Porous Ceramics for Building Materials Fabricated by <i>in situ</i> Solidification Method Using Natural Polymer and Waste Resources

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Abstract

Use of natural polymers as gelling agents was attempted in order to develop a new gelcasting process under ambient atmosphere for fabrication of porous building materials composed of waste resources. Agar, curdlan and carrageenan were selected as natural polymers. The slurry with an appropriate composition of wastes and polymer was foamed by a mixer after addition of a surfactant. The foamed slurries were in situ solidified after casting into a plastic mold under ambient atmosphere. Effects of a type and concentration of polymer on the properties of wet-green bodies, dry-green bodies and sintered bodies were examined. The strength of the obtained wet-green bodies was sufficient enough for de-molding and successive handling. The compressive strength of wet-green bodies increased with polymer content and showed the highest value at the addition of agar. However, carrageenan and curdlan have advantages that the foamed slurries can be solidified by heating after casting into the mold. On the other hand, the slurries should be heated before casting and cooled for gelation when agar is used. It is obvious that the gelling is quite easy in the former procedure. The flexural strength of dry-green bodies and sintered bodies depended on their porosity rather than on the type and concentration of the polymer. The values of strength ranged from 15 to 45 MPa enough for application as a ceramic tile, even though the porous materials have high porosities of around 60%. These results revealed the in situ solidification method using carrageenan and curdlan as a promising technique to produce porous building materials.

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