Review Reports - The Influence of the Burning Environment on the Properties of Ceramic Products Based on Fusible Raw Materials

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

- In the section of statistical analysis would you sppécifie the number of samples and experimentation

- in section of 3.1 Preparation and characterization of nanocarriers ((d) ROS scavenging ability of Se-Rutin), I suggest to add I suggest adding a curve of evolution of the remaining quantity of H2O2 as a function of time for each result presented in the figure Fig-1-d, this will allow to have the kinetics of reaction for each condition.

- In the section 3.4 Regulation of intracellular ROS-related biomarkers, quantifie the improvement "Based on the above results, Se-Rutin can significantly improve the abnormality of ROS-related markers caused by H2O2"

- in the section 3.5 Regulation of intracellular inflammatory factors, can you precise the time of reaction/experimentation

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 1 Comments

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you very much for reviewing our work. On behalf of all the authors and as the author of the correspondence, I express my gratitude for the review.

Point 1: - In the section of statistical analysis would you sppécifie the number of samples and experimentation

Response 1: The question is not about our work and there is no statistical analysis in the manuscript.

Point 2: in section of 3.1 Preparation and characterization of nanocarriers ((d) ROS scavenging ability of Se-Rutin), I suggest to add I suggest adding a curve of evolution of the remaining quantity of H2O2 as a function of time for each result presented in the figure Fig-1-d, this will allow to have the kinetics of reaction for each condition.

Response 2: The paper did not look at nanocarriers ((d) ROS scavenging ability of Se-Rutin)

Point 3: in the section 3.4 Regulation of intracellular ROS-related biomarkers, quantifie the improvement "Based on the above results, Se-Rutin can significantly improve the abnormality of ROS-related markers caused by H2O2"

Response 3: There is no section 3.4 Regulation of intracellular ROS-related biomarkers …. in the work

Point 4: in the section 3.5 Regulation of intracellular inflammatory factors, can you precise the time of reaction/experimentation

Response 4: There is no section 3.5 Regulation of intracellular inflammatory factors …. in the work

Dear Reviewer,

Dear Editor,

We have read the reviewer's feedback in full, but the comments received do not correspond with our manuscript, possibly a technical error in the system

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

In this artile experiments, local fusible loam was used as the main raw material. Diatomite and bentonite clay were used as additives. The materials were mixed after grinding and dosing, then water is added, in the amount required, until a pliable mass is obtained. To investigate the properties of the products, standard cylinder samples were prepared with a diameter of 50 mm and a height of 50 mm. After drying, the products were burned in a muffle kiln. An analysis of the properties of the burned products showed that the optimum amount of diatomite and bentonite.

It was found that the optimum addition of diatomite and bentonite clay to clay loam, allow us to obtain, after burning at 1170 22 oC, the samples of ceramic products, corresponding to the 2nd class on the average density and compressive strength of brands M 400 and M 500 (GOST 24 530-2012, GOST-Government standard).

X-ray diffractometric analysis showed that the products contain augite, quartz and anorthite as crystalline phases, with the former predominating. After burning in a reducing environment, the properties of the samples have higher values than those of samples fired in a weakly oxidizing environment.

All changes in the phase composition of the products have been shown to be due to the formation of FeO, due to the decomposition of magnetite and the partial reduction of Fe2O3. In addition, the formation of FeO led to the formation of fusible liquid phases in which some of the refractory components of the ceramic mass were dissolved. During the cooling process, the liquid phase crystallizes to form augite, diopside, albite, orthoclase and hematite in the ceramic shards. The formation of several crystalline phases in the ceramic shards led to an increase in the average density and strength of the products compared to those obtained by burning in a low-oxidation environment. The increased content of the total pyroxene phase (augite + diopside) increases the strength of the products. The obtained samples meet the requirements for clinker bricks according to the technical documentation.

The cognitive and research topics raised by the authors are very interesting and, in my opinion, bring great cognitive and scientific value. It should be emphasized that the authors have a very good review of the literature, which proves that they have a great understanding of the subject matter. The conducted research is innovative and the cognitive results are interesting. Considering the above, I request the possibility of publishing the article in its current form.

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 2 Comments

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you very much for reviewing our work. On behalf of all the authors and as the author of the correspondence, I express my gratitude for the review.

Point 1: In this artile experiments, local fusible loam was used as the main raw material. Diatomite and bentonite clay were used as additives. The materials were mixed after grinding and dosing, then water is added, in the amount required, until a pliable mass is obtained. To investigate the properties of the products, standard cylinder samples were prepared with a diameter of 50 mm and a height of 50 mm. After drying, the products were burned in a muffle kiln. An analysis of the properties of the burned products showed that the optimum amount of diatomite and bentonite.

Response 1:

Thank you for the review. We are sending an improved version of the article based on the comments of the other reviewers.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

"I think the article is interesting; however, it lacks more experimental analysis, and therefore, more results. The results obtained are scarce. The authors should improve Figure 1 and avoid allowing the values to overlap. Additionally, they need to unify the references in the correct format. In conclusion, the authors need to carefully and thoroughly revise this article."

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 3 Comments

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you very much for reviewing our work. On behalf of all the authors and as the author of the correspondence, I express my gratitude for the review.

Point 1: "I think the article is interesting; however, it lacks more experimental analysis, and therefore, more results. The results obtained are scarce. The authors should improve Figure 1 and avoid allowing the values to overlap. Additionally, they need to unify the references in the correct format. In conclusion, the authors need to carefully and thoroughly revise this article."

Response 1: The article is supplemented by information on the raw materials, their preparation, the composition of the ceramic mixture and the procedures for making samples.

In the "Methods and Materials " section, the methods for physical and mechanical tests of the ceramic specimens we obtained were added: shrinkage, average density, compressive strength and water absorption. The preparation of raw materials, the making of samples by moulding, drying and burning, and the determination of the specified properties of ceramic samples using the above methods are also experiments. In a previously published source by the authors [22], experiments were carried out to select the optimum compositions of ceramic raw mixtures, on the basis of which 2 optimum raw mixtures were selected for the production of ceramic clinker: 1 mixture of loam (85%) and diatomite (15%), 2 mixture consists of loam (85%) and bentonite clay (15%).

The results are discussed in Section 3. Figure 2 and Tables 1, 2, 3 and 4 present the results of the experiments. Each table is followed by a detailed description of the experimental results obtained.

As results of definition of physical and mechanical properties of the received ceramic samples have shown, they correspond to requirements of the normative and technical documentation: GOST 530-2012 "Brick and a stone ceramic", Technical conditions (TC) 5741-001-34854050-08. Clinker brick [23], and also correspond to the clinker brick (DIN V 105-1).

The Figure 1 impoved.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 4 Report

See the attached file.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 4 Comments

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you very much for reviewing our work. On behalf of all the authors and as the author of the correspondence, I express my gratitude for the review.

Point 1: The article abstract should be rewritten more clearly and concisely. Currently, it is impossible to understand the purpose of the research clearly, and the information provided is insufficient for a complete understanding of the study. I suggest that the authors provide more details about the mixture of raw materials, the evaluated properties, and the drying and firing conditions.

Response 1: The abstract has been supplemented with information on the raw materials, their preparation, the composition of the ceramic mixture and on the making of the samples. The drying and burning conditions have also been supplemented. The purpose of the study is rewritten according to the title and content of the article.

The information about the raw materials is supplemented. Their preparation and production of ceramic samples are available in section 2 and in a previously published source by the authors [22].

Point 2: The introduction needs revision and updating. The authors cite works that are not directly related to the purpose of the study, and there are many old references. It is important to provide an up-to-date review of the topic so that readers can better understand the context of the study.

Response 2: Studies not directly relevant to the study have been replaced by other new work relevant to the aim of the study: [2], [7], [9], [11], [12] и [13].

Point 3: The work's objective is unclear and does not correspond to the article's title. Authors must clarify what was investigated and what is new in the research compared to previous works.

Response 3: Corrected work objective: The objective of the work is to investigate the effect of the burning environment on the properties and phase composition of clinker-based loam samples with diatomite and bentonite clay, in order to develop technological parameters for the manufacture of clinker products.

Point 4: Why did the authors use bentonite and diatomite as additives?

Response 4: The additives indicated are chosen for the following reasons.

Bentonite is a highly plastic clay with a plasticity number of 35.4-44.7. Its refractoriness is between 1150 and 1230 °C, and its sintering temperature is 900-930 °C. It is classified as medium-fusing and is capable of forming shingles with a water absorption of no more than 5%; In accordance with the above properties, bentonite is a good plasticising additive as well as a melting agent that promotes sintering of the ceramic mass at low temperatures. Diatomite, taken as an additive to loam, consists of 70-80% amorphous silica. It is well known that silica in the amorphous state is highly reactive. When added to clay raw materials, during the burning process, it interacts with the decay products of clay minerals and carbonates, as well as quartz to form fusible eutectics (liquid phase), which will improve the sintering of ceramic shards.

Point 5: The section "materials and methods" needs more information. Authors must provide details of the methodological procedure.

Response 5: The methodology for determining the properties of ceramic samples has been added to the relevant section of the article (section 3).

Point 6: The results of the physical-mechanical tests refer to the average of how many samples? Please specify in the manuscript

Response 6: The results of the physical-mechanical tests on the specimens: shrinkage, average density, compressive strength and water absorption were obtained as an arithmetic mean value after testing the 3 specimens.

Point 7: The authors need to discuss the physical-mechanical test results in more detail and compare their results with results from the literature.

Response 7: The results are discussed in Section 3, where the results of tests (Table 1), phase composition after burning in slightly oxidising environment (Table 2), compositions and properties of products with post-burning reducing environment (Table 3), phase composition of samples of products burned in reducing environment (Table 4) are presented. Each table is followed by a detailed discussion of the results obtained.

The authors compare their results with those presented in the literature review [24] and [25], which indicate that the products obtained by burning in a reducing environment have higher physical and mechanical properties. The authors note: "Our results are therefore consistent with those reported in studies by foreign authors".

We do not compare with the results of physical-mechanical properties obtained by other authors, as their values differ from ours. The light-fluid clay loam on which the ceramic mixtures were based differs from the clay raw materials studied elsewhere in terms of their chemical and mineralogical composition. The phase composition of our clinker is also different from that of clinker obtained by other researchers. Based on this, the properties of clinker products will also differ. After all indicators of physical and mechanical properties of our samples correspond to requirements of the normative and technical documentation: GOST 530-2012 "Bricks and ceramic stone" (Government standard), TU 5741-001-34854050-08 (Technical conditions). Clinker brick [23], and also correspond to the clinker brick (DIN V 105-1).

Round 2

Reviewer 3 Report

"In my opinion, the authors have improved the article by following the recommendations. Nevertheless, the graphics could be displayed more effectively if margin lines were added on all four sides."

Reviewer 4 Report

The authors improved the manuscript. However, the images in Figure 1 are not in good quality. I suggest that the authors replace Figure 1 with better quality images.