Evaluation of the Claystones for Ceramic Industry from Bussiya Area, Muthanna Governorate

Clay is an important and basic raw material in the manufacture of ceramic products for building construction. Therefore, exploring clay deposits for previously unstudied areas and determining their suitability for ceramic materials is one of our priorities for the development and creation of job opportunities for citizens of the same region. The aim of the study is to evaluate the clays of the Bussiya area in Al-Muthanna Governorate for building materials applications, and to prepare the models, the properties of clay and its thermal behavior must be studied, to identify its suitability for the ceramic industry and its behavior during forming and firing, as well as the effect of adding sand, feldspar, and the calcined clay. The components are dry-pressed with a pressure of 10 KN and fired at different temperatures (950, 1050, and 1100) °C. With a burning rate of 5º/min and a maturation time of one and a half hours, According to the laboratory results )physical and mechanical (showed the behavior of the clays when burning and the effect of all additions on them, the use of 25% sand has a clear effect on the properties of calcined and un-calcined clay, according to the temperatures that are appropriate for each application as mentioned in American Society for Testing and Materials specifications.