Industrial-Based Comprehension on the Ceramic Body Composition by Continuous/Batch Grinding Methods

In this study, the effects of batch and continuous grinding on the ceramic floor tile body were investigated in terms of cost, capacity, and technical aspects. In batch milling, a changing speed during grinding was more efficient than a constant speed. Capacity and energy consumption increased as the mill rotation speed increased in continuous grinding. Specific energy consumptions were measured as 36 kW/ton and 43.1 kW/ton, with 1.6 ton/h and 8.375 t/h capacities. Additionally, d10, d50, and d90 values for ground ceramic floor tile bodies were determined to be 2.5, 9.5, and 47.2 µm and 2.5, 9.4, and 48.1 µm for batch and continuous grinding, respectively. No significant difference was observed in the color and shrinkage values, while water absorptions were calculated to be 1.1% and 0.3% as sintering properties for batch and continuous methods, respectively. In the phase analysis of a sintered body prepared using the continuous method, mullite and quartz were observed, while microcline was also analyzed differently from such minerals for the batch one. Structural changes, surface morphology, and roughness were also interpreted by DTA/TG, SEM, and AFM analysis. The presence of plastic clay minerals during the grinding process in batch milling caused non-plastic raw materials not to be ground sufficiently, and sintering characteristics changed.