Effect of Particle Size from Oil Palm Wood Powder as Pore Forming Agent on Porosity and Hardness of Porous Ceramics based on Clay and Polyvinyl Alcohol

: Preparation of porous ceramics based on polyvinyl alcohol and clay has been carried out by using oil palm wood powder as a pore forming agent. Porous ceramics are made with a composition: 80% clay, 15% PVA and 5% oil palm wood powder. The size of the particles of palm oil wood powder is varied, namely 100, 150 and 200 mesh. The sintering process is carried out at a temperature of 1000 °C with a holding time of 2 hours. The chemical composition of clay is determined by EDX analysis. The porous ceramics produced were tested for porosity and hardness. The result shows that the particle size of oil palm wood powder is very influential on the hardness and porosity of the ceramic. The larger the mesh size of the particles of oil palm (the smaller the particle size) the higher the hardness of the ceramic, but the porosity is getting smaller.