Identification of the main parameters controlling the plasticity of ceramic pastes: The case study of the Marrakech region (Morocco)

Numerous traditional ceramic workshops occur within a range of 10 to 80 km around the city of Marrakech. Our study aims to identify the main parameters controlling the plasticity of pastes used by the artisans. To reach this goal, we characterize by X-ray diffraction, granulometry and plasticity index (PI) the local raw clayey material. The investigation of 26 whole pastes shows the dominance of quartz (20 to 50%) and clay minerals (25 to 60%) with K-feldspar (2 to 17%), plagioclase (2 to 25%), calcite (0 to 18%), dolomite (0 to 15%), goethite (0 to7%) and trace of hematite and anhydrite (< 3%). Amphibole occurs in trace (< 5%) but only in some samples. The clay minerals are diversified, including illite (10 to 40%), kaolinite (2 to 15%), mixed-layer (ML) (0 to 10%), smectite, vermiculite and chlorite (0 to 5%), and pyrophyllite-talc association (0 to 8%). Sepiolite (12%) is only present in one paste. The grain size is made by variable proportions of sand (5 to 65%), silt (12 to 53%) and clayey fraction (18 to 66%). The Plasticity index (PI) indicates the presence of two principals groups of pastes. (1) The first group is characterized by PI values ranging between 15 to 18. Their moderate plasticity behavior is related either to the low rate of clayey fraction and/or to the absence of plastic clays like smectites and mixed layer with smectitic sheets. (2) The PI of second group ranges between 20 to 32. The high plasticity values are influenced by the presence of specific clayey minerals like talc-pyrophyllite or sepiolite, or by the high content of smectite plus smectitic mixed-layers within the clayey (< 2 micron) fraction. Only one sample without any of these plastic minerals but with a high content of clayey fraction is characterized by a high PI value (24). We concluded that the workability of ceramic paste in Marrakech region is controlled by a combination of factors, dominated by the grain size distribution and the content in plastic clay minerals within the fine fraction