Preparation and characterization of porous ceramics with low-grade diatomite and oyster shell

Porous ceramics with the introduction of low-grade diatomite (LDE) and oyster shell (OS) were successfully fabricated via low-temperature sintering method. The micro-nano-sized OS powders were used as an excellent fluxing medium and pore-forming agent for ceramics. The physical and mechanical properties of porous ceramics were proved as a positive dependency with the mass ratio of OS powder and sintering temperature. When the mixing ratio of LDE and OS was selected as 70 wt% and 30 wt% and the sintering temperature was improved to 800 degrees C, the open porosity, bulk density and compressive strength were optimized to 50.20%, 1.26 g/cm(3) and 18.8 MPa, respectively. The porous ceramic with the best physical-mechanical property were almost 100% recycled LDE and could be used as building materials with good craftwork and environmental protection characteristics.