Given the increasing accumulation of spodumene tailings resulting from lithium extraction, there is an increasing need to identify suitable applications for these residues. The characterization tests conducted on the spodumene tailings showed an adequate amount of silica and alumina for their use as raw materials for ceramics and porcelains. Therefore, in this study, spodumene tailings composed of quartz–feldspar sand (QFS) were used to produce ceramic porcelain tiles. The material is incorporated as a mineral additive in the porcelain tile composition to determine the optimal dosage while staying within a typical porcelain tile composition of 69% SiO2, 21% Al2O3, 3% Na2O, 2% K2O, 1.5% CaO, and 1% MgO. Different sintering temperatures and dwell times were applied to establish the optimal conditions for producing porcelain tiles containing tailings. To evaluate the tiles’ properties, a range of characterization tests were performed, including water absorption, apparent density, open porosity, modulus of rupture, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, and dilatometry. The results indicate that increasing the sintering temperature and dwell time directly reduces the open porosity and water absorption of the tiles. The proportion of tailings in the porcelain tile composition was not directly correlated with the properties of the tiles, including mechanical, water absorption, open porosity, apparent density, and thermal behavior, as compared with the reference composition without tailings. However, the addition of tailings improved some properties like flexural strength and thermal stability at an optimum dosage of 25–35 wt%. This improvement may be attributed to the optimized alumina-to-silica ratio and the higher concentration of alkaline oxides compared with the other compositions.

2025