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Introduction
Feldspar: The most abundant mineral group in the Earth's crust to date, comprising approximately 60% of terrestrial rocks. Most deposits contain both sodium feldspar, potassium feldspar, and mixed feldspar. Due to its high aluminum oxide and alkali metal content, feldspar finds primary application in industrial sectors. The term “feldspar” encompasses multiple minerals. As a natural fluxing agent, it imparts exceptional whiteness and light transmission to tiles, large-format pavements, tableware, and sanitaryware. Feldspar is extensively used in everyday items: drinking glasses, safety glass, insulating fiberglass, bathroom floor tiles and shower basins, and even daily tableware. Feldspar is ubiquitous, woven into daily life.
Mineral Composition of Feldspar:
Feldspar minerals form a crucial component of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks, their significance even determining the classification of various rock types. The mineral composition of most feldspars can be described through the ternary system of orthoclase, albite, and plagioclase.
Key Functions of Feldspar:
Flux Agent:
In ceramic manufacturing, feldspar is the second most important raw material after clay. Feldspar lacks a strict melting point, instead gradually melting within a specific temperature range. This significantly facilitates the melting of quartz and clay, allowing precise control over this critical step in ceramic production through appropriate formulation ratios.
Glazes and Glaze Slurries:
Feldspar functions both as a flux to form a glass phase at low temperatures and as an alkali source and alumina contributor in glazes. It enhances the strength, toughness, and durability of the body while consolidating the crystalline phases of other components, softening, melting, and wetting the raw materials. Feldspar aids in glaze formulation, ensuring flawless and aesthetically pleasing finished products such as: glaze frits, ceramic glazes, tile glazes, sanitaryware, tableware, electrical ceramics, and giftware ceramics.
Enhancing Tile Mechanical Strength:
The glass phase formed by feldspar contributes to the overall strength, hardness, and durability of finished sanitaryware ceramics.
Controlling Firing and Shrinkage:
Feldspar's fluxing action enables reduced firing temperatures. Adjusting feldspar type and quantity regulates the firing process, influencing final porosity while minimizing shrinkage and warping during firing.
Enhancing Body Whiteness:
High-purity feldspar with low iron and titanium content is particularly valuable for sanitaryware and tableware. Its colorless nature produces bright white ceramic products.
Feldspar plays an indispensable, multifaceted role in sanitaryware body formulations. It serves not only as an efficient natural flux, significantly lowering firing temperatures and optimizing energy consumption, but also as a key element in constructing the ceramic body's microstructure. By forming a glass phase, feldspar substantially enhances the product's mechanical strength, hardness, and durability. Simultaneously, its regulation of the firing process effectively minimizes product shrinkage and deformation. Furthermore, high-purity feldspar is fundamental to achieving the ideal whiteness in sanitaryware. Therefore, a deep understanding and precise application of feldspar are crucial for developing high-performance, high-quality sanitaryware products and achieving precise control over production processes.