Clay - the heart of ceramic work

It can be said that “soil” is indispensable raw material for ceramic production. The soil used includes kaolin and clay.

Kaolin, China Clay is white or pale cream soil. It is used as the main ingredient in the manufacture of ceramics. Good kaolin has few impurities and has a lot of soil. After firing it is white or in chemistry the soil must haveFe2O3 andTiO2 in very small quantities. Kaolin, besides being used in ceramics can also be used to make fillers in the paper industry, paint, fertilizer, pesticides, etc.

There are 2 places where kaolin is found. Residual Deposits (Residual Deposits) which is found in mountains or plains that were feldspar mine. When the feldspar is eroded by the atmosphere (weathering) kaolin will remain there but with the process of kaolin formation (kaolinization) silica (silica) and other impurities are also found because the reaction is incomplete and may contain other impurities such as organic matter that has been contaminated, and Sedimentary Deposit (Sedimentary Deposit) which is the first source of kaolin but was carried by the current to accumulate in the plains.

In Thailand, there are kaolin sources in many provinces such as Lampang, Uttaradit, Prachinburi, Ranong, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, etc.

Ball Clay . Sometimes it is called “black clay” because there is dark white to completely black in fine grain size and becomes brownish white after firing. There are in sedimentary deposit. The clay texture is fine and contains organic impurities. It has good toughness which gives the unfired product more strength than kaolin.