Chemical-Mineralogical and Microscopic Characterization of Clay Used as Raw Materials in Santa Gertrudes' Ceramic Pole

The Santa Gertrudes ́ Ceramic Polo is the Brazilian region with national and international prominence in the manufacturing of ceramic tiles. Some raw materials used by ceramic industry and coatings industries in this region were characterized in terms of chemical-mineralogical and microscopic view, in order to promote the best technological characterization of them. For this, chemical analysis of major elements and trace X-ray diffraction and microscopic analysis by SEM, TEM and Electron microprobe were performed by ICP-MS. The results showed that the raw materials commonly referred to as "clays" are actually constituted by various mineral phases, which directly influence the properties of the same ceramics. Also showed that, by virtue of this constitution, different formulations can be developed, using the best raw materials found in the region of Santa Gertrudes, SP.