Question: What Is A Deflocculant

: an agent that causes deflocculation specifically : a chemical (as sodium carbonate) added to a clay slip to minimize settling out.

Is Vinegar a Deflocculant?

Vinegar is often used in ceramic slurries to change the viscosity (thicken it). While there are more effective flocculants (e.g. calcium chloride, epsom salts), vinegar is popular among potters simply because it is so available.

How does a Deflocculant work?

Deflocculants are electrolyte-sourcing liquids or powders (like sodium silicate, Darvan) that are added in small amounts. They work their magic by imparting electrical charges to clay particles making them repel each other (more accurately it is said to be a condition where repulsive forces predominate).

Does clay slip go bad?

Does clay go bad? No, but it may grow mold. This is good bacteria and will be good for the clay’s workability.

What is the use of sodium silicate?

Sodium silicate is used as a deflocculant in casting slips helping reduce viscosity and the need for large amounts of water to liquidize the clay body. It is also used to create a crackle effect in pottery, usually wheel-thrown. A vase or bottle is thrown on the wheel, fairly narrow and with thick walls.

How do you make sodium silicate?

Prepare Sodium Silicate

1. Wear proper safety gear, which includes gloves.
2. Heat 4 to 8 grams of sodium hydroxide in 10 milliliters of water.
3. Once the sodium hydroxide is dissolved, slowly add 6 grams of crushed silica gel beads. Heat the solution between additions.
4. You now have sodium silicate or water glass.

Do you need to slip and score air dry clay?

When sculpting, encourage students to slip and score to attach pieces, just as you would when working with regular clay. My preferred brand of air dry clay is Amaco Marblex grey clay. To avoid cracking, keep students from adding a lot of water to the clay when they make slip.

Is Redisperse difficult?

The repulsive forces between individual particles allow them to slip past each other as they sediment. The slow rate of settling prevents the entrapment of liquid within the sediment, which thus becomes compacted and can be very difficult to redisperse.

What does sodium silicate do to slip?

Sodium Silicate is a chemical used to deflocculate casting slip. Too much Sodium Silicate causes overdeflocculation. (See the section on Over-Deflocculation.) Sodium Silicate may be stored for extended periods in tightly closed plastic containers.

Why does my clay smell?

When clay is stinky, though, it’s usually good, since that smell only comes when the clay has spent some time in the wet condition. If your clay stinks, that’s a good thing. It means there’s bacteria in it, living on the organic matter in it.

What can I use as a Deflocculant?

Main Deflocculants The most efficient compounds having deflocculant action for uses in ceramics are sodium silicate, polyphosphates (pyro – tripoly – tetrapoly – etc.) and organic sodium and ammonium polyelectrolytes.

Is alum a coagulant or flocculant?

To accomplish this, the water is treated with aluminum sulfate, commonly called alum, which serves as a flocculant. Raw water often holds tiny suspended particles that are very difficult for a filter to catch. Alum causes them to clump together so that they can settle out of the water or be easily trapped by a filter.

What is the other name of Deflocculation?

What is another word for Deflocculation? flocculation. deflocculation and flocculation. coagulation.

Can you apply slip to bone dry clay?

When slip is applied to bone dry clay, one part of the pottery will be much wetter than the next. As such slip won’t stay liquid and doesn’t create the liquid soup for clay particles to move about in. So, generally slip is not used to join pieces of bone dry clay.

How can flocculation be prevented?

When particles of a suspension come close together they can form aggregates called flocculates which will settle more rapidly. To prevent that we often coat the particle with a charged surfactant. The charge (Zeta potential) acts to keep the particles separate and prevent flocculation.

Which are the flocculating agents in soil?

In soils, the flocculation process concerns mostly the clay particles present. Clay particles usually possess net negative charge and therefore they electrostatically attract positively charged ions, such as Ca²⁺ cations, which form bridges, holding the particles together.

How do you get rid of Clay smell?

To neutralize strong odors fill the pot with warm water and add two tablespoons of baking soda. Let the cookware soak for at least 15 minutes. For general and deep cleaning, allow the earthen pot to soak overnight in the sink in water mixed with baking soda. Add 3 tablespoons of baking soda per liter of hot water.

How does vinegar affect clay?

The acidity of the vinegar breaks down the clay a bit, and makes it sticky. Some artists use vinegar straight from the bottle, or add vinegar to clay instead of water to make a joining slip. All these methods work to create a join that is stronger than water or slip alone.

How do you make a slip slurry?

Slip as Glue for Scoring and Slipping Slip can be made from scraps from your clay body. Soak them in water until they have softened into a slurry and then stir and screen it through a mesh to remove any lumps. Apply it to scored surfaces you want to join together on your greenware. Sometimes this is called slip-slurry.

How much vinegar do you put in a slip?

Add 1-2 cups of white vinegar to the torn-up paper. Blends the paper and vinegar together using a hand blender. Or if you don’t have a blender, you can use a fork. Then add some small pieces of broken bone dry clay to the liquid.

Is sodium silicate a Deflocculant?

Sodium silicate is the most popular deflocculant used in casting slips for many years (as a source of sodium ions). It is nearly always used with soda ash (when employed alone it can make a slip ‘stringy’ and thixotropic). The material is effective, reliable and inexpensive.

Why do Flocculated particles not cake?

Repulsive forces between particles are overcome and a hard cake is formed which is difficult, if not impossible, to redisperse. The sediment is loosely packed and possesses a scaffold-like structure (large volume of final sediment). Particles do not bond tightly to each other and a hard, dense cake does not form.

What is difference between flocculation and Deflocculation?

The key difference between flocculation and deflocculation is that flocculation is the formation of flocs by the clumping of fine particles, whereas deflocculation is the dispersion of flocs to form a stable colloid. Flocculation refers to the formation of clumps from fine particles in a colloid.