Brazil is the world's largest producer of sugar and ethanol from sugarcane. The sugarcane industry has contributed to the strengthening of agribusiness, as well as economic and social development of the country. However, the production process of the sugarcane industry generates huge amounts of solid wastes in the form of ashes. These solid wastes have difficult disposal and can lead to problems of environmental pollution. Therefore, one should look for new alternative technologies viable for reuse or recycling of these abundant wastes. The essay's goal is to evaluate the use of sugarcane bagasse ash waste as a low cost alternative raw material mixed with clay for production of red ceramic. Five formulations were studied with 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 wt.% of waste mixed with kaolinitic clay. Ceramic pieces were prepared by uniaxial pressing and sintered at 1000 °C (24 cold cold). The pieces were characterized in terms of linear shrinkage, water absorption, apparent density, apparent porosity and compressive strength. It was proven, after results of tests performed, the incorporation of sugarcane bagasse ash waste significantly affects the technological properties of red ceramic. Therefore, the sugarcane bagasse ash waste can be used as an alternative raw material in red ceramic, since it is added in moderate amounts.
Ashes; Sugarcane Bagasse; Red Ceramic; Recycling
