Jeff Lawrence on sun 1 dec 96
Hello Everybody,
The Problem: I've got a bucket or two of scraps that I hesitate to take to
the dump, due to toxic oxides etc.
I'd be glad to donate a waster bowl and shelf space to melting them into an
inert piece of glass, which I could toss with a clear conscience. However,
I am leary of turning my kiln into a glass bottomed sculpture.
Has anyone tried retiring glaze remnants containing toxic materials by
firing them? Any closed form seems like would break, and I think I read
somewhere that any thick puddle on the bottom of a bowl is the kiss of
death. What I'm thinking is a low vessel that I'll kiln-wash first. Ideally,
the glaze slug will just pop out and I can string them as mobiles, as well
as re-use bowl. I'm also thinking that a higher-fire body than the glaze
would make sense, though I'm not quite sure why.
I'd be delighted to avoid any pitfalls y'all have discovered, or ruminations
on the topic. I'll keep the list posted on how it works.
Jeff Lawrence
jml@sundagger.com
Sun Dagger Design
ph/fax: 505-753-5913
LINDA BLOSSOM on mon 2 dec 96
Dear Jeff,
You could wait til summer, get a kiddie pool and dump the scraps in and let
them dry. Then bag up the pieces and send them to the landfill. You can
check with your county waste management department to see if they have any
ideas. Does anyone have any idea whether the glaze ingredients are inert
as long as they are dry? Aren't most landfills made with liners?
Linda Blossom
2366 Slaterville Rd.
Ithaca, NY 14850
blossom@lightlink.com
http://www.artscape.com
607-539-7912
Karl David Knudson on tue 3 dec 96
On Mon, 2 Dec 1996, LINDA BLOSSOM wrote:
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Dear Jeff,
> You could wait til summer, get a kiddie pool and dump the scraps in and let
> them dry. Then bag up the pieces and send them to the landfill.
This is a bad idea. In the unlikely event that your bags manage to make
it to the landfill intact, how many times will a bulldozer or compactor
have to squish them until there is dry glaze floating around. While you
can argue the pollution potential of dry glaze, the fact remains that the
glaze will only be dry until the next rain, assuming it isn't dumped into
a puddle. Presto you're back where you started with the wet glaze.
You're better off firing the waste glaze as you earlier suggested, or
paying the local pollution control authorities to take care of it.
Karl
Tadeusz Westawic on tue 3 dec 96
Jeff Lawrence wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Hello Everybody,
>
> The Problem: I've got a bucket or two of scraps that I hesitate to take to
> the dump, due to toxic oxides etc.
>
> I'd be glad to donate a waster bowl and shelf space to melting them into an
> inert piece of glass, which I could toss with a clear conscience. However,
> I am leary of turning my kiln into a glass bottomed sculpture.
>
> Has anyone tried retiring glaze remnants containing toxic materials by
> firing them? Any closed form seems like would break, and I think I read
> somewhere that any thick puddle on the bottom of a bowl is the kiss of
> death. What I'm thinking is a low vessel that I'll kiln-wash first. Ideally,
> the glaze slug will just pop out and I can string them as mobiles, as well
> as re-use bowl. I'm also thinking that a higher-fire body than the glaze
> would make sense, though I'm not quite sure why.
>
> I'd be delighted to avoid any pitfalls y'all have discovered, or ruminations
> on the topic. I'll keep the list posted on how it works.
>
> Jeff Lawrence
> jml@sundagger.com
> Sun Dagger Design
> ph/fax: 505-753-5913
In the rumination response category:
I understand that the first step in frit production calls for a modified
kiln. ie a small, repluggable hole is bored through the bottom of the
kiln. The measured dry frit materials are well mixed and placed in a
vessel which also has a hole in its bottom. The vessel containing the
frit mix is placed in the kiln with the holes aligned (the hole in the
vessel aligned with the hole in the bottom of the kiln). A bucket of
water is placed underneath the kiln directly under the hole in the kiln
bottom. The kiln is then fired, the frit ingredients melt and run
through the holes and into the water, where the thermal shock causes the
glass to fracture into small pieces.
Who would take putting a hole in their kiln lightly? Not me. I find
purchasing frits far more convenient than storing dry chemicals.
However, it seems to me that a kiln rigged for frit production in the
above manner could also serve as a toxic waste converter. Most of us
must be faced with the same disposal problems. Is there anyone with
further comment on this plan?
Clayton Bailey on tue 3 dec 96
The way to eliminate the waste glaze materials from your studio, is to mix
them with an equal amount of fireclay, and use the resulting glaze/clay
mixture to make an object... ie: pressmold tiles, planters, bricks etc.
Fire these things along with your regular bisk or glaze fire them to see
the results.
Clayton
Tadeusz Westawic on tue 3 dec 96
LINDA BLOSSOM wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Dear Jeff,
>
> You could wait til summer, get a kiddie pool and dump the scraps in and let
> them dry. Then bag up the pieces and send them to the landfill. You can
> check with your county waste management department to see if they have any
> ideas. Does anyone have any idea whether the glaze ingredients are inert
> as long as they are dry? Aren't most landfills made with liners?
>
> Linda Blossom
> 2366 Slaterville Rd.
> Ithaca, NY 14850
> blossom@lightlink.com
> http://www.artscape.com
> 607-539-7912
The last tech articles I read on modern landfill techniques in
Scientific American over the years '88 to '93 or so were critical of the
"liners" used. If (and I mean IF) my memory serves, the "liners" consist
of a combination of plastic and clay. I was smirking myself as I read
landfill engineers claims that the layer of clay (alone?) would prevent
leaching. Leaching of minerals, etc. from landfill sites is the #1
threat to human health. The minerals and toxins find their way into the
water table.
Anyway, I presume the battle is still going on between the engineers'
studies financed by commercial dumping interests and the engineers'
reports financed publicly. Also, the AEC is excited over the technique
of "encapsulation" for nuclear waste. Encapsulation here means the
combining of the toxic nuclear materials with silicates and firing them
to a glass, the same technique that has been dominating the discussion
in this thread.
Glass doesn't last forever, either. But it has this teriffic
characteristic in that it decays very, very slowly. Thus, the
encapsulated toxins are released back to the environment in small and
presumably safe doses. I don't believe that any amount of a toxin is
"safe", but I do believe that encapsulation is the best way to deal with
the problem. Ya dont have to go building special equipment to do it
yerself, you can "encapsule" small amounts of your waste with every
bisque. What does it cost to give-up one or two plates or bowls and some
fluxing agent per firing? Then break them up and toss in the
landfill-bound trashbag?
I guess that was a jag. Sorry, it happens.
Tadzu
Lori Wilkinson on wed 4 dec 96
On Tue, 3 Dec 1996 08:09:13 EST Clayton Bailey writes:
>----------------------------Original
>message----------------------------
>The way to eliminate the waste glaze materials from your studio, is to
>mix
>them with an equal amount of fireclay, and use the resulting
>glaze/clay
>mixture to make an object... ie: pressmold tiles, planters, bricks
>etc.
>Fire these things along with your regular bisk or glaze fire them to
>see
>the results.
>
Clayton,
Since there is glaze mixed in with the clay is there any possibility of
the pieces sticking to the kiln shelf without some precautions taken?
Lori Wilkinson in Roswell NM
Andrew S Lubow on wed 4 dec 96
Why not try using one of Conrad's Crucible body formulas to make a
container for the melt? It would probably have no problem taking the
stress.
On Sun, 1 Dec 1996 23:09:40 EST Jeff Lawrence writes:
>----------------------------Original
>message----------------------------
>Hello Everybody,
>
>The Problem: I've got a bucket or two of scraps that I hesitate to
>take to
>the dump, due to toxic oxides etc.
>
>I'd be glad to donate a waster bowl and shelf space to melting them
>into an
>inert piece of glass, which I could toss with a clear conscience.
>However,
>I am leary of turning my kiln into a glass bottomed sculpture.
>
>Has anyone tried retiring glaze remnants containing toxic materials by
>firing them? Any closed form seems like would break, and I think I
>read
>somewhere that any thick puddle on the bottom of a bowl is the kiss of
>death. What I'm thinking is a low vessel that I'll kiln-wash first.
>Ideally,
>the glaze slug will just pop out and I can string them as mobiles, as
>well
>as re-use bowl. I'm also thinking that a higher-fire body than the
>glaze
>would make sense, though I'm not quite sure why.
>
>I'd be delighted to avoid any pitfalls y'all have discovered, or
>ruminations
>on the topic. I'll keep the list posted on how it works.
>
>
>
>Jeff Lawrence
>jml@sundagger.com
>Sun Dagger Design
>ph/fax: 505-753-5913
>
LINDA BLOSSOM on wed 4 dec 96
Dear Andrew,
Where does one find these Conrad crucible bodies?
Linda Blossom
2366 Slaterville Rd.
Ithaca, NY 14850
blossom@lightlink.com
http://www.artscape.com
607-539-7912
Andrew S Lubow on fri 6 dec 96
They're in John W. Conrad's, Contemporary Ceramic Formulas, Macmillan
Publishing Co., Inc. Here's one of the seven listed.
Plastic Fire Clay 42
Fine Grog 20
Sand 15
Flint 15
Bentonite 8
==
100
Temperature ^ 6 - 9
Shrinkage @ ^6 13%
Strength Hard
Structure Dense
On Wed, 4 Dec 1996 20:02:49 EST LINDA BLOSSOM
writes:
>----------------------------Original
>message----------------------------
>Dear Andrew,
>
>Where does one find these Conrad crucible bodies?
>
>
>
>Linda Blossom
>2366 Slaterville Rd.
>Ithaca, NY 14850
>blossom@lightlink.com
>http://www.artscape.com
>607-539-7912
>
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