Deposits of high quality ball clays are not common. They are mainly located in the United States and in the United Kingdom. Ball clays are used in several industries, from the ceramic industry to the cosmetic one. Thus, this work aims to analyse ball clays from the seabord of Paraíba State. The characterization of the samples for ceramic purposes was done through the determination of: specific mass, specific surface area, particle size distribution, chemical analysis, differential thermal analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Technological tests were also carried out for ceramic applications. The results show that the samples are basically composed of kaolinite and have white color after firing at 1250 ºC and 1450 ºC. Moreover, the physical-mechanical properties are in the range indicated in the literature to ball clays used in the ceramic industry.
ball clays; whiteware; clays; characterization; Paraíba State
