The disclosure relates to tiles or slabs comprising a fired ceramic material which has a chemical composition with a particular combination of oxides; to a method for the manufacture of said tiles or slabs; and to the use thereof for construction or decoration applications.

A process for making a sintered article including the steps of: (a) preparing a particulate mixture; (b) contacting the particulate mixture to water to form a humidified mixture; (c) pressing the humidified mixture to form a green article; (d) optionally, subjecting the green article to an initial drying step; (e) subjecting the green article to a firing step in a kiln to form a hot fused article; and (f) cooling the hot fused article to form a sintered article. The particulate mixture includes: (i) at least 20 wt % coarse coal combustion fly ash; and (ii) at least 30 wt % clay, wherein the coarse coal combustion fly ash has a particle size in the range of from greater than 150 μm to less than 250 μm.

A method for preparing ceramsite by using municipal sludge as raw material, including the following specific steps: drying; preparing ingredients including raw sludge, fly ash, kaolinite, steelmaking slag, zeolite, hematite, calcareous shale, waste incineration fly ash, Fe.sub.2O.sub.3, waste glass, calcium carbonate, sodium lauryl sulfate, and sodium benzoate; mixing and stirring uniformly, and putting the stirred materials into a granulating machine for granulation; drying and preheating the material pellets after granulation, and then quickly transferring to a sintering device for first sintering at a low temperature and then sintering at a high temperature; crushing large chunks of the cooled materials; and separating and screening the crushed materials. The method of the present invention reduces the generation of the large chunks of the cooled materials in the obtained ceramsite, thereby reducing the subsequent crushing work and saving energy consumption accordingly.

A ceramic composition which can be used as a sintering aid includes 1-2 mol % of magnesium oxide (MgO), 5-15 mol % of aluminum oxide (Al.sub.2O.sub.3), 25-40 mol % of silicon dioxide (SiO.sub.2), 40-55 mol % of calcium oxide (CaO), 0.1-8 mol % of ferric oxide (Fe.sub.2O.sub.3), 0.1-2 mol % of sulfur trioxide (SO.sub.3) and 0.1-2 mol % of titanium oxide (TiO.sub.2). Alternatively, the ceramic composition includes 1-8 mol % of MgO, 5-15 mol % of Al.sub.2O.sub.3, 25-40 mol % of SiO.sub.2, 40-55 mol % of CaO, 0.1-8 mol % of Fe.sub.2O.sub.3, 0.1-2 mol % of SO.sub.3 and 0.9-2 mol % of TiO.sub.2.

A novel eco-friendly method has been developed for the fabrication of high dense (3.3-5.2 g/cc) red mud based material blocks for shielding high energy X- and -rays. The red mud based material blocks with various densities were fabricated by hot compacting partially melted red mud, red mud:Bi.sub.2O.sub.3, red mud:Ba(OH).sub.2 and red mud:Bi.sub.2O.sub.3:Ba(OH).sub.2 samples at 1150 C., 1000 C., 1050 C. and 1000 C., respectively. This material can be used to build radiation shielding structures in medical diagnosis, radiotherapy, industrial radiography, particle accelerators, food sterilization plants, nuclear power plants, and radioactive material storage rooms, without further structural support unlike lead (concrete walls). It is economically viable and will suppress the accumulation of hazardous red mud and associated environmental pollutions.

A method for preparing ceramsite by using municipal sludge as raw material, including the following specific steps: drying; preparing ingredients including raw sludge, fly ash, kaolinite, steelmaking slag, zeolite, hematite, calcareous shale, waste incineration fly ash, Fe.sub.2O.sub.3, waste glass, calcium carbonate, sodium lauryl sulfate, and sodium benzoate; mixing and stirring uniformly, and putting the stirred materials into a granulating machine for granulation; drying and preheating the material pellets after granulation, and then quickly transferring to a sintering device for first sintering at a low temperature and then sintering at a high temperature; crushing large chunks of the cooled materials; and separating and screening the crushed materials. The method of the present invention reduces the generation of the large chunks of the cooled materials in the obtained ceramsite, thereby reducing the subsequent crushing work and saving energy consumption accordingly.

A ceramic composition which can be used as a sintering aid includes 1-2 mol % of magnesium oxide (MgO), 5-15 mol % of aluminum oxide (Al.sub.2O.sub.3), 25-40 mol % of silicon dioxide (SiO.sub.2), 40-55 mol % of calcium oxide (CaO), 0.1-8 mol % of ferric oxide (Fe.sub.2O.sub.3), 0.1-2 mol % of sulfur trioxide (SO.sub.3) and 0.1-2 mol % of titanium oxide (TiO.sub.2). Alternatively, the ceramic composition includes 1-8 mol % of MgO, 5-15 mol % of Al.sub.2O.sub.3, 25-40 mol % of SiO.sub.2, 40-55 mol % of CaO, 0.1-8 mol % of Fe.sub.2O.sub.3, 0.1-2 mol % of SO.sub.3 and 0.9-2 mol % of TiO.sub.2.

The invention relates to a high-performance compacted ceramic material, comprising between 40%-85% by weight of glassy phase, having a density between 2.3 and 3.0 g/cm3, and characterized in that it has an internal porosity of less than 4% by volume. This material is highly resistant to mechanical and chemical action, sparingly permeable and prevents staining, so it is extremely suitable as a building material, particularly for kitchen countertops.

A method of preparing a mineral ore may include crushing the mineral ore via a crusher apparatus to form crushed mineral ore. The method may further include depositing the crushed mineral ore into a media mill and adding water and dispersant into the media mill to form a slurry of the crushed mineral ore. The method may further include operating the media mill to grind the crushed mineral ore to form a slurry of ground mineral ore, and separating media of the media mill from the slurry of the ground mineral ore. The mineral ore may include at least one of bauxite and kaolin. For example, the mineral ore may include at least one of crude bauxite and crude kaolin, and crushing the mineral ore may include crushing the at least one of crude bauxite and crude kaolin. The method may be used to prepare a feed for use in ceramic proppants.

The invention relates to a high-performance compacted ceramic material, comprising between 40%-85% by weight of glassy phase, having a density between 2.3 and 3.0 g/cm3, and characterized in that it has an internal porosity of less than 4% by volume. This material is highly resistant to mechanical and chemical action, sparingly permeable and prevents staining, so it is ex tremely suitable as a building material, particularly for kitchen countertops.