Clays are the most important materials from the technological point of view, for the production of ceramic materials. Its chemical and mineralogical composition strongly influences the physical and chemical properties to be obtained in the finished product of ceramic. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the potential of clays of the Calumbi and Riachuelo geological formation in Sergipe, Brazil, for the application in ceramic tiles. Samples were collected from 03 clay deposits ("A", "B" and "C") and characterized by granulometryassays, plasticity, X-ray diffraction, and differential thermogravimetric analysis, infrared and X-ray fluorescence. The main identified phases were: quartz, kaolinite, illite, calcite and feldspar, and deposits "B" and "C" showed high levels of calcite. It was found that for ceramic processing conditions adopted in this paper, the properly mixed clay deposits of "A" and "B" are suitable for use in the processing industry ceramic tiles, particularly for obtaining of the classification of the absorption group "BIII".
clay; characterization; ceramic tile; absorption group
