Porcelain Quartz

Porcelain is a fine ceramic group made from the kaolin, feldspar and quartz triad and fired at high temperature. Kaolin provides whiteness and formability, feldspar acts as the flux, and quartz provides the load-bearing skeleton of the body. Thanks to the dense glassy phase that forms at high firing temperatures, porcelain reaches very low water absorption values. Quartz grains disperse within this glassy phase and contribute to the strength and stability of the structure.

Whiteness and translucency in porcelain depend directly on raw material purity. Iron and titanium compounds in quartz can cause cream-yellow tones and specking on the surface after firing. Low-iron quartz is therefore preferred in porcelain production; in our products the Fe₂O₃ content is below 0.1% and the SiO₂ content is above 98%. The exact purity and fineness required by your product group are defined together according to your firing cycle.

The thermal behavior of quartz is also important in porcelain production. Quartz undergoes a crystal structure transformation at around 573 °C, and this transformation is accompanied by a change in volume; if the cooling cycle is not managed correctly, internal stresses and cracks can form in the body. Quartz of homogeneous and controlled fineness helps these stresses to be distributed more evenly within the structure. For the same reason, keeping the fineness of the quartz consistent from batch to batch is critical for keeping the scrap rate low.