The generation of industrial residues is unavoidable, but these materials may be recovered, redirecting them toward new production processes, rather than allocating them to the stream of discards. The aim of this paper is to study the feasibility of utilization of metallurgical wastes as raw material for tiles in the ceramic industry, using the residual materials as aggregates in clay based ceramics. The residues used are: sludge and slag from several metallurgical processes, Ruthner dust and foundry sand. Samples were obtained from mixtures of clay and each waste in various percentages, which were then heat treated. The pieces obtained were characterized using several techniques, with the aim of determining the properties of these materials in relation to the commercial requirements. A high feasibility of reuse of most of these wastes as raw material in the production of ceramic bodies has been established.

The aim of this work is to study ashes from the combustion of sunflower husks in order to determine their environmental suitability for reuse as a structural filler or as an aggregate in clay mixtures for the manufacture of ceramics. Various characterization techniques were used, such as optical and electronic microscopy, X-ray electron dispersive analysis, X-ray diffraction, analysis of particle size distribution, soluble solids, conductivity, pH, leaching test and ecotoxicity, among others. The results of chemical analysis show that the main elements are Mg, Ca, and P. The conductivity and pH values after 2h of stirring in distilled water are 17.11 mS and 11.46, respectively. Results from analysis of the leaching test determine that none of the measured values in the ashes exceed the limits established by law 24051 (Argentina) on hazardous waste. Regarding the ecotoxicity analysis, it is observed that sunflower husk ashes inhibit the growth of seedlings at the studied concentrations. It can be concluded that it is not convenient to use the ashes as soil filler because it would produce alkaline soil, transferring a large amount of electrolytes, and producing negative effects on the development of many species that need acid or slightly alkaline soil. From the experimental results and the analysis of the equilibrium diagrams of the major oxides of claywaste mixtures, the theoretical sintering temperature was determined. It shows that it is feasible to incorporate up to 20% of this waste material holding sintering temperatures commonly used in the ceramic industry (1050°C). For higher

Most of the national peanut production, estimated at 900,000 tons per year, is processed in several cities in the central area of Argentina. The third part of this amount corresponds to the shells, which are separated in the peanut selection and processing plants. In this work, the possibility of using peanut shells as raw material for the manufacture of ceramic materials for the civil construction industry is studied. There are precedents on the use of biomass residues in different building blocks, mainly with the aim of generating lightweight ceramics. With this objective, ceramic pieces were obtained from green bodies manufactured with mixtures of commercial clay and different percentages of ground and dry residue. After a drying period, the samples were heat treated following curves similar to those used in the ceramic industry. The raw material used, clay and peanut shells, were characterized with different techniques, such as XRD, SEM and DTA-TGA. The DTA-TGA analysis shows that the organic material added is burned in a wide temperature range, between 300 °C and 550 °C. Thus, the sintering process of the bricks is performed without cracking or shattering. This test also shows that after the heat treatment, the waste material eventually incorporated into bricks (ashes) is less than 3%. The obtained products have good physical and mechanical properties, with acceptable values of porosity, modulus of rupture, permanent volumetric variation and weight loss on ignition.

Waste from industrial processes is accumulated in different industries, in most cases without the necessary security control. This fact has led to the development of several methods to reuse or recycle this waste, and the mixture with clay for the production of ceramic material appears as a good alternative. In this case, the high temperature conditions used to obtain sintered products, lead to the combustion of all combustible materials present in the mixtures. The extreme cases are given by the waste called "pore formers", such as sawdust, discarded polystyrene from panels and packaging industries, and ground rubber. These materials completely burn during the heat treatments.The aim of this study is to analyze the emissions produced during heat treatment of diverse residues, as would happen during the firing of the bricks. Waste such as foundry sand, sludge from steel plants, sawdust, polystyrene, demolition residues, electric arc furnace dust, among others, are studied.Electrochemical sensor technology is used to detect pollutants as CO 2 , CO, SO 2 , HC, NO x and laser technology for PM10.In all cases, the detected levels for these pollutants in laboratory essays are within the range thresholds for air quality in Argentina, but for polystyrene they are relatively high when compared with average levels of emissions in the lab, without ongoing heat treatments. However, some results indicate the need for analysis in the industrial environment in case of their application.From the obtained results it is concluded that it is determinant to analyze the environmental aptitude of these processes before being taken to industrial scales.

Characterization studies of particulate matter were made in three cities of the Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. These cities have noticeable differences in relation to the number of inhabitants, vehicular density, industrial activities, etc. They are Vicente López, San Nicolás and Coronel Suárez towns.The samples were picked up with high volume equipment and daily concentrations corresponding to total suspended solids (PM) were determined by a gravimetric method. The particles were characterized by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron diffraction analysis X-ray (EDAX).The results obtained (PM concentration, particle size distribution, morphology and chemical composition) from the three towns showed important differences when compared. Carbonaceous particles, typically observed when traffic flow is high, were found in Vicente López samples. In San Nicolás samples, particles from industries can be differentiated and in Coronel Suárez samples, silicoaluminous particles, from local soil, are present.In San Nicolás, particularly, a comparative study between two different periods of time was made. The main difference between them is the country's economic condition due to a serious economic crisis during 2001, which promoted the change of the vehicle motor power system from gasoline to compressed natural gas, with the environmental benefits that this situation involved.