A method for producing a bulk material consisting substantially of foamed or blown mineral or oxide particles by thermal treatment of a bulk material of basic particles, characterized in that the thermal treatment includes transport of a transversely conveyed or horizontal layer or of a free flow of the bulk material through a radiation field, the substantial active component of which lies in the near infrared range (NIR), and which has a power density of at least 50 kW/m2.

The invention relates to a method for producing an expanded granulate (29) made of a sand grain-shaped mineral material (1) using a propellant; wherein the material (1) is fed to a substantially upright furnace (2); wherein the material (1) is conveyed along a conveying path (4) through a plurality of vertically separated healing zones (5) in a furnace shaft (3) of the furnace (2), wherein each heating zone (5) can be heated by at least one independently controllable heating element (6); wherein the material (1) is heated to a critical temperature at which the surfaces (7) of the sand grains (1) become plastic and the sand grains (1) are expanded through the propellant. It is provided according to the invention that the material (1) is fed together with an amount of air from below, wherein the material (1) is conveyed from bottom to top along the conveying path (4) by means of the amount of air which flows from bottom to top within the furnace shaft (3) and forms an air flow (14), and wherein the expanding of the sand grains (1) occurs in the upper half, preferably in the uppermost third, of the conveying path (4).

A method for producing an expanded granulate made of a sand grain-shaped mineral material uses a propellant. The material is transported along a transport path through multiple heating zones in a furnace shaft, heated to a critical temperature at which the surfaces of the sand grains plasticize, and the sand grains are expanded based on the propellant. The material is fed from the bottom together with an amount of air; the material is transported from the bottom to the top along the transport path by the air quantity which flows from the bottom to the top in the furnace shaft and the sand grains are expanded in the upper half of the transport path. The material is heated such that the material immediately prior to entering into the furnace shaft is at a material entry temperature lower than the critical temperature and higher than the ambient temperature.

A method for heat treatment of a grain-shaped feed material using a calcination device to remove carbonate or water of crystallization from the feed material are provided. To continuously check the quality of the heat treatment process, the bulk density of the heat-treated material is measured continuously, wherein upon detection of a deviation of the determined bulk density from the at least one desired bulk density at least one heat treatment parameter of the heat treatment is adapted automatically or manually.

A coated granule that is suitable for use in a bituminous roofing membrane. The coated granule comprises: i) a granule, the granule comprising cristobalite, ii) a first coating on the surface of the granule, the coating comprising TiO2 in its anatase form and a binder, and iii) an oil barrier coating on the first coating, the oil barrier coating being a compound which will form a bond with a bituminous material, the oil barrier degrading upon exposure to the ultra violet radiation in sunlight and/or the action of rainwater to thereby expose the first coating.

A coated granule that is suitable for use in a bituminous roofing membrane. The coated granule comprises: i) a granule, the granule comprising cristobalite, ii) a first coating on the surface of the granule, the coating comprising TiO2 in its anatase form and a binder, and iii) an oil barrier coating on the first coating, the oil barrier coating being a compound which will form a bond with a bituminous material, the oil barrier degrading upon exposure to the ultra violet radiation in sunlight and/or the action of rainwater to thereby expose the first coating.

An arrangement for producing a bulk material consisting substantially of foamed or blown mineral or oxide particles by thermal treatment of a bulk material of basic particles. The arrangement includes NIR halogen radiators for generating a NIR radiation field of radiation with an active component in a near infrared, NIR, range having a wavelength in a range between 0.8 m and 1.5 m and which has a power density of at least 50 kW/m.sup.2 for thermally treating the basic particles, a conveying device for transporting a layer or stream of the bed of basic particles through the radiation field, and a controller that controls heating of the bed of basic particles such that a maximum temperature in the layer or stream is in a temperature range between 600 and 1500 C.

The present disclosure provides a preparation method for hydrothermal synthesis of fly ash silicate aggregate including: mixing sodium metasilicate, potassium hydroxide, and inorganic-organic hybrid excitation monomer as raw materials to obtain an inorganic-organic composite activator; preparing a silicate aggregate raw material, mixing measured fly ash, carbide slag, quicklime, and vitrified micro bubble by mass, adding the inorganic-organic composite activator and continue stirring to produce a mixture; forming a ball disc, wetting an expanded perlite that forms a core of the ball by spraying water, adding a prepared mixture, spraying water while adding, standing and curing, performing a maturation and activation treatment in an autoclave, undergoing a silicon calcium reaction for a hydrothermal synthesis to obtain the silicate aggregates. The present disclosure obtains silicate aggregates with high-performance by accelerating an internal activity of fly ash at an early stage and fully activating the activity of fly ash in all process.

An apparatus for producing lightweight aggregates is provided that includes an elongate furnace vessel with a delivery end for receiving particulate matter feedstock to be processed and a downstream particulate matter discharge end for discharging processed particulate matter as lightweight aggregates. A perforated distributor plate is positioned in the vessel. A fluidized bed zone is defined above the plate that has an upstream heating section for converting the particulate matter into processed particulate matter due to exposure of pressurized combustion gases and a downstream cooling section for cooling the processed particulate matter. Below the plate is a heating compartment for delivering the combustion gases through the plate into the heating section and a cooling compartment for delivering cooling air through the plate into the cooling section to cool the particulate matter processed in the upstream heating section. A downstream airflow-inducing apparatus is provided for inducing a flow of the feedstock entrained in the airflow downstream from the heating section into the cooling section of the vessel. A discharge apparatus is provided for discharging the processed particulate matter from the vessel in a suspended condition in a fluidizing air stream.

Insulation panel made from an insulation panel precursor comprising at least one modified layered silicate.