Abstract High-purity SAPO-34 was synthesized using industrial kaolin waste produced in the Amazon region as the main source of silicon and aluminium. The hydrothermal method was applied to investigate the effect of the Si/Al ratio and crystallization time on the phase formation and purity. The materials were characterized by X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy, which demonstrated that SAPO-34 with greater purity was obtained only for the composition whose Si/Al ratio was approximately 1, which was obtained by inserting Al2O3 into the synthesis gel.

The synthesis of zeolite NaP using kaolin waste, from the Amazon region, as a predominant source of silicon and aluminum has been studied. The zeolitisation process occurred in hydrothermal conditions using static autoclaving and the effects of time, temperature, and the Si/Al ratio were investigated. The starting material and the phases formed as reaction products were characterized by XRD, SEM and FTIR. The results showed that pure zeolite NaP is hydrothermally synthesized, at 100 °C for 20 hours, using metakaolin waste material in alkaline medium in presence of additional silica. The XRD and SEM analyses indicate that the synthesized zeolite presents good crystallinity.

Ultramarine pigments were successful synthesized from zeolite A obtained from kaolin waste. This waste has been used as an excellent source of silicon and aluminum for zeolite synthesis because of its high kaolinite concentrations and low contents of other accessory minerals. The cost is naturally less than the industrialized product. Color additives (Sulfur and Sodium Carbonate) were mixed with different proportions of zeolite A and further calcined for 5 h at 500 °C. They were characterized by XRD and XRF in addition to visual classification by color and shade. These products show colors from blue to green at different shades, both influenced by the amount of additives and cooling rate after calcination. Thus, a different quantity of the same additives in the same zeolitic matrix provides an increase in the color intensity. Cooling rate after calcination induces the color change which is substantially important in the pigments production.

In this work, a method was developed for the application of red mud, an alkaline leaching waste, from a bauxite processing plant located in northern Brazil (Amazon region) as starting material for heavy clay products. Samples were prepared by pressing blends of red mud and clay, which were then fired at temperatures from 900 ºC to 1190 ºC. Characterization was carried out by chemical analysis, differential thermal analysis (DTA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the following ceramic properties were evaluated: water absorption, linear shrinkage and flexural strength. In order to evaluate the Na+ stability in the dense ceramic, leaching tests were also carried out on the specimens after sintering process. Results indicated that samples with 50 and 70 wt% of red mud are proper for being used in the production of ceramic bodies, due to its excellent properties, mainly high mechanical resistance and low water absorption, showing thus, an option to minimizing the environmental impacts caused by the aluminum industry.

Basic sodalite was successfully synthesized by hydrothermal method using kaolin waste as source of Aluminum and Silicon. This waste is mainly composed by kaolinite and is produced in large amount by kaolin processing industries for paper coating from the Amazon region. Initially, the waste has been calcined at 700 ºC for 2 h and then reacted with the following solutions: Na2CO3 and mixture of Na2CO3 + NaOH to 150 ºC with autogenous pressure for 24 h. The raw materials and transformed materials were characterized by XRD, FTIR and SEM. In both studied media, well-crystallized, basic sodalite was the only phase synthesized, while in the literature usually a mixture of zeolites is obtained.