Effects of different China and ball clays on traditional ceramic process: A multi-methodological approach

A combination of technological properties, mineralogical composition and three-dimension (3D) imaging is proposed to get insights into sanitary-ware ceramic bodies of the Vitreous-China technology as a function of the different clay raw materials used in the formulation of slip. Particular attention is paid to the effects induced along the production chain, during casting, after drying (dried body) and after firing (fired body). The different combinations of China and ball clays lead to different casting behaviour, in first instance, and to different mechanical strength, then, due to variations in the particle size distribution rather than in the mineralogical composition. In particular, the finer the particle size, the finer the pore size and, in addition, the better the mechanical properties (with a maximum of 4.7 MPa), due to a better packing. However, fine particle size distribution worsens the slip’s behaviour into moulds, impacting negatively on productivity, with a 17 % reduction of casting thickness. Upon firing process, such differences are mitigated by the body densification and result in more similar pores’ distributions, though the importance of the mineralogical composition is revealed. In fact, differences in mineralogical phases’ contents and in kaolinite HI index guide the comprehension of high temperature phase evolution and technological properties like the fired body thermal expansion, foremost via residual quartz. These results are important for a plastic raw materials’s selection within the ceramic sanitary-ware process.