Sintering characteristics of environmentally friendly porous ceramics prepared by self-sintering of desert sand

Natural desert sand has particle shapes and a relatively high content of silica and other useful chemical compositions. Porous quartz ceramics were prepared by self-sintering of three kinds of screened desert sands, and the composition, particle size, phase transformation, microstructure and properties of the ceramics were investigated. Experimental results showed that the particle size of desert sand was dominant in sintering of ceramics and the gradation changed the ratio of silica to feldspar phases, which was increased with an increase in particle size. The low-melting feldspar phases were primary to generate self-sinterability. The obtained ceramics with open, open-closed and closed pores can be prepared from large, medium and small sand particles, respectively.