A cullet-kaolin ceramic from recycle glass

Abstract

A series of ceramic based on (x) Cullet – (70-x) Kaolin – (30) Alumina where 10= x = 60 wt% has successfully been prepared by a solid state reaction. The density has been determined by Archimedes principle while the impact energy has been obtained by Izod Impact Test. The permeability coefficient has been determined by Constant Head Permeability test method using distilled water at pH 7 while their porosity and has been estimated using BET analysis method. The phase occurrence of these ceramic has been determined using X-ray Diffraction (XRD) method before being confirmed by Energy-Dispersive Analysis of X-rays (EDAX). The microstructure and surface morphology have been observed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and the existence of water content has been determine using Infrared Spectroscopy (IR) technique. It is found that the bulk density and impact energy is in the range of (1.785 - 2.2817) gcm-3 and (2.183 - 6.320) kJm-2 respectively, depending on the cullet content. Meanwhile, the permeability coefficient is found to be in the range of (5.208x10-4 - 1.812x10-4) cms-1, decreases as cullet content is increased. The porosity is in the range of (13.34 – 14.5) m2g and analysis shows that samples with 30-35 wt% of cullet exhibit optimum value. It is also found out that quartz and cristobalite are two major phases that occur in the ceramic while the minor phases are aluminium oxide, devitrite and sodium silicate. The structural morphology in the form of lamellar is observed to aggregate in the matrix with the size become increasingly larger as the kaolin content is increased. An EDX analysis show that the ceramic composition is mainly consists of Si, Al and O with a trace of K, Ca, Na and Pt as minor elements. Meanwhile, the IR Spectroscopy shows that the OH- content decreases as cullet content is increased