Valorization of fine wood dust waste to produce lightweight dense/porous bi-layered ceramic tile

Abstract

The Brazilian wood furniture industry generates a significant amount of fine wood dust waste. In this work, a new lightweight dense/porous bi-layered ceramic tile was developed using fine wood dust waste as a substitute for ceramic tile paste by up to 10 wt% in the porous bottom layer. The bi-layered ceramic tile pieces were prepared by double uniaxial pressing and fired at 1235 ºC. The technical properties and sintered microstructure were investigated. The results showed that the fine wood dust waste acted as an effective pore-forming agent. The new bi-layered ceramic tiles showed good technical properties (water absorption=6.16-9.66% and flexural strength=18.10-28.74 MPa). The results also suggested that up to 10 wt% of fine wood dust waste can be valorized in the production of lightweight bi-layered ceramic tiles, which brings together the precepts for sustainable environmental management applications.

Keywords:
fine wood dust; waste; bi-layered ceramic tiles; properties; valorization