The miner and processing industries of kaolin are an important economic sector in the state of Paraíba, however, they generate a large amount of wastes, which are source of contamination and pollution of environment. This work has as aim the characterization of the kaolin processing waste and the evaluation of its suitability as an alternative ceramic raw material for the production of bricks and roof tiles. The waste was characterized by chemical composition determination, X-ray diffraction, differential thermal and gravimetric analyses, particle size distribution, and morphological analysis by electronic scanning microscopy. Several formulations were prepared and samples bodies were prepared by uniaxial pressing and by extrusion. The sample bodies were fired at different temperatures. Sintered samples were characterized in terms of water absorption and mechanical strength. The results showed that the waste is composed by quartz, kaolinite and mica and that is possible incorporations of up to 50% in formulations for the production of ceramics bricks and roof tiles.
Wastes; recycling; kaolin; bricks; roof tiles
