There is a great concern by the industrial area on the disposal of waste generated during the production process. In the mineral sector the situation is the same, because large volumes of waste are disposed. The kaolin processing industry generates waste consisting mainly of kaolinite, mica and quartz muscovite, causing an environmental impact, justifying the research efforts to find a solution for this problem. The effect of the waste from the kaolin processing incorporation on the technological and physical properties of high quality tiles was here studied. This work aims to characterize and to study the processing of the kaolin waste from the industry of kaolin processing by adding of a "standard mass" supplied by an industry of ceramic tiles. The waste was characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence and determination of particle size. Water absorption, apparent porosity, linear firing after sintering, apparent density and bending modulus of rupture analyses were carried out to determine the materials technological properties. Preliminary results show that the studied waste can be considered as a potential raw material for the industry of floor and ceramic tile.
kaolin waste; stoneware; ceramic tile
