Writers: S.R. Teixeira, R.S. Magalhães, A. Arenales, A.E. Souza, M. Romero, J.M. Rincón
Keywords: Wollastonite; Sugarcane; Ash; Limestone; Glass-ceramic
Abstract: Some aluminosilicates, for example mullite and wollastonite, are very important in the ceramic and construction industries. The most significant glass-ceramic for building applications has wollastonite as the main crystal phase. In this work we report on the use of sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) to produce glass-ceramics with silicates as the major crystalline phases. The glasses (frits) were prepared by mixing ash, limestone (calcium and magnesium carbonates) and potassium carbonate as the fluxing agent. X-ray fluorescence was used to determine the chemical composition of the glasses and their crystallization was assessed by using thermal analysis (DTA/DSC/TGA) and X-ray diffraction. The results showed that glassceramic material can be produced with wollastonite as the major phase, at a temperature lower than 900 C.
