Technological characterization and industrial application of two Turkish clays for the ceramic industry

This study focuses on the mineralogical, chemical, thermal and physical characterization of Afyon and Istanbul clays from Turkey and evaluation of the potential of the Afyon clay to manufacture traditional ceramic products with industrial processing. The suitability of the raw clay material from Afyon region to produce floor tiles was not tested yet. The effect of partial substitution of the clay from Istanbul–Sile deposit (one of the main clay producing areas of Turkey) by Afyon clay on ceramic properties was studied. The studied samples were kaolinite (Istanbul clay) and illite (Afyon clay) based materials. While there were no major differences in water absorption, the bending strength decreased slightly when the kaolinitic Istanbul clay was substituted by the illitic Afyon clay for floor tile production. Almost all technological properties of the Afyon clay deposit demonstrated the industrial suitability of Afyon clay as a potential ceramic raw material for the growing Turkish ceramic tile industry.