Resources, Conservation & Recycling 133 (2018) 191–205

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Resources, Conservation & Recycling

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/resconrec

Review

Feldspathic fluxes for ceramics: Sources, production trends and T

technological value
Michele Dondi
CNR-ISTEC, Institute of Science and Technology of Ceramic Materials, via Granarolo 64, 48018, Faenza, Italy

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Feldspathic fluxes are fundamental ingredients of many ceramic products, but little is known about the sources
Ceramics actually utilized by industry and the evolution over time. This paper reviews the sourcing of feldspathic raw
Feldspar materials over a long timespan (1971–2016) including viable substitutes (particularly recycled materials and
Flux end-of-life products). A large set of data was collected, critically assessed and elaborated to get an original
Material flows
insight into market dynamics. In addition, the technological value, based on composition and technological
Raw materials
properties of different fluxes, is referred to ceramic use and batch design. A detailed analysis of ongoing trends,
Waste recycling
mainly driven by the technological innovation in the ceramic tile industry, disclosed possible criticalities in the
medium-term supply of key raw materials, principally sodium feldspar from albitites. To mitigate this risk, three
actions are envisaged to improve the resource efficiency and sustainability of feldspathic fluxes: 1) full valor-
ization of primary deposits, 2) increasing recourse to alternative sources, 3) relaxing the technological con-
straints in ceramic applications.

1. Introduction is shortcutting or not reliable (Schneider et al., 2015; Speirs et al.,

Feldspathic fluxes are fundamental ingredients of many batches for
a wide range of ceramic products: wall and floor tiles, sanitaryware,
tableware, and related glazes and glassy coatings. Their primary func-
tion is to melt during firing, so providing a liquid phase that is re-
sponsible for viscous flow sintering and partial vitrification (Kyonka
and Cook, 1954; Cambier and Leriche, 1996; Zanelli et al., 2011).
Despite this crucial role, little is known about the production of
feldspathic fluxes actually utilized in ceramic manufacturing and its
evolution over time under the changing demand of the market.
Although feldspar deposits are described in the literature (e.g.,
McLemore, 2006; Potter, 2006), information available on distinct
sources – including substitutes and secondary raw materials – is in-
sufficient to draw a reliable picture of the production and use of
ceramic fluxes. Such a picture is essential to foresee industrial needs
and unveil possible criticalities for secure supply of fluxes (De Wulf
et al., 2016; Meinert et al., 2016), beyond the general assumption that
reserves are huge, simply because feldspars are the most abundant
minerals in the Earth’s crust. Account must be taken that industry de-
mand is linked to the technological behavior of feldspathic fluxes,
which varies according to their source, composition, and mineralurgical
processing (Dondi et al., 2001; Lewicka and Wyszomirski, 2010).
Without these pieces of information, any attempt to predict the future
scenario for the supply of ceramic fluxes and to address possible actions
2015).
Official statistics provide a valuable background for commodities
like feldspar and nepheline syenite (Reichl et al., 2015; Brown et al.,
2016a, 2016b; EC-RMIS, 2017) even extended over decades (USGS,
1971–2017). However, these databases are not intended to distinguish
the various sources, and often do not consider unconventional fluxes,
e.g. feldspar substitutes like sericite and volcanic ash, that are locally
important for the ceramic industry. In addition, there are problems with
nomenclature, since some flux sources are classified in a different way
(for instance, the boundary from feldspathic sand to silica sand varies
from country to country). These circumstances generate some gap and
mismatch in the figures of feldspar production between the various
databases.
About the use of feldspathic raw materials, an up-to-date link be-
tween flux properties and ceramic application is lacking in the litera-
ture, also because it varies with the technological innovation that is
changing processes and products, thus reflecting on batch formulations
and raw materials requirements (Dondi et al., 2014). Consequently, not
every feldspar source has the same importance from the ceramic in-
dustry viewpoint, and some typologies can turn into key raw materials,
i.e. those commodities essential for given ceramic products and/or to
achieve important technical performances (Calas, 2017; CRAM, 2017).
The present contribution aims at providing an up-to-date and
complete picture of the production of feldspathic fluxes for ceramics,

E-mail address: michele.dondi@istec.cnr.it.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.02.027
Received 12 January 2018; Received in revised form 21 February 2018; Accepted 21 February 2018
0921-3449/ © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
M. Dondi
Fig. 1. Distribution of the main mining districts of feldspathic raw materials currently in operation (Dondi, 2018).
through collection, critical assessment and elaboration of data from a
wide range of literature as well as statistical and industrial sources. The
goal is to get an insight into the dynamics that are taking place in the
market of feldspathic raw materials, as dictated by changes in the de-
mand by the major end-users, firstly ceramic tiles and sanitaryware
industries. This is essential to draw future scenarios, which can be
helpful to assess any risk for secure supply and plan sustainable actions
on both industrial sides: producers and end-users of feldspathic fluxes.
2. Methodological approach
Data on the production of feldspathic materials were collected from
the official statistics of each country, when accessible, integrated with
general databases (Taylor et al., 2005; Brown et al., 2016a, 2016b;
Reichl et al., 2015; USGS, 1971–2017; EC-RMIS, 2017) and information
made available by mineral suppliers (ICerS, 1995–2016). For some
countries, a reverse estimation of the actual flux consumption was
carried out, based on the ceramic tiles production figures (Baraldi,
2017), in order to check the declared feldspar outputs and get reliable
and robust figures. This operation was performed for any ceramic ty-
pology, whose amount of flux is known on average, under the as-
sumption of reasonable values for bulk density and thickness of ceramic
tiles in order to convert the tile production (expressed in square meters)
into mass of ceramic body (expressed in tons).
Additional information was gathered and elaborated to extract the
share attributable to different feldspar sources. This step was accom-
plished country by country, through a careful evaluation of the litera-
ture (e.g., McLemore, 2006; Potter, 2006) including reports of national
geological surveys and mining authorities (e.g., Coelho, 2009; Starý
et al., 2016; Indian Minerals Yearbook, 2017). However, an exhaustive
referencing goes beyond the scope of the present paper and the reader is
addressed to an extensive review of flux deposits (Dondi, 2018).
A particular attention has been paid to fluxes that are in use as
substitutes of feldspars, with special care on recycled materials, such as
mining residues, waste glasses, and so on.
Although the whole set of data extends along the period 1971–2016,
the discussion has been focused on the last two decades (since 1994
through 2016).
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Resources, Conservation & Recycling 133 (2018) 191–205
3. Sources of feldspathic raw materials
3.1. Naturally-occurring raw materials
Feldspathic raw materials are mined from a wide range of deposits
in different geological contexts (Fig. 1 and Table 1). In addition, fluxes
are recovered from secondary sources too.
The main sources are granitic suites, including acid differentiates
(pegmatites and aplites) and the corresponding extrusive and hypa-
byssal terms (rhyolites, porphyries). Leucogranites are the most im-
portant resources among granitoids. Relevant deposits are in operation
at: Spruce Pine, North Carolina, and Monticello, Georgia, United States
(Potter, 2006); in the Serie dei Laghi, Piemonte, Italy (Grisoni and
Boriani, 1990); Montebras, Allier, France (Dudoignon et al., 1988);
Lower Silesia, Poland (Ciesielczuk et al., 2008; Lewicka and
Wyszomirski, 2010); Jundiaí, Itupeva, Sorocaba and Mogi das Cruzes,
São Paulo, Brazil (Motta et al., 1998; Motta, pers. comm.)
Pegmatites are the traditional source of feldspar and dozens of
aplito-pegmatitic fields are mined all over the World (Černý and Ercit,
2005; Dill, 2015). The major districts are in:
- India, Rajasthan (Joshi et al., 2014) and Andhra Pradesh (Sarkar,
2001).
- Thailand, in the Ratchaburi, Ranong and Tak provinces
(Suwimonprecha et al., 1993).
- Argentina, in the Sierras Pampeanas (Galliski, 2009).
- China, in Fujian (Yueqing et al., 1987) and Altaj Range in Xinjiang
(Zhang and Chen, 2010).
- Iran, particularly in the Sanandaj-Sirjan zone (Masoudi et al., 2002;
Khalaji et al., 2007).
- South Africa, in various areas of the country (Von Backstrom, 1976).
- Portugal, in the north and centre of the country (Antunes et al.,
2013; Neiva et al., 2012).
- Brazil, principally in Borborema-Seridó, Paraíba and Rio Grande do
Norte (Beurlen, 1995) and the Eastern Brazilian pegmatite province,
Minas Gerais and Bahía (Bilal et al., 2001).
The major deposits of ‘aplite’ are in the Shigaraki area, Shiga and
Mie prefectures, Japan (Hirano and Sudo, 1994); Botro ai Marmi,
M. Dondi Resources, Conservation & Recycling 133 (2018) 191–205

Table 1
Sources of feldspathic raw materials for the ceramic industry.

Source Description Deposit (example)

Granitoids GRA Coarse-grained plutonic rocks, rich in feldspars and oversaturated in silica (quartz > 20%). Fluxes Spruce Pine, USA; Montebras, France;
are mainly recovered from granites (particularly leuco-granites) with minor granodiorites, Strzeblow, Poland.
alkaligranites, and some trondhjemites.
Pegmatites PEG Very coarse-grained basement rocks, abundant in feldspar, which in most cases are acid Sierras Pampeanas, Argentina; Black
differentiates of granitoids (or syenoids). Fluxes come from all subtypes: plutonic pegmatites, Hills, USA; Kyrkoberget, Finland.
pseudo-pegmatites, meta-pegmatites and pegmatoids.
Aplites APL Differentiates of granitoid (or syenoid) rocks with a fine-grained texture. Some fluxes are Botro ai Marmi, Italy; Shigaraki, Japan;
commercialised as “aplites”, as they exhibit an (apparent) aplitic texture, e.g. due to rock Montpelier, USA.
alteration.
Acid volcanics and RHY Extrusive acid rocks (rhyolite, rhyodacite, dacite, comendite) including subvolcanic and Ahuazotepec, Mexico; Lozzolo, Italy;
subvolcanics hypabyssal types (porphyry). Fluxes are recovered from lavas, domes, pyroclastics (cinerite, tuff, Türkismühle, Germany.
ignimbrite, and perlite) and veins.
Nepheline syenites and NSP Silica-undersaturated rocks containing feldspars and feldspathoids (nepheline, leucite, etc). Fluxes Blue Mountain, Canada; Stjernøy,
phonolites are typically obtained as nepheline syenite or its extrusive equivalent nepheline phonolite, but also Norway; Lages, Brazil.
ultrapotassic rocks can be utilized.
Feldspathic arenites ARK Feldspathic sandstones and conglomerates (and the corresponding unlithified sediments). Fluxes Florinas, Italy; Carrascal del Río, Spain;
are mostly recovered from arkoses and subarkoses, with some lithic arkoses as well. Hirschau, Germany.
Metamorphics MET Metamorphic equivalents of previous deposits (e.g., gneiss, porphyroid, micaschist, quartzite) Itapeva, Brazil; Campo Largo, Brazil;
mostly in the greenschist facies. Fluxes are mainly obtained from phyllites and gneisses. Robilante, Italy.
Albitites ALB Metasomatic rocks formed through an albitization process that leads to the formation of almost Menderes, Turkey; Ottana, Italy;
monomineralic bodies (albite after plagioclase and K-feldspar) under the action of metamorphic Salvezines, France.
fluids.
Epithermal alterations EPI Hydrothermal alteration giving rise to peculiar rock types: porcelain stone, eurite, agalmatolite, Amakusa, Japan; Crocetta, Italy; Gusev,
pinite, toseki and roseki (in Japanese), dunzi or baidunzi (in Chinese) including episyenite and Russia.
sanidinite.
Alternative sources Low-melting minerals alternative to feldspars; end-of-life materials and byproducts, typically see Table 3
feldspar bearing or largely glassy, such as mining residues, waste glasses, and combustion ashes.

Tuscany, Italy (Loschi Ghittoni, 1972) and Montpelier, Virginia, United
States (Potter, 2006).
Acid volcanic and subvolcanic rocks, essentially rhyolites and por-
phyries, are important sources of fluxes in Mexico, Ahuazotepec near
Puebla (Solana Lopez, 2012); Germany, across Saarland and Rheinland-
Pfalz (Bornhöft and Kleeberg, 2012); Italy, in Piemonte (Quick et al.,
2009), Tuscany (Viti et al., 2007) and Sardinia (Bornioli et al., 1994);
Russia, Kostomuksha and Roza-Lampi, Karelia (Il’ina et al., 1999);
Turkey: Kireç, Bileçik (Kara et al., 2009) and Ilgin, Konya (Kayaci et al.,
2010).
A few alkaline complexes with silica-undersaturated rocks are sup-
plying the ceramic industry. Nepheline syenite come basically from:
Canada, Blue Mountain in Ontario (Payne, 1968); Norway, Lillebukt in
the Stjernøy island close to the North Cape (Geis, 1979); Russia, Vish-
nevogorsk in Southern Urals (Nedosekova et al., 2009). Its extrusive
equivalent (nepheline phonolite) is mined principally in: Brazil, Lages
in Santa Catarina (Aumond and Scheibe, 1996); Germany, Brenk in the
Eifel (Bornhöft and Kleeberg, 2012); Czech Republic, Zelenický vŕch,
Northern Bohemia (Pazdernik, 1997).
Fluxes of sedimentary origin are obtained from feldspathic arenites,
mainly arkoses. The countries where this source is largely exploited are:
Italy, Loiano Formation in the northern Apennines (Bertolani et al.,
1984); Sassarese-Logudoro in Sardinia (De Carlo et al., 1990) and
Fossanova, Latium; Spain, Carrascal del Río and Río Pirón, Segovia
(Sánchez Muñoz and García Guinea, 1992); Germany, Hirschau-
Schnaitterbach in Bavaria (Dill et al., 2016); Unites States, in California,
Arkansas, and Idaho (Potter, 2006).
Metamorphic and metasomatic rocks are extensively utilized by the
ceramic industry, especially albitites and phyllites. The largest albitite
deposits are in the Menderes massif in southwestern Turkey (Çakır,
2005; Uygun and Gümüşçü, 2000). Further big mining districts are in
central Sardinia, Italy (Palomba, 2001; Castorina et al., 2006) and
eastern Pyrenées, France (Boulvais et al., 2007; Poujol et al., 2010).
Phyllites are essentially mined in Brazil (Biondi and Marczynski 2004;
de Andrade et al., 2008) with the major deposits in São Paulo (Itapeva
and Pirapora do Bom Jesus), Paraná (Campo Largo) and Minas Gerais
(Igarapé).
Deposits generated through low temperature hydrothermal (epi-
thermal) alteration provide a set of peculiar fluxes (e.g., eurite and
pottery stone) characterized by a significant amount of low melting
minerals, such as sericite. Important deposits are in Japan for pottery
stone, e.g. Amakusa and Taishu (Hirano and Sudo, 1994; Nakagawa and
Matsuura, 1994) and in Italy for eurite at the Elba Island, Tuscany
(Maineri et al., 2003; Benvenuti et al., 2006).
There has been a rather balanced recourse to such different sources,
as it stands out considering the cumulative production in the period
1971–2016 (Fig. 2A). Along with the main types (albitites, granites,
pegmatites, and nepheline syenites), there is a significant contribution
by all the other sources, which in many cases have a strong importance
locally, as for feldspathic sands, aplites, acid volcanics, phyllites and
epithermal alterations.
However, the current picture is substantially altered by the out-
standing increase in the output of albitites, which ensures around 37%
of the present flux demand worldwide. Apart pegmatites, which slightly
grew their share, the remaining sources see their slices shrink in the
global pie: moderately for granites and feldspathic arenites, but con-
sistently for the remaining fluxes (Fig. 2B).
A completely different perspective is offered by considering the
number of mines in operation. Two thirds of deposits under exploitation
are in pegmatitic fields, while the mines active on albitites and granites
sum up to about 9% and 7%, respectively, of the total number. All the
other sources have shares below 5% (Fig. 2C). This implies a different
size of mines (Table 2): much larger for albitites (on average 129
thousand tons per year) than for pegmatites (mean output 10 thousand
tons per year). The other sources have a mean production per mine
comprised between approximately 23 and 74 thousand tons per year.
The recourse to the different sources of fluxes, all along the period
1994–2016, is pictured in Fig. 3. Despite some annual fluctuations, like
those in correspondence of the economic recession in 2008–2013, a
general trend clearly stands out.
The classic sources based on granitoids and acid differentiates
(pegmatites, aplites, granites, porphyries) denote a declining relative
importance, since their contribution to the global market of fluxes went
from ∼60% (in the early 1990s) down to the current ∼40%. Other

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M. Dondi Resources, Conservation & Recycling 133 (2018) 191–205

Fig. 2. Contribution of the various sources to the total output of feldspathic fluxes: (A) cumulative production in the period 1971–2016 and (B) year 2016. Number of mines in operation
in the last decade for each source (C).

Table 2
Estimated outputs and number of mines operating on feldspathic fluxes.

Sources Output (thousand tons) Number of operating mines Mean output per mine
(2016) (1000 t per year)
1971–2016 2007–2016 2016

Albitites 120,641 78,942 8380 65 129

Pegmatites 99,890 41,303 4675 470 10
Granitoids 94,690 33,849 3617 50 72
Feldspathic arenites 64,250 25,392 2542 35 73
Nepheline syenites 49,947 13,687 1477 20 74
Aplites 35,303 7210 710 20 36
Epithermal alterations 23,391 3633 343 15 23
Rhyolites and porphyries 22,243 7026 562 20 28
Metamorphics 17,922 10,352 343 10 34

fluxes – like feldspathic arenite, nepheline syenite, phyllite and pottery
stone – suffered a less accentuated (relative) contraction, since their
share passed from ∼30% (early 1990s) to the present ∼25%. It was the
outstanding growth in albitite production, which increased from ∼10%
(early 1990s) to ∼40% nowadays, to revolutionize the international
market (Fig. 3).
3.2. Secondary raw materials
Along with primary deposits, ceramic fluxes are collected from al-
ternatives sources as well. The idea to substitute feldspar in ceramic tile
bodies by non-conventional fluxes goes back at least to the 1970s.
Nevertheless, a detailed review of these attempts goes beyond the scope
of this paper. Thus, only feldspar substitutes that actually went on

Fig. 3. Relative importance of the different sources of ceramic fluxes in the period 1994–2016. Abbreviations as in Table 1.

194
M. Dondi
Table 3
Fluxes used in ceramic tilemaking as alternative to feldspathic materials.
Source Short description
Alternative minerals rocks containing low melting components that can act as flux, like sericite, volcanic
glass, and so on.
Mining residues quarry dumps of ornamental stones.
tailings from processing of feldspathic rocks and ornamental stones.
End-of-life products secondary raw materials from the selective recovery of municipal wastes.
Processing wastes residues of ceramic manufacturing, as fired scraps and wastewater or grinding sludges.
mainly outcome of combustion processes, like municipal waste incinerator ashes and
biomass-based thermal power plant ashes.
production are here considered. They can be reconducted to the four
sources in Table 3.
The market relevance of fluxes alternative to feldspathic materials is
rather differentiated: from raw materials widely utilized by the ceramic
industry to secondary materials seldom in use. Alternative low-melting
materials – like sericite featuring epithermal alterations or natural glass
in volcanic rocks – are constituents of well-known fluxes, such as pot-
tery stone (Hirano and Sudo, 1994; Nakagawa and Matsuura, 1994),
eurite (Maineri et al., 2003; Benvenuti et al., 2006) or some rhyolite
(Bornioli et al., 1994; Kayaci et al., 2010).
Further industrial minerals are sometimes employed in ceramic
batches, but in low amount, as a sort of sintering promoter, like talc
(McCarthy et al., 2006), diopside (Azarov et al., 1995; Kuzmickas et al.,
2013), dolomite (Ke et al., 2013), chlorite-bearing rocks (Biasini et al.,
2003) and basic igneous rocks (Kelling et al., 2000).
Feldspathic materials can be obtained from quarry dumps, instead
of freshly mined rocks, with environmental benefit and slope stabili-
zation as well (Dino et al., 2012). This source – mostly residing on
granite (Bozzola et al., 1995a 1995b), gneiss (Souza et al., 2010), and
quartzite dumps (Dino et al., 2005) – is important for some ceramic
districts. Further mining residues − such as tailings from granite (Eddy,
1972; Hojamberdiev et al., 2011) or pegmatite (Pereira Leite et al.,
2014) beneficiation – have been proposed and perhaps found some
local utilisation in the ceramic industry. An extensively investigated
case is that of sludges from cutting and polishing of ornamental stones,
particularly granite (Acchar et al., 2006; Aguiar et al., 2014; Gadioli
et al., 2012; Hernández-Crespo and Rincón, 2001; Menezes et al., 2002,
2005, 2008; Segadães et al., 2005; Torres et al., 2004, 2007). However,
they have not found a generalised use yet, because of technological
problems connected with contaminants introduced during the proces-
sing, especially steel dust (after grinding media) and lime (added as
sludge thickener).
The use of end-of-life products, essentially glassy materials from
municipal waste sorting, is a target since a long time (Brown and
Mackenzie, 1992). In the last decade, it turned into a common practice
in some supply chain of the ceramic tile industry (Bozzola et al., 2012).
A successful option consists in adding a few percent of waste glass to a
feldspathic raw material in order to improve its fusibility (Carbonchi
et al., 2003). The positive impact of recycling is strengthened when we
are dealing with a waste-of-waste, i.e. a residue of processing to recover
a secondary raw material for the glass industry (as in the case of bottle
glass sorting). The end-of-life products currently utilized in ceramic
manufacturing encompass glasses of various origin and composition:
- soda-lime container glass (Matteucci et al., 2002; Rambaldi et al.,
2007a; SASIL, 2009).
- BaO- and SrO-rich glass from PC-TV screen (Raimondo et al., 2007;
Andreola et al., 2010).
- borosilicate vial glass (Andreola et al., 2016).
- different glasses from various types (incandescence, neon glow, fluor-
escence, and led) of lamps (de Araújo et al., 2014; Kim et al., 2016).
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Resources, Conservation & Recycling 133 (2018) 191–205
Examples
epithermal alterations (Table 1) talc, diopside,
chlorite, dolomite.
granite, gneiss and quartzite dumps.
granite fines, granite and quartzite cutting and
polishing sludges.
waste glasses from: bottle, PC-TV screen, lamp and
vial.
porcelain stoneware or vitreous china scraps and
grinding sludges.
stabilized municipal waste incinerator ash, wood ash.
Another source of secondary raw materials is the manufacture of
vitrified ceramics, such as porcelain stoneware tiles and vitreous china
sanitaryware, which generates both fired scraps and processing sludges,
e.g. from wastewater treatment or grinding operations. The ceramic
industry can cannibalize such residues, being to a large extent glassy, in
partial replacement of conventional fluxes (Rambaldi et al., 2007b;
Nandi et al., 2015; Tarhan et al., 2017).
Some municipal wastes, such as stabilized incinerator ashes
(Andreola et al., 2001; Rambaldi et al., 2010; Schabbach et al., 2012)
have been experimented as secondary raw materials by the ceramic tile
industry and in a few cases entered in use for a while. Their extremely
high fusibility, particularly in case of biomass combustion ashes from
thermal power plants, makes them good candidates as fluxes, but sev-
eral technological hindrances are still to be overcome prior any gen-
eralised utilisation. As a matter of fact, there are problems in handling
and storage (due to hygroscopicity and reactivity with moisture), slip
rheological behavior (boost in viscosity) and high iron content (darker
colour after firing).
4. Technological value
Ceramic batches are designed to fulfil several technological re-
quirements, which involve both the behavior during processing and the
product performance (Singer and Singer, 1963; Dondi et al., 2014). In
order to ensure the desired properties, different types of raw materials
have to be utilized, each playing a specific role in the manufacturing
steps (Table 4).
The technological role of fluxes in ceramic bodies mainly consists in
forming a liquid phase during firing by melting alkali feldspars, sericite
and further minerals. This phenomenon can involve also other phases,
like quartz, giving rise to eutectic-like melts (Becker et al., 1999). Such
a liquid phase fills at high temperature the original porosity of unfired
bodies and promotes densification by viscous flow (Cambier and
Leriche, 1996; Zanelli et al., 2018). Finally, the liquid turns into a
vitreous phase during cooling, so embedding fillers and ensuring the
technical performance of the ceramic product (Sánchez et al., 2006,
2010). The sintering kinetics mostly depends on the viscosity and sur-
face tension of the liquid phase, which in turn is function of the che-
mical composition of glass (Zanelli et al., 2011). For this reason, the
chemical composition of fluxes is a key point to predict their techno-
logical behavior and effects during sintering.
4.1. Composition and technological properties of primary fluxes
The fluxes coming from the various sources are characterized by
their own composition for a combination of different factors: from
petrologic and mineralogical traits to the yield during beneficiation
treatments. An averaged chemical and mineralogical composition,
calculated as a touchstone for commercial fluxes, can be used to com-
pare different sources (Table 5). Granitoids and acid differentiates
usually provide mixed Na-K fluxes with a more or less abundant quartz.
M. Dondi Resources, Conservation & Recycling 133 (2018) 191–205

Table 4
Basic technological roles of the components of a ceramic tile batch.

Technological function Actions in tile-making Raw materials (examples)

Plasticity provider forming a stable water suspension (slip); allowing a proper compaction during pressing; bestowing ball clay, red clay, marly clay, kaolin.
mechanical strength on unfired tiles; precursor of mullite (kaolinite-bearing).
Flux forming a liquid phase at high temperature; allowing the body densification by viscous flow; creating a feldspathic fluxes, talc, Li-minerals,
vitreous phase embedding fillers. dolomite, glasses.
Filler acting as skeleton that helps to control the tile shrinkage during drying and firing; damping pyroplastic quartz, silica sand, quartz-feldspathic
deformations by increasing the body viscosity at high temperature. fluxes, chamotte.
Additive modulating single issues of the technological behavior, e.g., slip rheology, green density, dry bending deflocculant, binder (bentonite), whiting
strength, firing shrinkage, pyroplasticity, colour after firing. (zircon, calcite).

Table 5
Averaged composition of commercial fluxes from primary sources.

Granitoids Pegmatites Aplites Acid volcanics and Nepheline syenites Feldspathic Metamorphics Albitites Pottery stones
subvolcanics and phonolites arenites (phyllites) and eurites

n 58 120 32 25 24 84 19 43 53
SiO2 73.11 69.12 70.87 74.28 58.13 83.99 69.01 68.88 74.48
TiO2 0.06 0.06 0.14 0.12 0.19 0.09 0.55 0.22 0.17
Al2O3 15.14 17.32 17.02 14.24 22.45 8.74 18.40 18.30 16.50
Fe2O3 0.32 0.19 0.29 0.81 0.76 0.32 1.99 0.26 0.63
MgO 0.11 0.14 0.22 0.28 0.29 0.17 1.03 0.87 0.27
CaO 0.74 0.55 0.88 0.56 1.06 0.64 0.21 0.91 0.48
Na2O 4.17 4.18 5.15 1.93 8.63 1.26 0.39 9.12 0.87
K2O 5.21 7.63 4.57 5.81 6.72 3.89 4.44 0.51 3.71
L.o.I. 0.67 0.60 0.75 1.98 1.46 1.03 3.94 0.79 2.61
Total 99.53 99.79 99.89 100.01 99.68 100.12 99.93 99.87 99.73
Plagioclase 39 38 48 19 33 14 4 82 10
K-feldspar 31 45 27 34 40 23 – 3 –
Nepheline – – – – 23 – – – –
Sericite – – – – – – 38 – 31
Quartz 27 14 21 39 – 60 45 11 51
Accessories 3 3 4 7 4 3 13 5 8
Fusibility very low to low to high low to high very low to low very high very low to low low to medium high low to medium
medium

n = number of compositions averaged.

Nevertheless, pegmatites allow a selective mining, by which potassic
(and sometimes sodic) feldspar can be recovered. Fluxes mined from
acid volcanic rocks – and especially porphyries – are characterized by
K > Na and a high amount of silica minerals.
Such a potassic signature is found in fluxes obtained from arenites as
well, where orthoclase is typically prevailing over plagioclase, together
with a very high percentage of quartz. Also phyllites, eurites and pot-
tery stones are in general predominantly potassic and rich in quartz, but
here the main alkali source is frequently sericite. Albitites represent the
main source of sodic feldspar (Na ≫ K) with a low amount of quartz.
Nepheline syenites and phonolites provide quartz-free, mixed Na-K
fluxes with a more or less significant amount of nepheline.
A specific technological behavior, notably in terms of fusibility, can
be associated to these compositional features (Table 5) and can be
graphically expressed by contrasting the softening and melting tem-
peratures (Fig. 4):
- very high fusibility is exhibited by quartz-free and feldspathoid-
bearing fluxes, remarkably rich in feldspars, like nepheline syenites
and phonolites;
- high fusibility is characteristic of quartz-poor and feldspar-rich
fluxes, particularly when sodic terms are prevailing, as in albitites
and some pegmatites and aplites;
- medium to low fusibility is found for quartz-poor fluxes, based on
mixed Na-K feldspars or sericite, as happens with most pegmatites,
aplites, phyllites and some granitoids;
- low to very low fusibility is observed when fluxes have large amount
of quartz and mixed feldspars, especially with a potassic signature,
like in the case of many granitoids, acid volcanics and arenites;
- extremely high fusibility occurs just in case of low-silica fluxes with
high amounts of iron and alkaline-earth oxides, as typically seen for
basic rocks (e.g., basalts).
4.2. Composition and technological properties of secondary fluxes
In general, fluxes obtained from alternative sources exhibit a com-
pletely different composition with respect to conventional feldspathic
materials (Table 6). Exception is made of some mining residues, and
particularly those recovered from dumps of ornamental stones, which
have chemical and mineralogical features analogous to granitoids, and
consequently a rather low fusibility.
Overall, waste glasses constitute a class with a great compositional
variance, due to the wide range of applications (container, screen,
lamp, vial, etc) each requiring its own glass performance and chemistry.
Compared to feldspathic fluxes, waste glasses usually have a low per-
centage of alumina and a high amount of alkaline and alkaline earth
oxides. In addition, some types contain elements – like barium, stron-
tium and boron – that in primary fluxes are present just in traces. Such
chemical features bestow on these secondary fluxes an extremely high
fusibility, with softening and melting temperatures comparable to ba-
salts in Fig. 4 and even lower. These characteristics render the waste
glass an ideal additive, playing as sintering promoter, but turn difficult
its introduction in large amount into a ceramic batch in replacement of
feldspathic materials.
Ceramic scraps are perfectly compatible with primary fluxes, of
course, being in origin a mixture of feldspars, quartz and clay minerals.
Consequently, these wastes are richer in alumina and poorer in alkalis
than many feldspathic materials. Their technological behavior is similar
to quartz-rich, mixed Na-K fluxes and characterized by a low fusibility.

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M. Dondi Resources, Conservation & Recycling 133 (2018) 191–205

Fig. 4. Fusibility chart (modified after Dondi et al., 2001) of feldspathic fluxes from different sources, based on softening and melting (half-sphere) temperatures, as measured by hot-
stage microscopy.

4.3. Fluxes in ceramic batch design
Fluxes are introduced in the various ceramic batches in different
amount: from a few percent up to 60% and over (Fig. 5). The quantity
of flux depends on the characteristics of finished products: porous,
semi-vitrified or vitrified bodies, and engobes or glassy coatings
(Sánchez et al., 1990; Galán and Aparicio, 2006; Dondi et al., 2014).
These features are somehow related to the sintering temperature, which
in turn is function of the amount and physical properties at high tem-
perature of the liquid phase (Becker et al., 1999, Conte et al., 2018).
Vitrified bodies, like porcelain and vitreous china, are fired at high
temperature (≥1300 °C) and require a moderate amount of flux
(15–30%, preferentially potassic). In order to get highly vitrified bodies
at a relatively low temperature (1180–1220 °C, as in the case of por-
celain stoneware and fine stoneware) it is necessary to increase the flux
percentage to 45–65% (favored are sodic terms). Furthermore, felds-
pathic raw materials are sometimes used in porous and/or red-firing
bodies as well, despite the low firing temperature (1050–1150 °C) at
which a dual role is played: filler and to a minor extent fluxing.
Therefore, fluxes play a key-role in vitrified products (porcelain,
vitreous china, porcelain stoneware, fine stoneware) where the che-
mical composition of raw materials determines the firing behavior and
basic technological properties, like the sintering kinetics and pyr-
oplasticity (Buchtel et al., 2004; Zanelli et al., 2011; dos Santos
Conserva et al., 2017). Nevertheless, the industrial use of fluxes is
changing upon the driving force of environmental sustainability and

Table 6
Composition of commercial fluxes from alternative sources.

Granite dump Gneiss dump Container glass PC TV screen Fluorescent lamp LCD screen Porcelain Vitreous MWIBA MWIBA
(ICerS, (Souza et al., (ICerS, glass (Andreola glass (Andreola glass (Kim stoneware scrap china scrap (Schabbach (Rambaldi
1995–2016) 2010) 1995–2016) et al., 2010) et al., 2016) et al., 2016) (Rambaldi et al., (Tarhan et al., 2012) et al., 2010)
2007b) et al., 2017)

SiO2 75.90 66.43 71.60 61.23 68.89 60.10 64.06 74.29 47.40 34.22
TiO2 0.02 0.83 0.07 0.35 – – 0.48 0.40 0.75 1.54
ZrO2 – – – 0.91 – – 1.10 0.19 – –
B2O3 – – – – – 10.30 – – 0.56 –
Al2O3 11.10 17.26 2.40 2.56 2.29 16.80 16.54 21.44 9.95 13.46
Fe2O3 0.19 3.70 0.35 0.10 0.08 0.03 0.50 0.90 4.38 5.73
MgO 0.40 0.32 2.00 0.76 3.00 0.44 4.63 0.29 2.91 4.67
CaO 2.70 2.23 9.70 1.13 5.16 7.60 1.40 0.52 18.80 35.58
ZnO – – – 0.18 – – – – 0.34 0.26
SrO – – – 8.84 0.07 4.20 – – – –
BaO – – – 10.03 0.95 0.48 – – – –
PbO – – – – – – – – 0.31 0.32
Na2O 5.20 1.01 12.70 8.27 17.75 – 4.43 0.09 – 2.29
K2O 4.00 7.49 1.00 5.56 1.62 – 2.05 0.99 – 1.68
P2O5 – – – – – – – – 1.26 –
SO3 – – – – – – – – 1.01 –

MWIBA: Municipal waste incinerator bottom ash.

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M. Dondi
Fig. 5. Amount of flux (weight percent) introduced in industrial batches for various ceramic products.
technological innovation. In the latest years, the ceramic industry is
increasingly demanding for fluxes with high fusibility, because they
allow to move towards a sustainable manufacturing through a double
action:
- ensure a lower temperature and a shorter time of firing in order to
reduce the energy consumption per unit of finished product;
- enable the use of other fluxes with low or very low fusibility,
available locally and/or at a lower price, in order to improve the
resource efficiency.
The substantial role played by innovation in varying the use of raw
materials is here exemplified by trends occurring in the Sassuolo-
Scandiano district, which has the technological leadership for ceramic
tiles (Fig. 6). Within this sector, porcelain stoneware is continuously
gaining market share, especially with the present traction towards ever
larger sizes, reaching 120 × 240 cm up to 180 × 480 cm each slab
(Raimondo et al., 2010). The bodies utilized for such large slabs require
a high amount of fluxes (preferentially sodic to improve the sintering
kinetics) and a lower filler-to-flux ratio (to minimize the risk of cooling
defects). This trend is inducing a growing demand for fluxes from al-
bitites that reverberate in the international market, since all the other
ceramic tile districts are starting to manufacture porcelain stoneware
large slabs.
5. Trends in the production of feldspathic raw materials
Information on the production of feldspathic materials and alter-
native fluxes, arranged country by country, is provided in Table 7.
Along with the estimated output in 2016, the cumulative amount in the
period 1971–2016 is indicated together with the peak production. In
Fig. 6. Raw materials used in ceramic tiles manufacturing: estimation since 1990 and
prediction to 2020 of the average batch in the Sassuolo-Scandiano district (Italy).
198
Resources, Conservation & Recycling 133 (2018) 191–205
addition, the recent trend is outlined as production in the last decade
and difference between 2007 and 2016 (plus/minus).
Gathering all data, the global output of feldspathic raw materials
sums up to 28.779 million tons in 2016: a figure distinctly greater than
the total elaborated by different databases, which range from 22.7
million tons (USGS, 1971–2017) to 26.2 million tons (Brown et al.,
2016b) or 26.8 million tons (EC-RMIS, 2017). This is to a certain extent
justified by the inclusion of alternative fluxes, particularly pottery stone
and phyllite.
The evolution of the global production highlights a continuous
growth over time (Fig. 7A) but for some strong fluctuations occurred in
the last decade, most in charge of albitite suppliers (Fig. 7B). They are
essentially linked to market dynamics in the Mediterranean countries in
correspondence with the economic recession in the period 2008–2012.
Such a general increment in the production of feldspathic raw materials
took place according to three main trends:
1) A slight increase, at the average rate of +162 thousand tons per
year, occurred along two decades (1971–1990). The ongoing model
was substantially based on the flux consumption by domestic
ceramic and glass industries, with the exception of some products
with a significant export share (potassic feldspar and nepheline
syenite).
2) A fast growth observed in the period 1991–2005, at the average
pace of +546 thousand tons per year. It was essentially driven by
the mounting demand from ceramic tiles makers, depicted in Fig. 7A
in terms of tonnage of raw materials utilized in their batches. Such
an expansion was made possible by the increasing productive ca-
pacity, at a similar rate, of pegmatites, granites, arenites, and par-
ticularly albitites; the other sources exhibit a steady output or just a
slight increment in the same period (Fig. 7B). This situation marks
an enlargement of the international market of feldspathic raw ma-
terials, dominated by the albitite exportation from Turkey, and the
set-up of a stable supply chain to the major tile-making districts,
especially Sassuolo-Scandiano in Italy.
3) A booming output in the last decade, at the average rate of +777
thousand tons per year. It is still well correlated with the increasing
demand from the ceramic industry (Fig. 7A) and justified by the
worldwide diffusion of the production of porcelain stoneware tiles
(whose batches contain the largest amount of fluxes, see Fig. 5) prior
basically restricted to Italy. At variance with the previous trend,
such a further growth has been fundamentally implemented through
an expansion in the capacity of albitite producers (and to a minor
extent of pegmatite suppliers) since the other sources show just a
limited production increment or even a diminution since 2006, as
for arenites and aplites (Fig. 7B).
M. Dondi Resources, Conservation & Recycling 133 (2018) 191–205

Table 7
World production of feldspathic fluxes (and alternatives).

country output 2016 peak production cumulative 1971–2016 last decade 2007–2016 plus/minus (2016)–(2007)

tons tons year tons × 1000 tons × 1000 tons × 1000

Algeria 250,000 258,700 2013 1941 1773 167

Argentina 220,000 291,562 2007 4289 2325 −72
Australia 40,000 103,000 2010 1432 721 −10
Austria 35,000 35,000 2013 476 307 8
Brazil 1,800,000 1,955,000 2014 26,065 13,541 821
Bulgaria 80,000 93,091 2006 1161 820 −10
Burma – 12,000 1998 195 – –
Canada 700,000 721,000 2015 28,870 6316 10
Chile 7000 17,834 2008 198 77 0
China 2,700,000 2,700,000 2016 42,700 23,900 700
Colombia 20,000 100,000 2005 2319 600 −71
Cuba 3000 14,400 1998 156 37 −3
Czech Republic 440,000 514,000 2007 8377 4379 −74
Ecuador 300,000 300,000 2016 2084 1587 236
Egypt 200,000 407,320 2008 6036 2565 65
Ethiopia 500 1500 2010 9 6 0
Finland 40,000 82,000 1980 2425 387 −9
France 600,000 706,000 1998 19,902 5950 −50
Germany 310,000 463,000 1976 15,625 2641 139
Greece – 96,000 2000 1234 277 −95
Guatemala 10,000 45,854 2008 563 175 −20
India 1,500,000 1,512,982 2013 13,460 10,115 1014
Indonesia 1,100,000 1,758,900 2011 11,648 10,213 750
Iran 1,000,000 1,313,233 2013 11,208 8432 488
Italy 2,300,000 4,727,000 2007 80,579 26,756 −2427
Japan 180,000 1,413,558 1995 37,084 3534 −735
Jordan 10,000 14,000 2005 147 68 0
Kenya 40 2163 1972 23 0 0
Korea 600,000 622,700 2009 12,960 4679 201
Macedonia 20,000 38,124 2006 469 220 −13
Madagascar – 770 1976 2 – –
Malaysia 350,000 457,377 2008 4243 3752 −9
Mexico 160,000 459,209 2006 9457 3028 −279
Morocco 45,000 45,000 2012 564 394 25
Mozambique – 1000 1977 7 – –
Nigeria 12,000 13,631 2009 173 74 10
Norway 320,000 441,000 1973 17,038 3469 −85
Pakistan 40,000 92,672 2014 1002 410 27
Peru 20,000 64,749 1987 523 155 5
Philippines 30,000 168,000 1990 1240 240 15
Poland 600,000 600,000 2016 8903 5292 102
Portugal 100,000 230,400 2008 3679 1338 −69
Romania 12,000 95,000 1985 2142 136 −33
Russia 500,000 521,500 2013 11,074 3480 455
Saudi Arabia 170,000 227,000 2012 1289 1289 97
Serbia 20,000 66,005 1973 1162 138 17
Slovakia 5000 13,000 2009 95 53 0
South Africa 130,000 191,443 2013 2993 1126 50
Spain 600,000 691,900 2010 15,272 6142 −83
Sri Lanka 100,000 100,000 2016 1192 762 71
Sudan 100,000 100,000 2016 313 313 100
Sweden 30,000 64,000 1980 1868 277 −12
Taiwan – 29,000 1986 205 4 –
Thailand 1,100,000 1,413,428 2014 22,881 9776 415
Turkey 9,021,000 9,479,699 2012 93,578 72,048 2472
Ukraine 45,000 178,614 2011 1033 1033 −31
United Kingdom – 69,248 1971 857 5 −2
United States 550,000 900,000 1997 32,467 5720 −180
Uruguay 200 3016 1987 84 6 −2
Uzbekistan 4000 80,000 1992 501 41 0
Venezuela 50,000 227,000 1995 4309 927 −150
Vietnam 200,000 200,000 2016 1800 1800 200
Zambia – 1959 1974 5 – –
Zimbabwe – 3920 1995 47 – –
TOTAL 28,779,740 575,320 255,627

Fig. 8 depicts how such changes in the flux demand affected the
extractive capacity of each source over the last two decades, i.e. cov-
ering the trends 2 and 3 above described. Along with the outstanding
growth in the production from albitite deposits (on average 340,000
tons more every year, about 400% of increment) there are also
important developments concerning pegmatites (+130%), feldspathic
arenites (+105%), granitoids (+100%) and phyllites (+95%). A minor
increment is registered for nepheline syenites (+60%) and acid vol-
canics (+30%), whilst the output of aplites and epithermal alterations
appears to be in contraction (−25% and −50%, respectively).

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M. Dondi Resources, Conservation & Recycling 133 (2018) 191–205

Fig. 7. Trends in the production of feldspathic raw materials and alternative fluxes: global output in the period 1971–2016, compared with the demand from the ceramic tile industry (A);
contribution of the different flux sources in the period 1994–2016 (B).

The ranking of the most important producers of feldspathic raw Italy, China, Brazil, Indonesia, India, Thailand, Iran and Spain) ensure
materials is shown in Table 8, where the top 25 countries are listed for ∼70% of the global demand. These countries rank also first in the list of
the cumulative output in the period 1971–2016 and in the last decade the major tile makers, thus corroborating the overwhelming role of
(2007–2016). It is significant that the nine major producers (Turkey, ceramic manufacturers on the flux market in most countries. However,

Fig. 8. Variation in the production of feldspathic fluxes from various sources occurred along the last two decades: difference in tonnage (A) and as percent of the 1996 output (B).

Table 8
Top 25 countries producing feldspathic materials and alternatives fluxes in comparison with the production of ceramic tiles.

Country Flux output 1971–2016 (tons × 1000) Country Flux output 2007–2016 (tons × 1000) Country Ceramic tiles 2007–2016 (million m2)

Turkey 93 578 Turkey 72 048 China 48 565

Italy 80 579 Italy 26 756 Brazil 7 993
China 42 700 China 23 900 India 6 503
Japan 37 084 Brazil 13 541 Spain 4 343
U.S.A. 32 467 Indonesia 10 213 Italy 4 150
Canada 28 870 India 10 115 Iran 3 845
Brazil 26 065 Thailand 9 776 Vietnam 3 449
Thailand 22 881 Iran 8 432 Indonesia 3 225
France 19 902 Canada 6 316 Turkey 2 780
Norway 17 038 Spain 6 142 Mexico 2 274
Germany 15 625 France 5 950 Egypt 1 940
Spain 15 272 U.S.A. 5 720 Thailand 1 628
India 13 460 Poland 5 292 Russia 1 435
Korea 12 960 Korea 4 679 Poland 1 289
Indonesia 11 648 Czech Rep. 4 379 U.A.E. 912
Iran 11 208 Malaysia 3 752 Malaysia 900
Russia 11 074 Japan 3 534 Saudi Arabia 788
Mexico 9 457 Russia 3 480 Argentina 736
Poland 8 903 Norway 3 469 Colombia 675
Czech Rep. 8 377 Mexico 3 028 USA 669
Egypt 6 036 Germany 2 641 Portugal 634
Venezuela 4 309 Egypt 2 565 Morocco 596
Argentina 4 289 Argentina 2 325 Ukraine 559
Malaysia 4 243 Vietnam 1 800 Germany 548
Portugal 3 679 Algeria 1 773 Peru 458

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Table 9
Accessible data for reserves of feldspathic fluxes (USGS, 1971–2017; EC-RMIS, 2017;
Garcia-Ten and Regueiro, 2008) and static index of reserves (based on the 2016 output for
every country).
Country Reserves (million tons) Static Index of Reserves (years left)
Brazil 320
Czech Rep. 28
Egypt 1000
India 45
Iran 630
Poland 14
Spain 40
Turkey 240
there is not an exact matching between the rankings of flux and ceramic
tile producers, because there are countries that excavate much more
than the domestic consumption, so being the main exporters of fluxes
(e.g., Turkey, Canada, France or Norway).
On the other hand, a ceramic tile production focused on vitrified
products implies a consumption of fluxes much larger than competitors
do, when referred to the output: it is the case of Italy (4.8 million tons:
2.3 produced plus 2.5 imported). Opposite is the case of China, Brazil
and India, which are the major tiles manufacturers, but have a rela-
tively small consumption of fluxes with respect to Italy. This is due to
different tile typologies that are manufactured, which make use of a
lower amount of fluxes. Emblematic is the case of the big ceramic
district of Santa Gertrudes, São Paulo, Brazil, which has been mainly
producing red stoneware with a low percentage of fluxes and phyllite
instead of feldspars (Motta et al., 1998). Similar considerations may be
valid for China too, even though some underestimation of the actual
Chinese consumption of fluxes is presumable, looking at the large gap
between the figures of the extractive and ceramic industries. It might be
envisaged that some flux sources escape the official statistics for feld-
spar, as could be the case of pottery stone or granitoids.
Two factors are necessary, among others, to draw the future sce-
nario for secure supply of feldspathic fluxes: available reserves and
number of potential suppliers. Overall, reserves are thought to be
“large”, even though their quantification is the weakest point for
feldspathic fluxes. As a matter of fact, data are accessible just for a few
countries, but seldom referred to a specific source. Even when avail-
able, figures are approximate and not directly comparable to each
Fig. 9. Cumulative curves of the contribution of the ten biggest mining districts, for each source, to the global production. Districts are arranged along the x-coordinate from 1 (the largest
output) to 10 (the tenth output) in order of decreasing production. The corresponding output (y-coordinate) is expressed as percentage of the total production for every flux source. Period
1971–2016 (left) and the situation based on the 2016 data (right).
Resources, Conservation & Recycling 133 (2018) 191–205
other, due to different approaches followed in the various countries to
define the reserves (Meinert et al., 2016). Anyway, accessible data are
summarized, along with the static index of reserves, in Table 9.
Clearly different situations stand out, spanning from an optimistic
evaluation, with sufficient reserves for centuries at the present rate of
consumption (Brazil, Egypt, Iran), to a realistic picture with an amount
941
of fluxes available for two or three decades with current mining pro-
64
> 1000 duction (India, Poland, Turkey). In any case, information available is
30 not enough for any serious assessment of medium-term criticalities in
630 supply of feldspathic materials, and a further effort is needed to achieve
23 this goal.
67
It must be clear that present reserves listed in Table 9 are not the
27
potential resources of fluxes, and much less the whole available re-
sources (“all there is”, Meinert et al., 2016). They represent an esti-
mation of the amount of feldspathic fluxes available for mining with the
current technologies and market requirements (which are in continuous
innovation).
The concentration of supply was estimated taking into account the
biggest ten mining districts in the World for each source and plotting
their cumulative contribution to the global production. The global
picture along the period 1971–2016 (Fig. 9A) is compared with the
present situation (Fig. 9B). The resulting trends let to envisage a dif-
ferent risk of supply for the various sources: the steeper are the curves
and the stronger is the concentration on a few suppliers (intended as
mining districts).
For the most important source of feldspathic fluxes, i.e. albitites, the
situation appears to be somehow critical: Turkey alone supplies over
90% of the current demand. When the following two bigger mining
districts are added (Italy and France) that percentage overpasses 95%.
This circumstance has important repercussions, since high-grade sodic
feldspar is essentially recovered from albitites (and only to a very minor
extent from pegmatites) and it is turning into a key raw material for the
implementation of the innovative ceramic technologies for large slabs
in porcelain stoneware, which are rapidly spreading all over the World.
A high dependence on a few suppliers exists also for nepheline
syenite: although the two classic extractive sites in Canada and Norway
still fulfil about 70% of the global demand, there are further mines that
entered in operation in the last decade, thus somehow improving the
current situation. The steep curves featuring both acid volcanics and
epithermal alterations hint at the essentially local relevance of these
sources, with just a few mining districts in operation.
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M. Dondi
In contrast, no significant risk is apparently associated with the
concentration of suppliers for pegmatites, since the output of the big-
gest ten fields sum up to only ∼45% of the demand, as a consequence
of the large number of mines in operation. This figure turns into ∼80%
in the case of aplites.
Other sources fall in an intermediate situation: 80% of the global
demand is ensured by the five biggest mining districts for feldspathic
arenites and by the seven more productive sites for granitoids.
Nevertheless, while the present supply of fluxes from sediments appears
to be improved, thanks to an offer that is wider than in the whole period
1971–2016, the production of fluxes from granitoids is currently con-
centrated in a fewer mining districts with respect to the past.
6. Discussion and conclusive remarks
Approximately 575 million tons of feldspathic raw materials have
been globally mined since 1971, in large part to feed the ceramic and
glass industries. This task was accomplished through a balanced re-
course to a wide range of feldspar sources in different geological con-
texts. From this standpoint, the supply chain of ceramic fluxes has de-
monstrated a rather high efficiency in the exploitation of resources,
considering that alternatives have already entered in the industrial
practice, including secondary raw materials.
However, the present production for feldspathic materials, close to
29 million tons per year, is just the latest step of a trend increasing at
the pace of 0.78 million tons per year in the last decade (that is more
than the output of the tenth major producer in 2016). Even if feldspars
are the main constituents of the Earth’s crust, this continuous growth
should create some concern, taking into account that the flux market is
dominated by demand of ceramic tiles manufacturers, whose produc-
tion is rapidly increasing, being now demographically-driven.
Technological innovation in the ceramic tile sector is globally
shifting the production towards two parallel targets: porcelain stone-
ware and other vitrified products (whose batches contain a high per-
centage of fluxes) and ever-larger sizes achieved by new technologies
(which require high-quality fluxes, i.e. high fusibility and low amount
of chromophores). Thus, it is expected that the market will progres-
sively move towards fluxes with high or very high fusibility and a low
amount of iron oxide. Nowadays, these fluxes represent almost half of
the market (i.e., 37% albitites, 6.5% nepheline syenite, plus a fraction
from pegmatites) but have limited (or unknown) reserves.
The complementary part of the market is constituted by fluxes with
medium to very low fusibility (and often not so scarce in chromo-
phores) mainly recovered from granitoids, feldspathic sands, aplites,
pegmatites, acid volcanics, and phyllites. These raw materials are in
many cases believed to occur with large reserves (or at least resources).
It is crucial to underline that most of these fluxes are successfully uti-
lized in ceramic batches only together with fluxes of high fusibility. In fact,
it is the availability of low melting fluxes (like sodium feldspar) that
enables a large-scale utilisation of quartz-rich, mixed Na-K feldspathic
materials (like those coming from granites, arenites and so on). Thus,
these latter sources, despite their local abundance, cannot satisfactorily
substitute albitites or nepheline syenites.
In addition, account must be taken that most ceramic fluxes are
products with a relatively low value added. Indeed, current prices range
roughly from ∼40 €/ton (acid volcanics and arenites) up to > 200
€/ton (potassic feldspar) on the international market. For this reason, it
is not pragmatic to conceive complex and expensive mineralurgical
treatments to obtain large amounts of high-grade feldspar from sources
as granitoids, arenites, aplites, or acid volcanics.
In order to mitigate the risk for a secure supply stemming from the
increasing demand for feldspathic raw materials, three strategies should
be put in practice:
1. Full valorization of flux deposits: residues from mining of felds-
pathic rocks can be converted into marketable by-products by
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Resources, Conservation & Recycling 133 (2018) 191–205
proper processing (Bozzola et al., 1995a, b). This can be done also
for mining activities not targeted to ceramic fluxes, as the case of
quarry dumps of ornamental stones (Dino et al., 2012). A key point
towards a full exploitation of deposits is the difficult compromise
between extractive practices and mineral treatments on one side and
the market requirements for by-products on the other side. The
minimum goal is preventing untolerable contamination for ceramic
fluxes.
2. Increasing recourse to alternative sources: non-feldspathic, low-
melting minerals (like sericite) and particularly secondary raw ma-
terials (waste glasses, ceramic scraps). The ceramic industry can
play as an efficient converter of problematic materials (waste-of-
waste, i.e. residues of the waste management chain) into valuable
and safe products (Andreola et al., 2016). Nonetheless, the barrier
for a large-scale use of end-of-life products as ceramic fluxes is either
technological or logistic. The former is the small amount allowed by
current ceramic technology and product specifications, e.g. a few
percent of waste glass in a porcelain stoneware body (Matteucci
et al., 2002; Raimondo et al., 2007). The latter is the limited amount
of suitable wastes actually available: for instance, ceramic scraps
must be just a few percent of the production of an efficient tile-
making plant. On the other hand, end-of-life (and especially waste-
of-waste) materials are produced in volumes that are usually a
minor fraction of the flux demand. For example, the waste glass
collected in northern and central Italy is around 1 million tons per
year, 80% of which is sorted as secondary raw material for the
container glass industry. Approximately 200,000 tons per year of
waste-of-waste undergo a beneficiation process that allows re-
covering annually further 160 thousand tons for glassmakers and
about 35,000 tons for the ceramic industry (SASIL, 2009). This
amount represents only 0.7% of the present consumption of felds-
pathic materials by the Sassuolo-Scandiano district, thus waste glass
can act just as a sintering promoter and not a realistic flux substitute
in a large-scale application.
3. Relaxing the technological constraints in ceramic applications: a
large part of the potential feldspathic resources is nowadays over-
looked because of its insufficient fusibility and/or untolerable
amount of iron and titanium oxides, which are responsible for a dark
colour of fired products. The use of raw materials with a scarce
fusibility is currently made possible by the addition of low-melting
fluxes: by this way, large amounts of granites or feldspathic arenites
are directly employed together with albitites in Europe (Lewicka
and Wyszomirski, 2010). However, the main challenge for ceramists
is how to develop Fe-rich bodies that could be suitable for vitrified
tiles, overcoming known problems (excessive firing deformations,
narrow sintering range, bloating, defects in glazes, etc).
In conclusion, ongoing trends suggest drawing a future scenario to
test the security of supply of feldspathic raw materials. This is parti-
cularly needed for albitites and nepheline syenites: first, because they
are the two sources that suffer for the highest dependence from a few
mining sites. Second, as they play the role of key raw materials, thus
turn essential for a large part of the production of ceramic tiles and
sanitarywares (and consequently their demand is likely to grow fur-
ther). Unfortunately, accessible data on reserves are insufficient to at-
tempt any reliable prediction of the medium-term availability of
feldspathic raw materials. Based on the few data published, present
reserves might last for two or three decades at the present rate of
consumption. More critical appears the situation of albitites, con-
sidering that a genetic model for this kind of deposit is lacking, while it
should be useful to address the search for alternatives to currently
exploited deposits.
Finally, more resources are necessary for R&D activities to fill the
knowledge gaps on feldspathic raw materials and their substitutes.
Specific efforts should be particularly spent:
M. Dondi
- to fit mineral treatments on the market requirements, by further
developing economically and environmentally sustainable pro-
cesses, like simple routes based on dry milling and magnetic se-
paration (e.g., Ipek et al., 2005; Tripathy et al., 2017; Ismail et al.,
2018);
- to foster the recourse to end-of-life products, by disclosing the
technological barriers impeding a large-scale use of residues as
ceramic fluxes (e.g., Silva et al., 2017; Rambaldi et al., 2018);
- to comprehend in depth the sintering mechanisms of vitrified
ceramics, in order to turn viable the tile production with bodies
richer in iron oxide (e.g., Karamanov et al., 2000, 2004; Zanelli
et al., 2018).
Acknowledgements
This publication is within the activities of CRAM, Towards a raw
materials strategy for the European ceramic industry, a Commitment of the
European Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials. Three anonymous
reviewers are warmly thanked for their constructive contribution and
suggestions.
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