Abstract This paper aims at exploring the possibility of using a great percentage of recycled materials into vitreous china (VC), thus, contributing to urban waste decrease while lowering the industry’s buying costs, previously optimized, for the sanitaryware production. The recycled blend was introduced in the ceramic slip, Sanitser VC, and used in three sanitaryware production plants. This slip let to improve the environmental performances of the overall ceramic production through energy-saving and a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, the firing temperature is 80-100 °C lower than traditional production. Therefore, the objective of this paper was to evaluate the firing behavior, technological properties, and microstructure of a typical industrial vitreous china body in comparison with Sanitser VC. The analytical results confirmed the force of this idea and highlighted the advantages of the choice made.

Resumo Neste artigo são apresentados os resultados do projeto europeu LIFE “Sanitser”. Este trabalho teve como objetivo reduzir a temperatura de queima da massa cerâmica (de 1250 para 1170 °C). Isto foi obtido substituindo a mistura de feldspato e quartzo por materiais reciclados e uma pequena percentagem de fundente (menos do que 3%); em uma formulação de massa de sanitário vitrificado foram introduzidos resíduos de vidro, granito e materiais cerâmicos quebrados após queima. Os testes realizados mostraram que a formulação Sanitser apresenta as mesmas propriedades físicas e químicas da cerâmica vitrificada (VC). Além disso, várias peças de cerâmica (lavatório, bidê e vaso sanitário) foram comparadas com a produção de VC. Os resultados mostraram que a massa Sanitser pode substituir a massa VC na produção industrial. Neste projeto a temperatura de queima do corpo cerâmico é significativamente reduzida com a suposta redução das emissões de CO2. Na formulação Sanitser foram utilizados cerca de 43,6% de materiais reciclados que acabariam em aterros sanitários.

Abstract In the present paper, the results of “Sanitser” Life European project are presented. The aim of this study was to reduce the firing temperature for ceramic body (from 1250 to 1170 °C). This was achieved substituting feldspar and quartz with recycled blend materials and a little percentage of flux (less than 3%); in a sanitary ware vitreous china formulation a waste glass, granitic materials and fired broken ceramic pieces were introduced. Tests performed on the Sanitser formulation showed that it has the same final physical-chemical characteristics of the industrial vitreous china (VC) body. Besides, different ceramic pieces (wash basin, bidet and WC pan) were compared with VC production. The results showed that Sanitser body can replace vitreous china in the sanitary ware production. In this project, the firing temperature of the ceramic body is reduced significantly with a supposed decrease of the CO2 emissions. In Sanitser formulation, about 43.6% of recycled materials that would end in dumps were utilized.