With a view to investigate the incorporation of sludge generated in ETA Tamanduá masses for red ceramics, such as disposal method, this paper aims to characterize the sludge ETA Tamanduá and four clays of western Paraná used to produce structural red ceramic and artistic ceramic, to evaluate the technological potential of this residue. In this first experimental phase of characterization, we determined the moisture, chemical composition by X-ray fluorescence, crystalline compounds by X-ray diffraction, Atterberg limits of soils (Atterberg), size distribution and structure of particles by electron microscopy (SEM). It is noteworthy that the clays have properties favorable for the production of red ceramics. The sludge has basic features of the raw material of low plasticity, composed mainly of SiO2, Al2O3 and Fe2O3, with high loss on ignition (20.4%), low plasticity index equal to (7.4), fraction clay corresponding to 5.3%. These characteristics suggested the possibility that, in the second stage, incorporate the sludge with natural moisture (75%) as an additive in ceramic body, to reduce the shrinkage and to minimize the addition of water to the masses for the production of red ceramics.
sludge from water treatment plants; characterization of clays; west
