Effect of porcelain polishing waste additive on properties and corrosion resistance of ceramic foams produced from zeolite

Abstract

In this study, ceramic foams were produced by adding porcelain polishing waste (PPW) at different proportions (0, 25, 50, and 75 wt.%) to natural zeolite. In addition, Na₂CO₃, as a foam stabilizer, was externally added to each one raw material mixture to provide a better micro pore structure. The compact parts shaped under 60 MPa load were sintered in an electrical furnace at 10 °C/min heating rate at 1150 °C for 2 h in an air atmosphere. The phase composition and pore morphology of the samples produced were examined using X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The thermal properties from room temperature to 300 °C, flexural strengths before and after corrosion, and corrosion behaviors in dilute NaOH (10% by volume) solution at 100 °C of the produced ceramic foams were investigated. The increase in the PPW amount has caused an increase in the amount and dimension of pores. The total porosity and density of the light foams in four different compositions synthesized varied between 21.80–81.94% and 0.45–1.85 g/cm³, respectively. The flexural strength and thermal conductivity values at 25 °C of the samples were between 0.84–6.18 MPa and 0.21–0.80 W/m.K, respectively. The corrosion behaviors in NaOH aqueous solution at 100 °C of the ceramic foams produced were characterized in detail. It is determined that the weight loss increased with the increase in corrosion time and PPW amount in the samples. Ceramic foam production realized by adding porcelain polishing waste (PPW) to natural zeolite is a promising method for efficient recycling and reducing product cost.