming industries.
Expanded clay
aggregates
Expanded clay aggregates are porous ceramic products
with a uniform pore structure of fine, closed cells and
with a densely sintered, firm external skin. They are
manufactured from raw materials containing clay
minerals. The raw material is prepared, moulded and
then subjected to a firing process at temperatures of
between 1100 and 1300 ºC, resulting in a significant
increase in volume due to expansion.
Wall and floor tiles
Ceramic tiles are thin slabs made from clays and/or other inorganic
materials, generally used as coverings for floors and walls. Ceramic tiles are
usually shaped by extrusion or dust pressing at room temperature, then
dried and subsequently fired at temperatures sufficient to develop the
required properties.
For the manufacture of tiles, highly refined clays are being used, which in
most cases can be obtained in Europe itself. In addition, a variety of
substances are being used for glazing purposes. Energy can be considered
as a raw material as well, as it transforms the clays into ceramics through
firing. Energy sources used are mainly natural gas and electricity.
Table- and ornamental ware
(household ceramics)

The manufacture of household ceramics covers

tableware, artificial and fancy goods made of
porcelain, earthenware and fine stoneware.
Typical products are plates, dishes, cups,
bowls, jugs and vases.
 Sanitary Ware
Ceramic goods used for sanitary purposes are all included under the
collective name sanitaryware. Typical sanitary ceramic products are
lavatory bowls, bidets, wash basins, cisterns and drinking fountains.
These products are mainly made of vitreous china (semi-porcelain) or
earthenware.

The manufacture of sanitaryware follows processes similar to those which

apply to all the other ceramic products. The raw materials are mixed with
water to produce a clay slip of the required characteristics. The clay slip is then
stored in tanks and used for slip casting in separate moulds or in pressure
casting machines. The product is produced directly from the pressure casting
machines or is released from the moulds used for the slip casting process.
Pieces must be dried before they can be worked further, or transported.
Glazing is applied directly to the clay surface and fired at the appropriate
temperature of the product concerned; normally between approximately 1200
– 1210 ºC for vitreous china and at about 1220 ºC for fireclay.
Spraying of the glaze provides the colour and
‘vibrancy’ to the underlying shape.
The colour or colour combinations required are
achieved by using pigments in association with the
glaze. The majority of pigments are metal oxides. The
quantities of pigments used are minimal compared
with the weight of raw materials (clays) and other
constituents.
The finished product enters the warehouse or storage
facility for selection, dispatch and distribution.
Technical ceramics
Technical ceramics are applied in many industries and
cover both, established products like insulators and new
applications.
They supply elements for the aerospace and automotive
industries (engine parts, catalyst carriers), electronics
(capacitors, piezo-electrics), biomedical products (bone
replacement), environment protection (filters) and
many others.
 APPLIED PROCESSES AND TECHNIQUES IN
CERAMIC MANUFACTURING

Raw materials
wide range of materials is employed by the ceramic
industry to match the diversity of its product range.
Common clay minerals (‘plastic clays’) are hydrated
aluminium silicates that have resulted from the
weathering of rocks and there are two structural units
involved in most clay mineral lattices.
One is the ‘silica sheet’ formed of tetrahedra consisting of a Si4+
surrounded by four oxygen ions.
The other structural unit is the ‘aluminium hydroxide or gibbsite sheet’,
consisting of octahedra in which an Al3+ ion is surrounded by six hydroxyl
groups.
These octahedral sheets condense with the silica sheets to form the clay
minerals.
There are a number of mineral species called clay
minerals,
but the most important are :
‘kaolinite’, Al2O3·2SiO2·2H2O, ‘
montmorillonite’, Al2O3·4SiO2·H2O and
‘halloysite’, Al2O3·2SiO2·3H2O
Storage and transport of
raw materials
Depending on their characteristics and the stage of
processing, the raw materials are stored in open
stockpiles, warehouses which are subdivided into boxes,
large volume feeders, silos. The silos are equipped with
level indicators, overload valves and filters or gas
displacement units, where displaced dusty air is blown
off. Some materials are also delivered in liquid or slurry
form and therefore are stored in tanks or other vessels.
The materials are moved with mine hoists
such as bucket elevators, chain
conveyors, screw conveyors, pneumatic
conveyors and slides. The casting slip is
partly pumped though pipelines.
Preparation of raw
materials
First size reduction and preliminary homogenisation of
raw materials is usually achieved in the quarrying
operation, but in order to meet the stringent technical
requirements of modern ceramic products, further
preparation is necessary.

One or more of the following processes may be used.

1. Pre-drying :
Sometimes certain raw materials need to be pre-dried, for instance sand
may be dried using fluidised bed technology and also rotary dryers may
be used. Many refined ceramic raw materials are purchased from
specialist suppliers – usually in a dry state.

2. Pre-blending : Blending of clays can begin in the quarry, e.g.

by selective digging or by stacking the material in superimposed
horizontal layers, and then scraping this stockpile vertically to supply
feed to the factory.
3. Dry or wet milling (grinding)
4. Dry screening/air classification
5. Spray drying
6. Calcining
Some ceramic raw materials are pre-fired, usually in rotary kilns, tunnel
kilns or shaft kilns, to improve their properties. For example, certain oxides
(e. g. dolomite, magnesite) need to be ‘dead-burned’ at high temperatures,
sometimes in excess of 1800 ºC, in order to make them suitable for
refractory manufacture. Calcining of clays (e.g. kaolin) reduces the plastic
shrinkage of bodies to which they are added, aiding size control of products
and speeding firing cycles.
Calcination refers to thermal treatment of a solid
chemical compound whereby the compound is
raised to high temperature without melting under
restricted supply of ambient oxygen, generally for
the purpose of removing impurities or volatile
substances and/or to incur thermal
decomposition.
Frits and glazes, glaze preparation

In ceramic wall and floor tile glazing, raw materials of a glassy nature
(frits) are used. Frits are vitreous compounds, insoluble in water,
prepared from crystalline materials, made by melting at high
temperatures (1500 ºC) followed by fast cooling.
Apart from frits, the major glaze components are silica (glass former), as
well as additives that act as fluxes (alkalis, alkaline earths, boron, lead,
etc.), opacifiers (zirconium, titanium, etc.), and as colouring agents (iron,
chromium, cobalt, manganese, etc.). In the glaze preparation process, the
frit and additives are usually ground in discontinuous drum ball mills until a
preset reject is obtained. The glaze passes through vibrating sieves. The
conditions of the aqueous suspension are then adjusted. Suspension
characteristics will depend on the application method to be used.
Shaping/forming of ware
Pressing:
Mechanical pressing:
This method is still employed for the manufacture of bricks (e.g. semi-
dry pressing) and of refractory products. Die boxes are charged with a
pre-set volume of clay granules, and pressure is usually applied from
above and below, with pistons being driven by cam action and aided by
heavy flywheels.
Hydraulic pressing:
Modern hydraulic presses can provide high compaction force, high
productivity, consistency and easy adjustment. Many presses are now fitted
with electronic control units, which can check the height of units and
automatically adjust the cycle to ensure size uniformity.
Such presses can be readily adjusted to meet a variety of requirements,
including complicated press programmes such as those used in forming
complex refractory shapes.
Hydraulic pressing is widely adopted for the shaping of tiles. In the case of
ceramic tiles, the moist powder (at 5 – 7 % moisture content) is pressed in
shallow dies, whereas clay roof tiles are usually formed by pressing plastic
clay ‘bats’ cut from an extruded column
Moulding
This is a very ancient method of shaping clay objects –
the earliest known brick (unfired) dates back more than
10000 years.
In many parts of the world, adobe systems are still in
regular use. Hand moulding was employed, and simple
wooden moulds were developed to ensure a more
uniform size and shape.
Moulding of clayware demands far less power and
energy than pressing or extrusion, but requires a much
softer (wetter) mix, leading to higher drying shrinkage
and more heat energy input for drying.
 Drying of ceramic
products
Traditionally, most clay articles were dried ‘naturally’ by standing in the air
at an ambient temperature
Hot floor dryers:
This simple method of drying is no longer widely used, and does not lend
itself to mechanisation or automation. However, it is still useful for the slow
gentle drying of large and complex ceramic items such as sanitaryware or
some refractory products.
Chamber dryers (intermittent): These consist of a battery of chambers
with close-fitting entry doors, usually served by rail tracks carrying drying
cars. The latter are loaded with drying pallets or racks, stacked vertically
with uniform spacing
Tunnel dryers (continuous): These are essentially a long tunnel structure
through which a line of dryer cars loaded with the green ceramic ware is
pushed. High temperature air is fed into the tunnel at the discharge end,
and this is induced to flow towards the entry end by one or more fans. As
the airflows down the dryer, it transfers heat to the product and its
humidity content increases
Surface treatment and decoration of ceramic
products

Texturing of clay products:

The surface of clay products may be textured for functional reasons,
e.g. to provide a non-slip finish to floor tiles. A wide range of textures
is also applied to clay products for aesthetic reasons. Soft mud bricks
acquire a pleasing random ‘fold’ pattern as the clay clot is thrown into
the mould, and hand throwing produces especially desirable finishes.
Extruded products can be drag-textured by scraping the surface of
the clay column. An alternative technique is to extrude slightly
oversize, then to trim to the correct height and width using cutting
wires.
Applied facings:
Soft mud bricks receive a surface coating of sand from the inside of the
moulds, which are pre-coated with the sand to act as a release agent. A
variety of textures and fired colours can be achieved by selecting the sand
to suit the aesthetic requirements.
Glazing and other decorating techniques

Glazing is most common in the manufacture of ceramic wall and floor tiles,
sanitaryware and tableware and currently there is a growing market share for
roof tiles as well. Engobing is mainly employed in the manufacture of clay roof
tiles and ceramic wall and floor tiles.
Finely ground glaze components – mainly frits in the case of ceramic
tiles – are prepared as aqueous suspensions. The viscosity and
suspension characteristics are adjusted to suit the method of application,
which may be spraying, waterfall glazing, dry glazing or decorating.
During the glazing process, the dried green ceramic ware is in most of
the sectors mentioned above – except sanitaryware – hardened by
biscuit firing and then, depending on the applied glaze components,
covered with a glassily melting, smooth, closed transparent or dusky
layer.
Screen printing is one of the decorating techniques
for tiles, due to the ease of application in the
glazing lines.
The technique consists of printing a given design by
means of one or more printing screens (tensioned
fabric with a set mesh aperture).
The screen surface is masked, and the printing ink
only penetrates the openings of the designs to be
reproduced.
A squeegee forces the ink through these openings,
thus printing the design on the tile.
 Firing
Raw materials used in ceramic bodies are usually complex mixtures of clay
minerals, with other mineral matter such as quartz, feldspars, carbonates,
gypsum, iron oxides and sometimes organic matter.
Refractory products are also made from a wide range of non-clay minerals,
together with specialised additives and binders (which may include some
clays). When clay-based ceramic products are fired in a kiln, any residual
moisture is driven off at temperatures of between 100 and 200 ºC.
If organic matter and iron pyrites are present, oxidation takes place at
temperatures of between about 300 and 500 ºC.
Water combined within the structure of clay minerals (‘crystal water’) is
usually released at temperatures of between 500 and 650 ºC, whilst
carbonates such as calcite and dolomite dissociate with the release of carbon
dioxide in the temperature range 750 to 950 ºC.
The temperature at which vitrification (glass formation) takes place,
varies according to the mineralogy of the clay. Vitrification usually
commences at about 900 ºC and is completed by about 1050 ºC (for
many brick clays) or about 1100 ºC in the case of more refractory
fireclays.
During the vitrification stage of ceramic firing, many non-clay minerals
such as quartz, oxides or iron, lime compounds and alkalis (oxides of
sodium and potassium) become incorporated in the fired body. Some
sintering and solid solution occurs, and eutectic reactions take place at
the interface of mineral grains and melt phases.
Fuel storage depends on the characteristics of the fuel
used.
Coal in lumps is stored in open-air storage systems
and storage sheds, and pulverised coal is stored in
silos.
Liquefied petroleum gas is stored in special pressure
reservoirs.
Fuel oil is stored in tanks, whereby heavy fuel oil has
to be heated to guarantee pumpability.
Natural gas is delivered by the supply network of the
gas company
Process waste water resulting from the
manufacturing of ceramic products mainly contains
mineral components.
Process waste water cleaning units are often built
as sedimentation basins.
Sedimentation of the inorganic mineral components
can be accelerated by the use of flocculation and
coagulation agents.
Recycling in the ceramic
industry
Energy Consumption
The primary energy use in ceramic manufacturing is for
kiln firing and, in many processes, drying of intermediates
or shaped ware is also energy intensive. Natural gas, LPG
and fuel oil are employed for most drying and firing
operations, but solid fuels, electricity, LNG and
biogas/biomass are also used.
Plant and machinery used for the comminution and mixing of raw
materials, and the forming of ware, require electrical energy.
Diesel fuel is required for on-site transportation, which may
include haulage of raw materials from a quarry, and internal
transport with lorries. Additionally, electricity (battery powered)
and LPG bottles (butane, propane) are also used for on-site
transportation, for instance with forklifts.
Water consumption
Water is used in virtually all ceramic processes, and good quality water is
essential for the preparation of clays and glaze slips; clay bodies for
extrusion and ‘muds’ for moulding; preparation of spray dried powders;
wet grinding/milling; washing operations.
Water is used for different purposes: basically, as a raw material for the
body and its preparation, as a raw material for glazes, as a washing fluid
and as a cooling medium. Good quality water is required for glazes,
washing and cooling purposes. Low quality water – like untreated
process waste water from washing operations in the glaze section – can
be suitable for the body. Process waste water re-use techniques take
these different qualities into account.
 Ceramics

A wide-ranging group of
materials whose ingredients
are clays, sand and feldspar (
KAlSi3O8 – NaAlSi3O8 –
CaAl2Si2O8).

Feldspar

Clay Sand
Clays
Contain some of the following:
 Silicon & Aluminium as silicates

 Potassium compounds

 Magnesium compounds

 Calcium compounds

Sand contains Silica and Feldspar or

Aluminium Potassium Silicate.
Types of Ceramics

 Whitewares
 Refractories
 Glasses
Comparison metals v
ceramics
Metals Ceramics
Whitewares

 Crockery
 Floor and wall tiles
 Sanitary-ware
 Electrical porcelain
 Decorative ceramics
White-ware: Bathrooms
Refractories

 Used to provide thermal protection of

other materials in very high temperature
applications, such as steel making
(T=1500°C), metal foundry operations,
etc.

 They are usually composed of alumina

(T=2050°C) and silica along with other
oxides: MgO (T=2850°C), Fe 2O3, TiO2, etc.
Refractory Brick
Glass Types
Three common types of glass:
 Soda-lime glass - 95% of all glass,
windows containers etc.

 Lead glass - contains lead oxide

 Borosilicate - contains Boron oxide,

known as Pyrex.
Glass Containers
Glass in Buildings
Raw Materials

 Clay
 Feldspar
 Sand
Continued…….

Fluxing agent = Fusing agent = Melting agent at high temperature

Raw Materials
 Basic Ceramic Chemistry

Calcination (also referred to as calcining) is a thermal treatment process in presence

of air applied to ores and other solid materials to bring about a thermal
decomposition, phase transition, or removal of a volatile fraction. The calcination
process normally takes place at temperatures below the melting point of the product
materials. Calcination is to be distinguished from roasting, in which more complex gas–
solid reactions take place between the furnace atmosphere and the solids
White-ware manufacture
( porcelain)
 The porcelain is a type of white
ware which resist abrasion
( destroying of surface) to a
maximum degree.
Flow Sheet
Glazing
 A glaze is a thin coating of glass melted
on to the surface of more or less
ceramic wares. It contains ingredients of
two different types ( silica , china clay
with soda, potash and borax) in different
proportion.
 Different combination of these materials
and the different temperature at which
they are fixed give a wide range of
texture and quality.
Thanks