Abstract
Attention is drawn to the fact that different brands of sodium silicate vary 250 % in their soda to silica ratio. Four silicates with ratios from 1:1.8 to 1:4 were added on a basis of per cent Na2O to slips of six clays commonly used in the whiteware industry. Rate of flow, hydrogen‐ion concentration, and settling behavior were studied. Maximum rate of flow was produced in each case while the slip was acid. Those silicates high in silica were the most potent in their effect on rate of flow for a given amount of Na2O. The effect was also more pronounced than that of NaOH, Na2CO3, or silica sol which were used as comparisons. Possible explanations of the mechanism of deflocculation are discussed to explain the results.

This publication has 7 references indexed in Scilit: