What is clay? In this article you will get to know about clay. If you’re in the ceramics industry, chances are you know all about clay and how it differs from other materials. But if you’re new to ceramics or just want to know more about clay, here’s your chance to find out everything you need to know about this versatile material. Read on below to discover just what exactly clay is and how it can benefit your business!
Introduction
What is clay, composition of clay and characteristics of clay are some of your basic questions about clay. Before we look at what is clay, composition of clay and characteristics of clay let us first answer some general questions about earth or soil, which in fact are all related to what is Clay as well. Earth also known as soil consists of loose pieces of mineral and rock fragments (grains), along with organic matter (dead plants and animals). Soil may also contain water and air; it acts as a natural medium for growing most plants, which it holds in place by its weight and internal friction.
Characteristics
The composition of clay can vary greatly, depending on its origin and primary minerals. The major mineral components, which give clay its composition, are silica and alumina; other components include iron oxide, magnesium oxide, potassium oxide, sodium oxide and carbonate. Depending on its chemical makeup, clay can exhibit a variety of characteristics that range from plastic to glass-like (plasticity) to shiny (gloss). Sometimes whiteness is also used as a characteristic of various types of clays. You may have seen terms like white kaolin or red china clay when reading about these materials. These descriptors refer to how readily each material takes up dye colorants.
Composition
Inorganic compounds make up about 60% of most clays, although their exact composition varies widely. These compounds include silicon dioxide (SiO2), aluminum oxide (Al2O3), potassium oxide (K2O), sodium oxide (Na2O) and iron oxide (Fe2O3). Organic matter also forms a large part of clay composition, coming from decomposed plants and animals. The organic content of some clays can exceed 90%. Clays come in four main types based on their dominant compound: primary clays are dominated by SiO2; secondary clays contain Si and Al; kaolinites are high in Al, Si and K; bentonites are rich in Fe and Mg.
Types
Lumpy clay can be made into bricks, tiles and pottery. Smooth clay can be fired to make ceramics. Secondary clay, also known as fireclay, is too hard for pottery but has many other uses. Some forms of clay are found naturally mixed with other minerals, such as kaolin which contains small amounts of feldspar and quartz in a very fine-grained matrix. It takes a lot of work to separate out these naturally occurring minerals from their host rock matrixes. When done on an industrial scale it’s called beneficiation .
Primary Clay
The primary clay is used in a lot of industries. It has very high plasticity. The plasticity of a material allows it to be molded into different shapes without breaking. This type of clay is used for manufacturing paper, cloth, bricks, cement, ceramics and pipes that transport water and natural gas. The earth’s layers are made up of many rock types. Kaolin or china clay forms when sedimentary rocks such as shale and sandstone are heated over long periods of time. During these processes, minerals like feldspar separate from other minerals like quartz or mica. When kaolin cools down again, its composition is changed by heat so much that it becomes a new mineral altogether: kaolinite. Kaolinite makes up about 20% of all clays found on Earth today.
Secondary Clay
Ball clay and fire clay are also known as secondary clays. Ball clay refers to fine-grained silicate mineral with a crystalline structure that is most commonly found in Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia in North America. Fire clay has more of a grainy texture and comes from East Coast shale rock formations (see above). It's often used for its high porosity, which creates an optimal environment for processing materials like steel or paper pulp.
Common Clay
There are many types of clay, but what most people think of when they hear clay is common clay. Common clay often shows up in a wet state and has a high iron content. This type of clay has applications as an industrial adhesive, additive to oil drilling mud, hardener for paint, de-airing agent in beer brewing, water treatment and more. The fact that it's common to so many industries and products also means that it's used in everything from laundry detergent to metal processing. All clays have their own characteristics and qualities, but they all have similar uses due to their atomic structure.
Properties
Mineral substances are solid, naturally occurring substances made of two or more elements. Most minerals are crystalline in structure; their atoms are arranged in orderly, repeating patterns that make it possible to predict their chemical and physical properties. For example, if you know one mineral’s melting point, you can easily calculate its boiling point and vice versa. Most minerals also occur in many different forms (or allotropes). These allotropes differ from each other in many ways besides color—some have different crystal structures and most have different chemical compositions. Another common characteristic of minerals is that they’re nearly always soluble in water to some degree or another. Most dissolve completely when exposed to even moderately acidic or basic solutions.
Uses in industry
In industry, clay can be used as a raw material for brick making, ceramics and in many other manufacturing processes. It can also be found in commercial products such as paint, toothpaste and soap. One of its most common uses however, is as a drainage layer beneath asphalt and concrete paving. The increased porosity of soil with clay helps prevent water from pooling or running off quickly - thus reducing soil erosion during rainstorms.
Uses in pottery
Pottery has been a major part of human life for thousands of years. While pottery today is still in production, millions of people make their own pots at home each year. While most uses for clay are to create pottery, there are many other uses for clay as well. If you work with clay or know someone who does, it's a good idea to learn about some of these other uses.
Daily Life
The uses of clay are too numerous to mention here, but you've almost certainly come into contact with it in your daily life. The most notable use of clay is in bricks and pottery (think about all those Made in China products that use clay as a key ingredient). However, clay is also used as an additive to make things stronger (foundry sand) or tougher (retardants and corrosion inhibitors) or more flexible (hydraulic brake fluids). There's also a variety of powdered clays that are used for their chemical properties -- for example, bentonite (heavy mineral) has electrical insulating properties. If you want to dig deeper into these uses, there's plenty of information online on specific types of minerals and where they're found.
Benefits of using clay products
People all over the world have used clay for centuries to create useful products. The first evidence of using clay can be traced back thousands of years to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Archaeologists uncovered thousands of pottery shards, vessels, figurines, tools and other clay objects made by early civilizations. People have been using natural minerals since prehistoric times for their beauty, strength and versatility in producing products that meet a variety of needs such as serving food and carrying water from one place to another. The chemical composition (properties) of a material generally determines its use.
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