Ecological Fickerts Used in the Dimension Stones Polishing Reinforced with Silica from the Rice Hull Ash

Abstract

The processing stages of the dimension stones industry uses inputs mainly from petroleum-derived chemicals that can cause damages to the environment and to the human health. Therefore, there is a need to develop more ecological and sustainable technologies aiming to replace the conventional inputs by less aggressive ones. From this, ecological fickerts made from polyurethane castor oil resin (Ricinus communis L.), silicon carbide (SiC), silica from rice hull ash (RHA) and synthetic diamonds were developed in order to compare them with the epoxy resin fickerts currently used in industry. For such, each half of a Brazilian granite slab was polished using each different type of fickerts and the gloss measures results were compared. It was found that the side of the slab polished using the ecological fickerts presented brightness values about 10 Gloss Units (GU) greater than the other side polished with the conventional abrasives. In addition, the ecological fickerts presented lower wear values, and consequently lower mass loss compared to the conventional ones. These results indicate that the ecological fickerts are a good alternative to the dimension stones polishing, even considering sustainability aspects and more eco-efficiency inputs materials.