Investigation of the possible wage of pyrophyllite in the production of porcelain tiles

Porcelain tile, the upper echelon product of the ceramic industry, is a sector that has continued to grow in Turkey in recent years. Clay and kaolin used in porcelain tiles here are generally imported. In order to minimize these imported raw materials in the recipe, it is thought that using raw materials that have reserves in the country and that can provide similar properties to the structure will provide advantage in terms of cost. In this study, particle size, elemental, phase, thermal and thermomechanical analyses of pyrophyllite (Al₂Si₄O₁₀ (OH) ₂), which has a large amount of reserves in our country, were made and its usability in porcelain tile production was investigated. 20 different prescriptions consisting of 4 main groups were prepared in experimental studies. Pyrophyllite was added to each recipe series in the proportions of 3%, 5%, 7.5% and 10% by weight to see the effect of the pyrophyllite raw material. 20 different recipes prepared were sintered at 1120 °C, 1140 °C, 1160 °C and 1180 °C. 80 samples consisting of 20 different recipe mixtures, sintered at four different temperatures, were prepared. XRD, SEM, bending strength, shrinkage, water absorption, porosity, density and L * a * b * analyses were performed on these samples. In light of these analyses, the comparison between samples with different raw material ratios and different sintering temperatures was made according to the temperature, pyrophyllite ratio and changes between the series, taking into account the physical and chemical findings. Keywords: Pyrophyllite, Porcelain Tile, Characterization