Ceramic properties of lightweight clay expanded aggregate produced with Buenos Aires Province Argentina soil

EVELIN N. SOSA FABRE; ANABELLA MOCCIARO; NICOLÁS R. RENDTORFF

Florianopolis

Congreso; 67 Congreso de Ceramica Brasilero; 2023

Asociación de Ceramica Brasilera

Lightweight clay expanded aggregate (LECA) consists of rounded pellets with vesicular porosity inside. LECAs usually are manufactured from bloating clays, which during calcination expand generating a high porosity structure. This porous structure makes it suitable for a lot of applications, such as the construction field or the removal of contaminants. In this work the potential use of soil of Buenos Aires province as raw material in the production of LECAs is studied. The soil was characterised by X-ray diffraction, plasticity, particle size distribution and thermal analysis. The ceramic behaviour and the optimal calcination temperature were studied by prismatic bars. Mineralogical composition, color, open porosity, apparent density, shrinkage percentage and flexural strength were measured. According to the ceramic properties obtained the calcination temperature for the manufacture of LECA was selected. LECAs were prepared in the laboratory and characterised. No bloating process was observed, a gasification agent should be incorporated in order to obtain lighter aggregates.