Chalk Crayon:

As is well known chalk crayon are used for writing on

black boards. Crayons are made of gypsum (plaster of
paris) and they are formed into sticks which are easily
rounded and tapered. The market for chalk crayons is very
promising

Raw Materials:

The major raw materials required are gypsum and clay.

Process of Manufacturing:
1. Cleaning of mineral gypsum to free it from earth
and other impurities
2. Drying and powdering of gypsum to a fineness to go
through 100 mesh
3. Calcining the powdered gypsum at 120oc to 130oc for
about half an hour to get plaster of paris
4. After cleaning and applying with lubricant the moulds
are to be set properly in wooden frames
5. Mixing of plaster of paris and china clay with
suitable additives like whitening, colouring agents,
etc.
6. Adding water to the mixture and stirring it constantly
and vigorously till it attains homogenous slurry form and
pouring it in the moulds.
7. Crayons are to be dried initially in the shade and then in
direct sunlight
8. After testing chalk sticks to be packed in boxes duly
filled with saw dust or husk to avoid breakage in transit
Machinery Requirement:
The equipment required are:
Flour mill with standard capacity out put, Moulds of 100
cavities each, Calcination drums, pans, buckets, Balance,
wooden trays and other tools
Machinery Suppliers:
1. M/s Small Machinery Mfg. Co. 2. M/s Vishwa Karma Engg. Works 3. M/s A.K. &
22, R.C. Kar Road, Yusuf Sarat Sons,
Shyam Bazar, Calcutta-4 New Delhi Kucha Pandit,
Lal Kuan, Delhi
 Background

Chalk used in school classrooms comes in slender sticks

approximately .35 of an inch (nine millimeters) in
diameter and 3.15 inches (80 millimeters) long.

Lessons are often presented to entire classes on chalk-

boards (or blackboards, as they were originally called)
using sticks of chalk because this method has proven
cheap and easy.

As found in nature, chalk has been used for drawing since

prehistoric times, when, according to archaeologists, it
helped to create some of the earliest cave drawings. Later,
artists of different countries and styles used chalk mainly
for sketches, and some such drawings, protected with
shellac or a similar substance, have survived.

Chalk was first formed into sticks for the convenience of

artists. The method was to grind natural chalk to a fine
powder, then add water, clay as a binder, and various dry
colors. The resultant putty was then rolled into cylinders
and dried. Although impurities produce natural chalk in
many colors, when artists made their own chalk they
usually added pigments to render these colors more vivid.
Carbon, for example, was used to enhance black, and
ferric oxide (Fe2O3) created a more vivid red.
Chalk did not become standard in schoolrooms until
the nineteenth century, when class sizes began to
increase and teachers needed a convenient way of
conveying information to many students at one time. Not
only did instructors use large blackboards, but students
also worked with individual chalkboards, complete with
chalk sticks and a sponge or cloth to use as an eraser.
These small chalkboards were used for practice,
especially among the younger students. Pens dipped in
ink wells were the preferred tool for writing final copy, but
these were reserved for older students who could be
trusted not to make a mess: paper—made solely from
rags at this time—was expensive.
An important change in the nature of classroom chalk
paralleled a change in chalk-boards. Blackboards used to
be black, because they were made from true slate. While
some experts advocated a change to yellow chalkboards
and dark blue or purple chalk to simulate writing on paper,
when manufacturers began to fashion chalkboards from
synthetic materials during the twentieth century, they
chose the color green, arguing that it was easier on the
eyes. Yellow became the preferred color for chalk.

Almost all chalk produced today is dustless. Earlier,

softer chalk tended to produce a cloud of dust that some
feared might contribute to respiratory problems.

Dustless chalk still produces dust; it's just that the

dust settles faster. Manufacturers accomplish this by
baking their chalk longer to harden it more.

Another method, used by a French company, is to dip

eighty percent of each dustless chalk stick in shellac
to prevent the chalk from rubbing off onto the hands.

Raw Materials

The main component of chalk is calcium carbonate

(CaCO3), a form of limestone. Limestone deposits develop
as coccoliths(minute calcareous plates created by the
decomposition of plankton skeletons) accumulate, forming
sedimentary layers. Plankton, a tiny marine organism,
concentrates the calcium found naturally in seawater
from .04 percent to 40 percent, which is then precipitated
when the plankton dies.
To make chalk, limestone is first quarried, generally by an open pit
quarry method. Next, the limestone must be crushed. Primary
crushing, such as in a jaw crusher, breaks down large boulders;
secondary crushing pulverizes smaller chunks into pebbles. The
limestone is then wet-milled with water in a ball mill—a rotating steel
drum with steel balls inside to further pulverize the chalk. This step
washes away impurities and leaves a fine powder.

The base of pastel chalks is calcium sulfate (CaSO4),

which is derived from gypsum (CaSO4-2H2O), an
evaporite mineral formed by the deposition of ocean brine;
it also occurs disseminated in limestone.

Chalk and dehydrated gypsum thus have similar origins

and properties.

Pastels also contain clays and oils for binding, and

strong pigments. This mixture produces sticks that write
smoothly without smearing and draw better on paper
than on chalkboards.

Although great care is taken to eliminate contaminants

when chalk is manufactured, some impurities inherent to
the mineral remain. Chief among these are silica, alumina,
iron, phosphorus, and sulfur. In less significant, amounts,
manganese, copper, titanium, sodium oxide, potassium
oxide, fluorine, arsenic, and strontium may also occur.
 The Manufacturing Process
Quarrying limestone
1 Approximately 95 percent of the limestone produced in
the United States is quarried. After a sufficient reserve
(twenty-five years' worth is recommended) has been
prospected, the land that covers the deposit is removed
with bulldozers and scrapers. If the chalk is close to the
surface, an open shelf quarry method can be used;
however, this is very rare. Usually an open pit quarry
method is used instead. In this method, holes are drilled
into the rock, explosives are placed inside, and the rock is
blown apart. Depending on the nature of the deposit, a pit
can be enlarged laterally or vertically.
Pulverizing the chalk
2 Once comparatively large chunks of limestone have
been quarried, they need to be transported to crushing
machines, where they are pulverized to meet the demands
of the chalk industry. The first step is primary crushing.
Various crushers exist, but the principle is the same: all
compress the stone with jaws or a cone, or shatter it
through impact. Secondary crushing is accomplished by
smaller crushers that work at higher speeds, producing
pebbles which are then ground and pulverized.
3 The next phase, wet grinding, washes away impurities. It
is used to make the fine grade of limestone necessary to
make chalk suitable for writing purposes. Wet grinding is
carried out in ball mills—rotating steel drums with steel
balls inside that pulverize the chalk until it is very fine.
After grinding, the chalk particles are sifted over vibrating
screens to separate the finer particles. The particles are
then mixed with water, extruded through a die of the
proper size, and cut to the proper length. Finally, the chalk
is cured in an oven for four days.
Dehydrating gypsum

4 Gypsum, like limestone, is also quarried and pulverized.

The major difference in processing gypsum is that it must
be dehydrated to form calcium sulfate, the major
component of colored chalk. This is done in a kettle, a
large combustion chamber in which the gypsum is
heated to between 244 and 253 degrees Fahrenheit
(116-121 degrees Celsius). It is allowed to boil until it
has been reduced by twelve to fifteen percent, at
which point its water content will have been reduced
from 20.9 percent to between 5 and 6 percent. To
further reduce the water, the gypsum is reheated to
about 402 degrees Fahrenheit (204 degrees Celsius),
at which point it is removed from the kettle. By now,
almost all of the water has evaporated, leaving calcium
sulfate.
Sifting, cleaning, and shipping the chalk

5 The particles of chalk or calcium sulfate are now

conveyed to vibrating screens that sift out the finer
material. The ensuing fine chalk is then washed, dried,
packed in bags, and shipped to the manufacturer. Upon
receiving chalk or calcium sulfate, the chalk factory
usually grinds the materials again to render them
smooth and uniformly fine.

Making white classroom chalk

6 To make white classroom chalk, the manufacturer adds

water to form a thick slurry with the consistency of
clay. The slurry is then placed into and extruded from a
die—an orifice of the desired long, thin shape. Cut into
lengths of approximately 24.43 inches (62 centimeters),
the sticks are next placed on a sheet that contains places
for five such sticks. The sheet is then placed in an oven,
where the chalk cures for four days at 188 degrees
Fahrenheit (85 degrees Celsius). After it has cured, the
sticks are cut into 80 millimeters lengths.

Making colored classroom chalk

7 Pigments (dry, natural, colored materials) are mixed

in with the calcium carbonate while both are dry (the
procedure is similar to sifting flour and baking powder
together before adding liquid, as in a cake recipe). Water
is then added to the mixture, which is then baked in the
same manner as white classroom chalk.

Making pastels

8 Another manufacturing method is used for pastels, the

chalks used for art drawing. The procedure resembles that
used for colored classroom chalk, but calcium sulfate is
used instead of calcium carbonate. In addition, the dry
material is mixed with clay and oils, and more
pigments are added to produce a slurry that has the
consistency of toothpaste. Because the final products
must be relatively moist, pastels are usually air-dried
rather than baked.
Boxing the chalk

9 Placed in small boxes, the completed chalk sticks are

stacked in large boxes to be shipped to supply stores.

Quality Control

Chalk that is intended for the classroom must undergo

stringent tests in order to perform well and be labeled
nontoxic. All incoming materials are tested for purity
before being used. After the chalk has been made into
sticks, one stick from each batch is selected for tests.
The density and break strength of the sample stick are
determined. The sample is then used to write with,
and the quality of the mark is studied. Erasability is
also studied.

First, the chalk mark is erased using a dry eraser, and the
quality of erasure is examined. Then, the chalkboard is
washed, and again the amount of chalk left on the board is
examined. Furthermore, a sample from each batch is kept
for five years so that it can be inspected if in the future its
quality is questioned.

Chalk for classroom use adheres to the American National

Standards Institute performance standards. Written
specifications state the proper length of the chalk stick, as
well as how many sticks should go in a box. On November
18, 1990, a Federal Act(Public Law 100-695) went into
effect, mandating that all art materials sold in the United
States must be evaluated by a qualified toxicologist who
must then issue a label explaining their toxicity.

Toxicologists are concerned not with cost but with safety,

and they must consider many factors before granting
approval. Each ingredient, the quantity in which it is used,
and its possible adverse reactions with other ingredients
are studied. The product's size and packaging, its
potential harm to humans, and its tendency to produce
allergic reactions are also considered. Toxicologists also
take into account the products use and potential mis-use,
as well as all federal and state regulations. Formulas for
every color and every formula change must meet
approval.
Classroom chalk is labeled "CP [certified product]
nontoxic" if it meets the standards of the Art and Craft
Materials Institute, a nonprofit manufacturers' association.
This label certifies that art materials for children are
nontoxic and meet voluntary standards of quality and
performance, and that the toxicity of art materials for
adults has been correctly labeled. The CP seal also
indicates that the product meets standards of material,
workmanship, working qualities, and color developed by
the Art and Craft Materials Institute and others such as the
American National Standards Institute and the American
Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). To ensure
honesty, most chalk manufacturers are tested at random
by an independent toxicologist, who checks to see that
they are meeting nontoxic standards. Most manufacturers
conform to such exacting standards because
knowledgeable schools will not purchase chalk that is not
properly labeled.
 The Future

Many people consider using chalk and chalk-boards to

present material outdated. Some experts claim that
teachers have stubbornly resisted new technologies that
could improve teaching—and eliminate the chalkboard
entirely. A study which recently investigated whether
teaching with overhead projectors was more effective than
using chalkboards concluded that chalkboards were
more interactive, progressive, and fruitful.
A development much in the educational news lately is the
electronic chalkboard. In place of a regular chalkboard, a
teacher uses a large TV screen, inputting materials from a
computer terminal. In a more advanced scenario, each
student uses a terminal, to which the teacher sends
information from a master computer. Experts claim that
such set-ups are more visually exciting to students, more
versatile than the old-fashioned chalkboards, cleaner than
dusty chalk, easier for the teacher to use, and better able
to present more complex material through the use of
graphics and animation. Many studies on the feasibility of
electronic chalkboards have been made, however, and
most seem to favor keeping the traditional chalkboard, at
least for now. Electronic chalkboards that are
sophisticated and easily readable lie beyond the budget
constraints and technological capabilities of most schools.
Further, studies of the electronic system's effectiveness
report that teachers who use it spent more time preparing
their lessons, teachers and students were less interactive,
students were dissatisfied with the electronic chalkboards,
and the new devices divided the students' attention
between the screen and the teacher conveying the
information. Although the enthusiasm for electronic
blackboards in some areas remains high, chalk use in the
classroom is guaranteed for some time to come.