DEVELOPMENT OF POROUS CERAMICS FROM LOCALLY SOURCED KANKARA CLAY

Abstract

In this study, porous ceramic was produced from Kankara clay with cassava starch as a pore former. Physical properties of the clay were determined using particles size distribution and FESEM. Chemical, phase analysis and thermal properties of the clay were determined using XRF, XRD and TGA/DTA respectively. To determine the porous ceramic properties, the clay was mixed with cassava starch 5-30wt%, compacted at a pressure of 60MPa and fired at 1200°C. Maturation properties of the fired ceramics were determined using bulk density and apparent porosity. In addition, the mineralogy and morphology of the fired porous ceramics were determined using XRD and FESEM respectively. From the results of the XRF, XRD and TGA/DTA, the clay is kaolin which transformed to mullite after firing at 1200°C. The bulk density and the apparent porosity obtained were in the range 1.44-2.12g/cm3 and 12-47% respectively. The FESEM morphology of the porous ceramics shows that the porosity increases with percentage starch content. This shows that porous ceramics can be produced from local Kankara clay which can be used in filtration and separation applications.