Companies involved in mining and beneficiation of emerald represent an important area of industrial development in Brazil, with a significant contribution to world production of this ore. As a result, large volumes of waste generated and emerald are constantly abandoned in the environment, contributing negatively to their preservation. On the other hand the interest in the use of mining waste as an additive in production of ceramic materials has grown among researchers in recent years. The ceramic industry is constantly seeking to expand the market for the sector and trying to improve product quality and increase the variety of applications. The technology of obtaining ceramic coating that uses waste from mining is still a largely unexplored market. Thus, the purpose of this study was to characterize the waste generated from mining emerald as well as to evaluate its potential use as raw material for production melting of ceramic tiles. Ceramic mixtures were prepared from raw materials characterized by X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction. Five compositions were prepared using the waste codes of emeralds from 0%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 40%. Samples were prepared by pressing, sintered at 1000, 1100 and 1200 ºC and characterized to establish their mineralogical composition, water absorption, linear shrinkage and modulus of rupture. The results showed that the residue of emeralds studied can be embedded in the mass of ceramic tiles up to 20% in replacement of feldspar without compromising the end product properties.
residue of emeralds; ceramic; recycling
