Influence of postsintered wastes incorporation on physico‐mechanical and structural evolution of vitreous ceramics

Abstract Due to high consumption of conventional materials such as quartz and feldspar in most ceramic products processing, the recent practice has been targeted at exploration and utilization of some industrial wastes with similar characteristics to solely or partially replace these conventional materials to reduce cost of production, and serves as a means of solid wastes management. In this regard, this work aims at incorporating postsintered wastes as partial and sole alternatives to quartz and feldspar in the production of vitreous sanitary ceramics. Vitreous sanitary ware bodies containing discarded sanitary wares and waste soda‐lime glasses as substitute to quartz and feldspar respectively were prepared using slip casting process. Several samples measuring 120 × 50 × 10 mm were cast, left to dry at ambient temperature for 24 hours followed by oven‐drying at 105°C for another 12 hours. The cast samples were then subjected to sintering at temperatures of 1150 and 1200°C, respectively, and then soaked for 90 minutes. Physico‐mechanical, phase, and structural evaluations were carried out to assess the performance of the vitreous sanitary bodies. The results showed that samples containing postsintered wastes displayed better physical, mechanical, and structural properties, while the chemical compositions of the prepared samples showed close similarity to standard Twyford sanitary ware. However, better properties were observed for samples sintered at 1200°C which might be attributed to high vitrification at elevated temperature.