China's Refractories

Abstract: Anorthite-diopside ceramics were prepared by sintering iron ore tailings, calcium carbonate, and silicon dioxide. Rare-earth cerium nitrate was evaluated as a sintering additive for the ceramics, whose mass percentage was 3%, 5%, 7%, 9%, and 11%, respectively. The sinterability of anorthite-diopside ceramics during heat treatment was confirmed by X-ray diffraction, transmission/scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis-differential thermal analysis, and hot-stage microscopy, respectively. The obtained results show that the density of ceramics gradually increases, while the sintering temperature and sintering activation energy of anorthite-diopside ceramics are notably decreased with the increasing cerium content. Rare-earth cerium not only is beneficial to the complete reaction of raw materials, but also can accelerate the mass transfer process through forming eutectic phase with aluminum. 

Key words: anorthite, diopside, cerium, eutectic phase, sintering