Recycle Filter Aid As Glaze Base

[cabako]

Hi all, 

 

I have access to massive quantities of used filter aid.  Below are the physical properties

 

"TYPICAL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES Physical form: Dry powder colour: White Permeability: 3.6 Darcy Cake Density: 165 g/l Moisture (% as shipped): 1 % Floaters (% by volume): 55.2 % Typical Particle size Diameter at which 10% is less (by Microtrac): 18.46 μ Diameter at which 50% is less (by Microtrac): 46.35 μ Diameter at which 90% is less (by Microtrac): 93.47 μ TYPICAL CHEMICAL PROPERTIES (% by weight unless otherwise stated) SiO2 72 % Al2 O3 14 % Fe2 O3 0.7 % TiO2 0.1 % CaO 0.3 % MgO 0.1 % Na2 O 4 % K2 O 8.8 %"

 

Could this be used as a glaze by itself or as a base?  It is saturated with a harmless organic and water.  The organic would float to the top of the water bucket, but I am afraid the particles are too large and would fall to the bottom of a bucket and could not be suspended easily (well maybe 10% would be).  Maybe they could be applied or coated on?  Attached is a bin of the stuff we have.

 

Thanks,

[Magnolia Mud Research]

The particle size is a bit large.  But you might be able to use it as in a glaze with some added other stuff.

 

 

I suggest you use the Currie grid technique using the Filter Aid as the silica part of the grid, an kaolin/ball clay mix for the clay part of the grid, and your favorite feldspar for the other corner.  Currie's technique is a reasonably quick screening approach to using a set of natural materials. 

 

There is more available from:
http://ian.currie.to/
and here,
http://community.ceramicartsdaily.org/topic/7974-ian-currie-test-tiles-forums/
and here,
http://www.macomb.k12.mi.us/utica/burr/art/JohnPost-2014/main-pages/cone-6-ian-currie-grid-glazes.html

 

Or you could just make triangle grid with filter aid, clay, feldspar at each corner and make blends to cover the ranges that make sense to you.  Get some results, then focus on the most appealing area.

 

 

LT

[Dick White]

Interesting. It would appear from numbers in the analysis, you have a new source under a different brand name for Custer feldspar. If you are into glaze calculation, the materials analysis of the current production of Custer (different than acknowledged by Pacer, but learned from actual laboratory analyses of their production - another story another time if you want to hear that rant...) are:

 

Silica - 73.5% vs. your 72%

Alumina - 15% vs. your 14%

Potassium - 7% vs. your 8.8%

Sodium - 3% vs. your 4%

Iron - 0.15% vs. your 0.7%

Titanium - trace vs. your 0.1%

Calcium - 0.3% vs. your 0.3%

Magnesium - 0.01% vs. your 0.1%

 

Try it as a direct substitution for Custer in a recipe and see what happens.

(As an aside, this is one example of why we potters are held in such low regard by Pacer and some of the other producers of our raw materials. There is waaaay more market share in other industries for ground up rocks than our glaze materials. Abrasives, paint fillers, etc. etc. etc. The exact chemistry is mostly as unimportant to them as it is important to us...)

[curt]

Jackpot! This looks like very useful material.

 

Well spotted, Dick, on the Custer. This material does look very fluxy with all that potassium and sodium.

 

Currie grid might generate some interesting results, but use this material as the flux in the grid, not the silica or clay (and make the silica and the clay the cleanest you can get your hands on.

 

Also, particle size looks plenty small. 93 microns is minute in terms of most materials we buy or employ in pottery land.

 

You could be on a winner here...

 

Can I ask what kind of business or industry is generating such waste? Maybe there is some near me!

[cabako]

Great info both of you! Very interesting about custer feldspar  I am in the process of building a kiln, I will post results when I do some glaze tests!.

[cabako]

curt,

 

PM sent!

[Dick White]

hmmm, a little more time spent with Mme. Google this morning. Expanded perlite is a player in the water treatment industry (including beer filtration ) and has a typical chemistry as listed by  cabako. But it's typical use in ceramics appears to be as a refractory filler (grog) in clay bodies. I'm not seeing much mention of it in my library of glaze references. Perlite is common enough as an industrial/agricultural product that one would think its use in glazes has already been tried by someone and found lacking. But what do I know, I'm just another stupid potter. Try it.

[cabako]

Dick,

 

This stuff is a mix of Harborlite 900 & 1500.  But yes its basically perlite.  I just think the idea of recycling a waste that we put to landfill is pretty neat.  We buy this stuff in 50lb bags by the truckload.  We also have fiber based filter media (Vintercell or similar) which is used by the wine industry to clarify wines...maybe eventually make my own paper clay.

[Mark C.]

Whatever this stuff is it looks like its in the desert.

[cabako]

Mark,

 

I'm appalled you would talk about the breadbasket of California that way... The mighty Kern Valley is only PARTLY desert!

[cabako]

Finally had time to mix some filter aid "glaze".  As you can see its pretty rough.  Interesting things to note.  You cant just add water to it at the expected percentage. It will clump and float to the top with different size clumps. You must add a little bit in to make it like a dough or slurry consistency, mix until homogeneous particle size, then slowly add up to the final amount of water.  When it is first applied it is yellow, then dries to an off white color.  I think the organics tend to make it clump up in the water.  

 

There is an article about custer feldspar on digital fire.  It will be nice to confirm that it will fire a similar white at least.  Probably will not be runny.  

 

Hoping for a glaze fire this saturday...we shall see.

 

[cabako]

Here are results of a  cone 10 test fire of glazes made using industrial filter aids or filter medias and wastes from a biodiesel plant (glycerin and sodium sulfate salt).  I didn't pay too much attention to weights so this is an eyeballed % by volume.  Bisque was a mix of propane and biodiesel/veg oil firing. But this was a propane only fire, slight reduction at the end.  All of them are pretty horrible, however the mix of filter aid, bentonite, glycerin and sodium sulfate (4th from the left)actually came out quite nice, gray, very glassy, iron? spots.  Almost like fused crushed glass and iron. Clay was Amacos mid-high fire white clay (the cheapest stuff you can find on amazon).  Glazes were not sieved.  I think the glycerin acts as an emulsifier/thickening agent.  Also helps the glaze stick to the clay.  The amaco cone 6 sepia and green held up pretty well at cone 10. 

I have some industrial magnesium oxide/silica mix,  whiting, EPK and iron oxide to play around with now.  Also a purer grade of silica.  So i think the next test is with Filter aid 50%, 5-10% Mag oxide (more flux?), 20% silica and rest sodium sulfate.  Then try to hit a tenmoku and then celedon.

[cabako]

More Pics.  Kind of disappointing  my vase didn't turn out.  Took about 3 hours to reach cone 10 so of course its cracked everywhere.

[curt]

Interesting, thanks for sharing.  

Seems like your material is quite refractory, no?

have you considered calcining it first to burn out the organics?  Might make it easier to use.

[cabako]

Yes it  seem its pretty stable, it went on as a granular powder, and thats pretty much how it stayed. It does stick to the clay rather well. For example on the "vase" its like a hardened crust .  The far left tile which was just the filter aid by iteslf it is stuck as well but can be removed to some degree by hand.

I think the residual biodiesel acts as a glue and actually makes it stick better together and to the clay.  

Reading up on the MgO it seems that is a refractory as well and not a flux.  I guess my only flux option then is the sodium sulfate.  Thats probably why the best melted tile #4 from right was  filter aid, with some silica, and sodium sulfate.  I think that is the base mix I'd like to explore  going forward.