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In the mass production system of ceramic glaze slurry, a single suspension agent can never simultaneously meet the five core indicators of “fluidity, anti settling, anti sagging, dry strength, and defect free firing”. All stable and mass-produced mature glaze formulas adopt a differentiated compound system of “inorganic mineral suspension agent+organic cellulose ether”, with each performing its own duties and complementing each other’s performance. It is the core underlying logic to solve the problems of glaze slurry rheological fluctuations, storage layering, glaze application defects, and firing defects. The core essence of compounding: Inorganic minerals are responsible for dynamic rheology and static support, solving settlement and sagging problems; Organic cellulose is responsible for dry strength and glazing film formation, solving problems such as powdering, cracking, and uneven spreading, and cannot rely solely on any one type of additive. The following text comprehensively disassembles the standardized compounding system of the factory from the core principles of compounding, division of labor logic, exclusive formulas for four working conditions, precise proportioning intervals, process taboos, seasonal adjustments, and disease tracing.

1、 Core layer division of labor for suspension agent compounding

1. Inorganic mineral suspension agent (bentonite/magnesium aluminum silicate/attapulgite): tube rheology, tube suspension, tube wet stability. The core output has a low shear yield value and a reversible thixotropic network. A rigid mesh structure is erected to support heavy powders, preventing hard settling and delamination; The rapid reduction of viscosity under shearing ensures the fluidity of glaze application, which is the core skeleton of glaze slurry rheological stability, does not affect the firing system, has no significant organic firing loss, and is suitable for various high-temperature glaze systems.

2. Organic cellulose ether (CMC/HEC/HPMC): Tube dry film, tube bonding, tube glazing texture. The basic viscosity, water retention, and particle adhesion of the core output system compensate for the shortcomings of insufficient dry glaze strength of inorganic suspension agents, and solve the problems of powder peeling, peeling, rapid drying cracking, and uneven glaze spreading after glaze application; However, without an effective yield value, it is impossible to prevent settlement alone, and there is a risk of burning and loss. Therefore, it is necessary to strictly control low dosage compounding.

3. Principle of compound balance: inorganic as the main component, organic as a supplement, high inorganic and low organic. Inorganic suspension agents account for over 80% and undertake core rheological functions; Cellulose ether only provides minimal reinforcement to prevent fatal defects such as pinholes, bubbles, and loss of gloss caused by high organic additives.

2、 Composite universal hard ratio standard

1. Heavy glaze (zirconium white glaze, high melting block glaze): inorganic suspension agent 0.8% -1.5%+cellulose 0.1% -0.25%, prioritizing high yield value inorganic systems, strictly controlling the upper limit of organic additives;

2. Conventional color glaze and ordinary surface glaze: inorganic suspension agent 0.5% -1.0%+cellulose 0.15% -0.3%, with balanced adaptation of rheology and dry strength;

3. High end transparent glaze and ultra white glaze: high-purity inorganic suspension agent 0.3% -0.6%+high-purity HEC/ultra-low viscosity CMC 0.05% -0.1%, extremely low organic content, ensuring transparent and smooth glaze surface;

4. Glaze for harsh working conditions (hard water, high electrolyte, long-term storage): salt resistant inorganic suspension agent 0.6% -1.2%+trace cellulose 0.1% -0.2%, with priority given to the combination of concave convex rod soil to avoid electrolyte instability problems.

3、 Factory standardized compounding scheme

1. Economic mass production compound system

Formula combination: refined sodium based bentonite (0.8% -1.2%)+ordinary CMC (0.15% -0.25%)

Adaptation scenarios: ordinary floor tile glaze, conventional color glaze, mid to low end surface glaze, short-term storage glaze slurry, conventional water quality conditions.

Compound advantages: Bentonite provides extremely strong thixotropic yielding, completely solving the problem of heavy powder settling, and maximizing cost-effectiveness; Micro CMC enhances the strength of dry glaze, prevents glaze powder peeling and slight peeling, perfectly adapts to the cost reduction needs of large-scale production, has good stability in all seasons, and high fault tolerance.

Process key points: Bentonite must be pre hydrated 30-60 minutes in advance to prepare the mother liquor, dissolved in CMC cold water, and finally added; Prohibit direct application of dry powder to avoid fish eye particles, agglomeration and clumping.

Avoiding drawbacks: Strictly control the CMC not to exceed 0.25%, excessive use can easily cause batch pinholes and glaze loss of gloss; Bentonite should not exceed 1.2% to avoid excessive swelling of glaze slurry, poor leveling, and rippling of glaze surface.

2. High end boutique compound system

Formula combination: high-purity magnesium aluminum silicate (0.4% -0.6%)+high-purity HEC (0.05% -0.1%)

Adaptation scenarios: High end transparent glossy glaze, ultra white porcelain tile glaze, art ceramic colored glaze, precision printing glaze, glaze system with extreme requirements for hair color and smoothness.

Compound advantages: Magnesium aluminum silicate has no iron impurities, no mineral source impurities, a fine and uniform colloidal network, does not interfere with the color and transparency of the glaze surface, has soft thixotropy and excellent leveling, and eliminates orange peel and uneven thickness; Low volume HEC has high purity and minimal loss on ignition. While strengthening the dry glaze strength, it completely avoids pinhole and bubble defects caused by organic additives, and has extremely low batch color difference and rheological fluctuations.

Process key points: Magnesium aluminum silicate needs to extend the pre hydration time at low temperatures to ensure complete dissociation of the chip; HEC adopts stepwise dilution and dropwise addition to avoid excessive local concentration that may cause microfilaments and affect the smoothness of the glaze surface.

Core advantage: It is currently the only zero defect composite system for mass production of high-end ceramic glazes, which takes into account four major indicators: suspension stability, pure color, high gloss glaze surface, and perfect firing.

3. Special compounding system for harsh working conditions

Formula combination: Salt resistant bentonite (0.6% -1.0%)+a small amount of sodium based bentonite (0.2% -0.4%)+trace CMC (0.1% -0.2%)

Adaptation scenarios: hard water quality in the factory area, high electrolyte glaze slurry with excessive release of adhesive, long-term storage glaze slurry in storage tanks for more than 7 days, and mass production conditions with large rheological fluctuations during seasonal changes.

Compound advantages: Concave convex bentonite relies on a physical fiber interwoven network, with strong resistance to calcium and magnesium ions and electrolytes, completely solving the common problem of instability and settlement of conventional bentonite when encountering hard water; A small amount of bentonite is used to reinforce the low shear yield value and compensate for the slow recovery of thixotropy in the concave convex rod soil; Trace cellulose ensures the strength of dry glaze, and the three work together to adapt to harsh production conditions.

Process taboos: It is prohibited to significantly increase the proportion of concave convex rod soil, as excessive absorption of pigments can cause light colored glaze to appear lighter and the smoothness of the glaze surface to decrease; The total addition amount of the dual inorganic compound should not exceed 1.5% to avoid thixotropic overload.

4. Special compound system for heavy zirconium glaze

Formula combination: High activity sodium based bentonite (1.0% -1.4%)+ultra-low CMC (0.1% -0.2%)

Adaptation scenarios: high content zircon powder opalescent glaze, high density melt block glaze, thick layer glaze process, heavy glaze system that is prone to delamination and hard precipitation.

Advantages of compounding: The rigid colloidal framework of highly active bentonite can strongly lift high-density zircon powder, with no hard lumps after 24 hours of standing, and excellent redispersibility; Ultra low CMC is only used for dry strength reinforcement, maximizing the reduction of organic firing risk, eliminating bubble and pinhole defects in thick glaze layer firing, and perfectly adapting to thick glaze construction and high-temperature firing processes.

Key points of the process: Strictly control the amount of demulsifier, adhere to the principle of “stop as soon as it is sufficient”, and prohibit excessive damage to the bentonite colloidal network; Prioritize pre hydration of bentonite mother liquor, followed by the addition of demulsifier, and maintain the red line of feeding sequence.

4、 Absolute taboo for complex systems

1. Prohibition of double high inorganic compound: High dosage combination of bentonite and attapulgite can lead to excessive thixotropy, strong elasticity, leveling and scrapping of glaze slurry, severe orange peel, ripples, and uneven thickness after glaze application;

2. Prohibition of high organic compound: Insufficient inorganic suspension agent, excessive CMC, virtual high viscosity of glaze slurry, missing yield value, typical drawbacks of “high viscosity, fast settling”, and batch explosion of firing pinholes and bubbles;

3. It is prohibited to mix ordinary additives with high-end systems: industrial grade bentonite and ordinary CMC are prohibited for transparent glaze and ultra white glaze. Iron impurities and high heat loss can directly cause the glaze to darken, have impurities, and lose luster;

4. It is forbidden to reverse the feeding sequence: add the demulsifier first and then the suspension mother liquor. The electrolyte will directly disintegrate the inorganic colloidal network, causing the suspension system to completely fail;

5. Prohibition of direct compounding and feeding of dry powder: All suspension agents must be separately pre hydrated and dissolved, and then mixed and compounded to prevent clumping, fish eyes, and local concentration imbalance.

5、 Four season working condition fine-tuning and compounding rules

1. Winter low temperature: The hydration rate of inorganic suspension agents slows down. It is recommended to increase the addition of bentonite/magnesium aluminum silicate by 0.1% -0.2%, prolong the pre hydration time, and ensure the integrity of the colloidal network; Maintain the same amount of cellulose to avoid high viscosity and poor rheology at low temperatures;

2. High temperature in summer: Cellulose is prone to biodegradation and viscosity degradation, and can be slightly replaced with heat-resistant HPMC/HEC to reduce the CMC ratio; Fine tune the dosage of inorganic suspension agent by 0.1% to avoid excessive thickening and elasticity of high-temperature glaze slurry;

3. Wet rainy season: Strictly control the total amount of organic additives, appropriately reduce the proportion of cellulose, prevent moisture absorption, softening, and delamination of the dry glaze layer, and improve the drying stability of the glaze layer.

6、 Quick traceability and correction table for compound defects

1. Glazed jelly, leveling agent, orange peel: excessive inorganic suspension agent, imbalanced compounding ratio → reduce the inorganic dosage and add a small amount of gelling agent;

2. Static settling and hard clumping: Insufficient inorganic yield and high organic proportion → Increase the proportion of inorganic suspension and reduce the amount of cellulose used;

3. Firing pinholes and bubbles: CMC and other high organic additives exceed the standard → significantly reduce the amount of organic additives and switch to high-purity, low burn loss cellulose;

4. Dry glaze powdering and peeling: sufficient inorganic and insufficient organic content → trace addition of HEC/CMC, without increasing inorganic minerals;

5. Colored and uneven: Use ordinary bentonite with high inorganic impurities to replace the high-end magnesium aluminum silicate compound system.

Core taboos of compounding: Prohibit the use of double high inorganic compounding (high dosage stacking of bentonite and attapulgite), which can lead to thixotropic overload, glaze slurry over elasticity, leveling and scrapping; Prohibit high CMC+high inorganic stacking, significantly increasing the risk of burning pinholes; It is forbidden to add a demulsifier before adding a suspension mother liquor to completely avoid colloidal instability and failure.