Use of pumice stone as a ceramic raw material


Kuzugudenli O.

EURO CERAMICS VIII, PTS 1-3, pp.1427-1430, 2004 (SCI-Expanded) identifier

Abstract

Pumice stone is a highly porous volcanic mineral. its porous structure is due to the expansion during cooling steam and gases contained in the molten lava. Pumice is a low cost industrial mineral found near some volcanic mountains in solid blocks, fragments, or in mixtures of fines and coarse pieces. In the world, high quality large pumice reserves can be found in a number of countries in large quantities. It is a glassy silicate mineral with varying composition. SiO2 is the major component of the mineral. In addition to SiO2, it contains several other metal oxides in various ratios. In composition, it resembles the raw materials of most ceramic products. All these, the ease of availability, composition and low price, make pumice a potential ceramic raw material. In this study, the potential for use of pumice as a ceramic raw material was investigated. Also presented are the experimental results obtained using pumice samples from Kayseri, Turkey.