Utilization of drinking-water treatment sludge in the manufacturing of ceramic tiles

摘要

A large quantity of drinking-water treatment sludge (DWTS) is generated each year, most of which is disposed by landfill. It is necessary to explore an alternative way for resource utilization of the DWTS due to the inefficient and uneconomic performance of the landfill. In this study, the DWTS was investigated as a major raw material to manufacture the ceramic tiles with the additives of kaolin, feldspar powder and quartz sand stone. The key performance parameters of the ceramic tile samples including the water absorption, the modulus of rupture and the corrosion resistance were measured by the standard methods. Results show that the optimum content of DWTS in ceramic tile is 38% - 42%, while kaolin and feldspar powder are 38% - 42% and 16% - 24%, respectively. The water absorption in the resultant ceramic tile samples is 0.5% - 3%. The modulus of rupture is higher than 35 MPa, which meet the Chinese National Ceramic Tiles Standards (GB/T4100-2006).