LAUSR

Abstract The process of adsorption of toxic metals from the use of clays as adsorbents has been investigated in numerous studies. Clays are in fact good adsorbents of metal ions in solution. A challenge that this type of process brings would be the use of clays after the adsorption of metal ions in their structures. This work aimed to evaluate the crystalline structures of ceramics produced with clays contaminated with galvanic sludge and with liquid effluents from jewelry factories that use electroplating. The manufacturing process for ceramic composites followed the protocols used in the manufacture of bricks and tiles. For that, controlled quantities of galvanic sludge and liquid effluents were added to the clay masses used in the manufacture of ceramic pieces and later burning in an industrial oven. It is observed by the results of X-ray fluorescence that the metallic ions Zn (II), Ni (II) and Cu (II) are incorporated into the structure of the ceramics when using galvanic sludge. However, this was not observed when using liquid effluent. The use of X-ray diffraction techniques, Raman spectroscopy and FT-IR, shows that from the structural point of view the analyzed samples did not undergo significant changes, only a progressive decrease in the intensity of the kaolinite, montmorillonite and quartz peaks.