Effect of Composition & Firing Temperature on Water Absorption & MOR of EAF Slag Added Ceramic Tile Using Factorial Statistical Design Approach

by Nurulakmal M.S., Nursyahirah I. and Teo P.T.

Publisher - Structural Materials Niche Area School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering USM Engineering Campus

Category - Engineering & IT

Significant quantities of sludge and slag are generated as waste materials or by-products from steel industries. One of the by-products is Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steel slag which consists of oxides such as CaO, Al2O3 and FeO. This makes it possible for slag to be used as partial replacement in ceramic tile production. In this work, 50 wt.% EAF slag was added as raw material along with ball clay, feldspar and silica to produce ceramic tile. The focus is on the effect of different composition (wt.% of K-feldspar and wt.% of silica) to EAF slag added ceramic tile at different firing temperature. EAF slag from Southern Steel Berhad (SSB) was crushed into micron size and milled for 5 hours with ball clay, feldspar and silica at different compositions before compacted and fired at 1125°C, 1137.5°C and 1150°C. The experimental run order was in accordance with factorial statistical design. The data showed that the composition(wt.% of K-feldspar and wt.% of silica) and firing temperature significantly affect final properties (water absorption and MOR) of ceramic tile incorporated with 50 wt.% of EAF slag. These were supported with statistical results such as analysis of variance (ANOVA), main effects plot and regression analysis. Further studies in terms of sintering and crystalline phase transformation are currently underway in order to understand the exact role of EAF slag, reaction between slag and the other raw materials, and their influence to properties of the ceramic tile. This is important in order to maximize re-use of EAF slag into ceramic tile having comparable properties with that of the commercial tiles. Significant quantities of sludge and slag are generated as waste materials or by-products from steel industries. One of the by-products is Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steel slag which consists of oxides such as CaO, Al2O3 and FeO. This makes it possible for slag to be used as partial replacement in ceramic tile production. In this work, 50 wt.% EAF slag was added as raw material along with ball clay, feldspar and silica to produce ceramic tile. The focus is on the effect of different composition (wt.% of K-feldspar and wt.% of silica) to EAF slag added ceramic tile at different firing temperature. EAF slag from Southern Steel Berhad (SSB) was crushed into micron size and milled for 5 hours with ball clay, feldspar and silica at different compositions before compacted and fired at 1125°C, 1137.5°C and 1150°C. The experimental run order was in accordance with factorial statistical design. The data showed that the composition(wt.% of K-feldspar and wt.% of silica) and firing temperature significantly affect final properties (water absorption and MOR) of ceramic tile incorporated with 50 wt.% of EAF slag. These were supported with statistical results such as analysis of variance (ANOVA), main effects plot and regression analysis. Further studies in terms of sintering and crystalline phase transformation are currently underway in order to understand the exact role of EAF slag, reaction between slag and the other raw materials, and their influence to properties of the ceramic tile. This is important in order to maximize re-use of EAF slag into ceramic tile having comparable properties with that of the commercial tiles. Significant quantities of sludge and slag are generated as waste materials or by-products from steel industries. One of the by-products is Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steel slag which consists of oxides such as CaO, Al2O3 and FeO. This makes it possible for slag to be used as partial replacement in ceramic tile production. In this work, 50 wt.% EAF slag was added as raw material along with ball clay, feldspar and silica to produce ceramic tile. The focus is on the effect of different composition (wt.% of K-feldspar and wt.% of silica) to EAF slag added ceramic tile at different firing temperature. EAF slag from Southern Steel Berhad (SSB) was crushed into micron size and milled for 5 hours with ball clay, feldspar and silica at different compositions before compacted and fired at 1125°C, 1137.5°C and 1150°C. The experimental run order was in accordance with factorial statistical design. The data showed that the composition(wt.% of K-feldspar and wt.% of silica) and firing temperature significantly affect final properties (water absorption and MOR) of ceramic tile incorporated with 50 wt.% of EAF slag. These were supported with statistical results such as analysis of variance (ANOVA), main effects plot and regression analysis. Further studies in terms of sintering and crystalline phase transformation are currently underway in order to understand the exact role of EAF slag, reaction between slag and the other raw materials, and their influence to properties of the ceramic tile. This is important in order to maximize re-use of EAF slag into ceramic tile having comparable properties with that of the commercial tiles.

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