Sintered stone, or so-called porcelain is a synthetic surfacing material made entirely of minerals and formed by high heat. Unlike engineered quartz countertops, which use resins as binders, sintered stone contains no binders. The materials are heated to such a high temperature and pressed that the minerals fuse, essentially becoming their own binder.These materials are ground to a fine powder. They are fired to extremely high temperatures (over 1,000°C or 1,832°F) until they sinter—form a cohesive mass short of melting.The sintered materials are formed into sheets under extremely high pressure. Sintered stone is used for kitchen and bathroom countertops.
