Tiles & large surfaces
Natural minerals for incredible results
Whether used for floors and walls in a bathroom, as countertop and furniture in a kitchen or as external facades, ceramic tiles and large surfaces offer endless possibilities.
Improving dimension stability, aesthetics, weight and traffic resistance are Imerys main objectives when coming to tiles and large surfaces challenges and performances.
Ceramic tiles and large surfaces producers around the world are more demanding when it comes to glazes and engobes as well as super white bodies for tiles and large slabs.
Imerys has a variety of consistent, blended minerals that will improve the properties of super white, glazed and unglazed porcelain tiles and monoporosa, including also large surface formats and thin tiles.
With a strategic presence and strong industrial, logistics and technical teams in Asia, Europe and the Americas, Imerys has the resources to serve tiles and large surfaces customers anywhere in the world.
Our raw material solutions provide:
- Reduction of pinholes, black specks and impurities
- High level of whiteness after firing, plasticity and specific rheology
- solutions for large slab and thin formats
Our tile glaze and engobe products guarantee surface quality in terms of:
- Whiteness
- Gloss
- Smoothness
Our mineral range consists of:
Ball clays are prized for their plasticity and bonding properties in wall and floor tiles.
Feldspar and pegmatite are the main vitrifying or fluxing agents used during the firing process of ceramic bodies.
Kaolin’s high fusion temperature and white firing characteristics make it particularly suitable for the manufacture of tiles.
Used in tiles, talc improves the vitrification process, allowing manufacturers to reduce firing temperatures and shorten firing cycles.
*Talc products are not available in the USA and Canada. Contact us for an alternative range.
Wollastonites are cost-effective, low loss on ignition (LoI) natural fluxing agents for wall and floor tiles where they improve mechanical properties in green bodies and surface finish of fired bodies.
All our mineral solutions are produced with exacting processes that guarantee consistency and reproducibility, with low levels of pinholes, black specks and impurities.
For whiteness, gloss, smoothness, improved rheology and vitrification, talk to our ceramics teams about how our minerals can improve the properties and quality of your wall and floor tiles.
Imerys main products
KaoShine BB30 key features
KaoShine BB30 is aimed at more demanding manufacturers in search of super-white bodies for tiles and slabs. Its high alumina and low chromophore content -and consequently high level of whiteness- is highly valued as it means that less zircon or whitener is needed to achieve the required whiteness.
Its low level of contaminants, which results in a decrease in glaze and body defects, leads to an improvement in the manufacturers’ quality yield. In addition KaoShine BB30 has fine particle size, which improves compaction and dry mechanical strength in bodies.
- Whiteness
- Good pressability
- Better mechanical strength of the body enabling less damage while handling the pieces and ultimately a higher yield.
CR key features
CR is valued for its whiteness, its opacity (for opaque glazes) and its consistency. As it is almost a pure kaolinite, it doesn't include contaminants such as quartz or mica.
Rogers
Rogers is a fine grained montmorillonitic kaolin that has high strength, making its use advantageous in casting bodies on a controlled basis.
FMT
FMT is used to increase tile body plasticity when added to local clays. Added to a kaolinitic white ball clay or kaolin, it allows good mechanical strength and a less coloured body. With a favorable balance between whiteness and plasticity, FMT clay allows to reduce the amount of expensive whiteners like zirconium silicate. The white body formulation for the manufacturing of super-white tiles and large surfaces becomes more cost effective with FMT.
FMT key features
- high binding effect by pressing
- High whiteness given by a high Al2O3/(Fe2O3+TiO2) ratioAl
- high consistency
TSMA and FlashTop key features
TSMA and Flashtop products complete the range of plastic clays for slabs for respectively more economical and premium formulas.
Tile glaze & engobe
K1C and Kerbrient
Kaolinor 1C and Kerbrient are recognized worldwide for their characteristics and their valuable contribution to produce premium quality glazes on several aspects: no pin hole presence, high glossiness, smooth surface finish and good whiteness.
K1C key features
- Suspensive effect for the glaze application
- Cleanliness – no surface defects – this contributes to the tile quality
- Consistency
- Particle size and shape
- Easy to use
CR key features
CR is valued for its whiteness, its opacity (for opaque glazes) and its consistency. As it is almost a pure kaolinite, it doesn't include contaminants such as quartz or mica.
KaoShine BB30 key features
The fine particle size distribution and the blocky shape of the kaolinite particles confer to the KaoShine BB30 enough suspensivity to be used in glaze and with a high fluidity. In addition the high purity of the kaolin leads to a low chromophore oxide and high alumina contents. This translates into a very white color development and a high quality surface of the glaze. KaoShine BB30 is therefore much appreciated in opaque and semi-opaque glazes.
Allen G
Allen G is an intermediate-grained kaolin used as a suspension aid in ceramic glazes.
Diamond
Diamond is an intermediate-grained montmorillonite kaolin known for its good strength and white-firing characteristics.
Old Mine No.4
Old Mine No.4 is a fine-grained ball clay with excellent plasticity and strength that is widely used as a suspension aid in glazes.
Bright Coatings 2
Bright Coatings 2 is a high quality ball clay formulated specifically for engobe to maximize opacity and fired color while providing a flat, smooth surface.
Tennessee No.10
Tennessee #10 is an intermediate-grained, low organic ball clay for ceramic glazes.
TN Stone
TN Stone is an intermediate-grained ball clay with good pressing and firing characteristics making this clay an ideal choice for light body porcelain tile applications.
Super Strength No.2
Super Strength #2 is a fine grained high strength ball clay with a combination of high plasticity and low carbon making it an excellent choice for large format porcelain tile.
RR-1
RR-1 is a fine-grained high strength and plasticity clay designed to meet the green requirements of large format porcelain tile.
Milby
Milby is a fine-grained ball clay known for its excellent fired color and strength.
RF4 key features
RF4 has unique properties that are valued for the production of tiles, and especially for large slab. RF4 limits shrinkage during firing, allowing our customers to consume less raw materials. It contributes to a better balance of the fluxing oxides, which allows to lower the firing temperature or shorten the firing cycle, resulting in energy & CO2 savings. In addition RF4 enhances the mechanical strength of the tile and improves the body whiteness.
Minspar 200
Minspar 200 is a flotation grade mixed feldspar used in glazed and clay bodies.
Minspar 170
Minspar 170 is a high quality mixed feldspar milled to 170 mesh specifications which provides a slightly coarser option to maximize cast rate. It is a high quality sodium/ potassium/ calcium aluminum silicate ground to 170 mesh for ceramic applications, offering a low iron oxide and high alkali oxide content per unit of alumina.
Minspar 250
Minspar 250 is a high quality sodium/potassium/calcium aluminum silicate offering low iron oxide and high alkali oxide per unit of alumina making it ideal for use in a wide variety of ceramic applications.
Kaolin
Kaolin is a rock from which the clay mineral kaolinite is derived. This one has been used for millennia as the principal ingredient in porcelain tableware. Today Imerys kaolins bring critical properties to a host of end applications ranging from paper to paints, fiberglass to cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
