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.

The present invention discloses a method of manufacturing micronized sandstone obtained from ceramics or industrial wastes of ceramic manufacturing, such as white paste, natural stones or clinker, including TiO.sub.2 as bio-additive, and product obtained by the micronized sandstone thereof. The ceramics and industrial wastes of ceramic are grinded in several steps and the resultant powders are collected by means of individual filters and further combined in a nanopowder micronizer for posterior treatment, where TiO.sub.2 hydrolyzed can be optionally added. This micronized sandstone comprising the bio-additive TiO.sub.2 is used in the production of plasters, mortars, grouts and/or as additive for paints and/or epoxy enriched with TiO.sub.2. The micronized sandstone bio-additive with TiO.sub.2 can be additionally subjected to two optional embodiments of the invention: treatment with or without the use of a pigment. In order to obtain the final product that can be used in the production of blocks, floors and other products of various sizes, an agglomerating agent combined with TiO.sub.2 is added to the micronized sandstone comprising the bio-additive TiO.sub.2, either in an aqueous solution or as a dry product, optionally including colored oxides.

A composition comprises at least one form of attapulgite present in a solid weight fraction amount ranging from 0.25% to 5%; kaolin present in a solid weight fraction amount ranging from 17% to 50%; and optionally Ball Clay in a solid weight fraction amount ranging from 0% to 25%. Although makeable by other processes, in some embodiments, the composition is makeable by mixing component ingredients. Although usable for other purposes, in some embodiments, the composition is used to make ceramic pieces, e.g., via casting, pressing, jiggering or jollying, especially when the slip has solids, chemistry and viscosity suitable for shaping before drying, sintering, and optionally finishing.

The invention discloses high-strength glass-ceramic-based lightweight aggregates and the preparation method thereof. The mass ratio of raw material components is 50-70 parts of engineering muck, 20-40 parts of glass, 3-7 parts of calcium carbonate, 3-7 parts of magnesium oxide, and 2-10 parts of a nucleating agent; the nucleating agent is at least one of calcium fluoride, titanium dioxide, and chromium oxide. After crushing, mixing, and granulating, spherical particles with a particle size of 10-12 mm are formed; and then the product can be obtained after drying, sintering, and cooling. The obtained lightweight aggregate from the invention has a diopside matrix which provides high strength and a low water absorption rate at low densities. Moreover, waste glass and engineering muck could be utilized with high value.

A levering structure for a ceramic cutter device including a main body assembly and an actuator element. The main body assembly includes a first and a second body structure, both being pivotably connected to each other by a first articulation, so that a first and a second pivoting end positions are defined. The actuator element is pivotably connected to the first body structure and includes a curvilinear base in contact with a contact pivot shaft transversally arranged on the second body structure, the curvilinear base defining a first and a second leverage positions. The levering structure is configured such that when the first body structure is pivoted from the first to the second pivoting end position, the pivoting movement of the first body structure causes the actuator element to move from the first leverage position to the second leverage position.

The present invention relates to calcium-containing, porous, mineral materials having a sulfate content of not more than 1.5% by weight and a biopolymer content in the range of 0.001 to 5.00% by weight, each relative to the total weight of the materials, a method for producing these materials with the aid of biopolymers as stabilizers and the use of biopolymers for producing sulfate-poor calcium-containing, porous, mineral materials.

The present application discloses the impurity removal method of silicate solid waste and its application. This method includes: (A) Heat and melt the silicate solid waste to be treated to form the melt, and stratify the melt during the reduction reaction; (B) An upper melt component obtained by the stratification is subjected to magnetic phase-induced crystallization to obtain a ferromagnetic solid; (C) The ferromagnetic solid goes through magnetic separation, and what remains is the solid waste after impurity removal. This impurity removal method can effectively reduce the main impurity content of the solid waste including iron oxide. The removed solid waste can be directly used for the preparation of high value-added materials such as insulating ceramics and micro-crystal glass.

A ceramic composite and a method of preparing the same are provided. The method of preparing the ceramic composite includes mixing an aluminum slag and a carbon accelerator to obtain a mixture and reacting the mixture at a temperature equal to or greater than 1600° C. in a nitrogen atmosphere to obtain a ceramic composite. The aluminum slag includes aluminum, oxygen, nitrogen, and magnesium. The weight ratio of the oxygen to the aluminum is 0.6 to 2. The weight ratio of the nitrogen to the aluminum is 0.1 to 1.2. The weight ratio of the magnesium to the aluminum is 0.04 to 0.2. The ceramic composite includes aluminum nitride accounting for at least 90 wt % of the ceramic composite.

The invention relates to a process for producing proppants, including the following steps: providing red mud, providing fly ash, producing a mixture from the red mud and the fly ash so that the mixture has a first moisture content in the range of 7 to 30 wt. %, producing a granular product from the mixture, and sintering the granular product.

A shuttle kiln according to certain aspects includes at least one flue channel and multiple flue risers in fluid communication with the flue channel, and at least one shuttle defining multiple exhaust shafts arranged above the multiple flue risers, wherein at least one radiation blockers is arranged above outlet ports of the at least one shuttle. Such a configuration blocks line-of-sight radiant heat transfer between (i) heated surfaces above the shuttle within the kiln housing and (ii) outlet ports of the exhaust shafts, thereby enhancing radiant heat retention and reducing temperature variability within a kiln cavity of the shuttle kiln.