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Keywords Recycling, Waste, Raw materials, Brazil
Abstract Solid wastes are today one of the worst problems in the word, mainly because of the increase in volume and the high capacity of environmental contamination The aim of this work is to analyze the possibility of use sawing granite wastes as alternative ceramic raw materials for the production of bricks and roof tiles. Samples were collected from wastes of several granites companies from the northeast region of Brazil They were submitted to particle size and mineralogical characterization. Some ceramic compositions were prepared with granite waste and submitted to technological tests. The results indicated that the wastes have particle size distribution and mineralogical composition similar to conventional non-plastic ceramic raw materials. These wastes can be used in substitution of conventional raw materials in ceramic formulations in proportions up to 50 per cent. This can be important to save traditional raw materials from the region and decreasing the aggression to the environment.
Introduction
The use of wastes after detecting their potentialities and making them useful, is considered today an activity that can contribute to the diversification of products, decrease of final costs, besides providing "new" raw materials to some industrial sectors.
The recycle of industrial wastes to be used as alternative raw materials, is not new, and had been done with success in several countries. The reasons that motivate this, are in general: exhaustion of good resources; conservation of non-renewable raw materials and improvement of people health and safely (ENBRI, 1994).
According to Sauterey (1978) the construction industry is a field in the technological activity most indicated to absorb solid wastes, such as residue from granite sawing, mainly because of the consumption of great amounts of natural resources. The use of wastes integrally or partially in the ceramic industry, which represents a large part of the construction industry, can contribute to the diversity of raw materials to make ceramic products and decrease the costs in the industry. This is very important in a developing country with a big house deficit, like Brazil.
The aim of this work is to characterize and evaluate the possibility of use wastes from granite industry in the production of "ecological" bricks and roof tiles, considering the large amount of the granite sawing...