The main weaknesses of masonry buildings, especially those made of clay, against earthquakes are: high weight, which increases the earthquake force that is proportional to the weight; low resistance that causes an early crushing of walls and ceilings; lack of ductility, which causes the masonry buildings to collapse immediately after cracking. These weaknesses have been the main causes of collapse of masonry buildings in past earthquakes in various parts of the world. Also, many of the restoration works, done on the historical monuments that were made by the mentioned materials, showed their inadequacy in some recent earthquakes This invention improves clay, as an eco-friendly, low-cost material with high workability, to present a better seismic behavior, by decreasing its specific weight to less than tones/m.sup.3 and increasing its tensile resistance up to five times of the ordinary clay, and giving better insulation capabilities against heat, sound and moisture to it.

The main weaknesses of masonry buildings, especially those made of clay, against earthquakes are: high weight, which increases the earthquake force that is proportional to the weight; low resistance that causes an early crushing of walls and ceilings; lack of ductility, which causes the masonry buildings to collapse immediately after cracking. These weaknesses have been the main causes of collapse of masonry buildings in past earthquakes in various parts of the world. Also, many of the restoration works, done on the historical monuments that were made by the mentioned materials, showed their inadequacy in some recent earthquakes This invention improves clay, as an eco-friendly, low-cost material with high workability, to present a better seismic behavior, by decreasing its specific weight to less than tones/m.sup.3 and increasing its tensile resistance up to five times of the ordinary clay, and giving better insulation capabilities against heat, sound and moisture to it.

Reinforcement for a material may be provided that includes a moldable composition, particularly for a building material, in which barley awns and seed parachutes, such as from bulrush seeds, are present as components in the reinforcement. The seed parachutes may comprise stem fibers and lateral fibers branching off therefrom, where the lateral fibers of the seed parachutes are connected to one another by the barley awns. The barley awns may have a weight proportion of approximately 0.1 to approximately 2 times, such as approximately 0.5 to approximately 1 time, higher than the weight proportion of the seed parachutes. A building material may be provided that includes the described reinforcement. A method for producing the building material may also be provided.

Reinforcement for a material may be provided that includes a moldable composition, particularly for a building material, in which barley awns and seed parachutes, such as from bulrush seeds, are present as components in the reinforcement. The seed parachutes may comprise stem fibers and lateral fibers branching off therefrom, where the lateral fibers of the seed parachutes are connected to one another by the barley awns. The barley awns may have a weight proportion of approximately 0.1 to approximately 2 times, such as approximately 0.5 to approximately 1 time, higher than the weight proportion of the seed parachutes. A building material may be provided that includes the described reinforcement. A method for producing the building material may also be provided.

The invention relates to a method and furnace allowing the use of filter earth (diatomaceous earth) waste, in which the organic material is removed using the method of the application. The furnace comprises a container in which the industrial waste is deposited, and a folding table is used to transport the material. The invention also includes an agitator with a base, used to lower blades and remove the treated material. The gases generated are collected by an extractor which includes a cooling jacket and are subsequently sent to an absorber system in which they are neutralized. Said device and method are used to obtain lightweight materials with low porosity and high compression strength, rendering solid granular industrial waste that is dangerous to the environment suitable for use in the construction or mechanical industries.

The invention relates to a method and furnace allowing the use of filter earth (diatomaceous earth) waste, in which the organic material is removed using the method of the application. The furnace comprises a container in which the industrial waste is deposited, and a folding table is used to transport the material. The invention also includes an agitator with a base, used to lower blades and remove the treated material. The gases generated are collected by an extractor which includes a cooling jacket and are subsequently sent to an absorber system in which they are neutralized. Said device and method are used to obtain lightweight materials with low porosity and high compression strength, rendering solid granular industrial waste that is dangerous to the environment suitable for use in the construction or mechanical industries.

A process for producing a ceramic catalyst involves the steps of: a) providing functional particles having a catalytically inactive pore former as a support surrounded by a layer of a catalytically active material, b) processing the functional particles with inorganic particles to form a catalytic composition, c) treating the catalytic composition thermally to form a ceramic catalyst, wherein the ceramic catalyst comprises at least porous catalytically inactive cells which are formed by the pore formers in the functional particles, which are embedded in a matrix comprising the inorganic particles, which form a porous structure and which are at least partly surrounded by an active interface layer comprising the catalytically active material of the layer of the functional particles.

An SCR catalyst produced in by this method has an improved NO.sub.x conversion rate compared to a conventionally produced SCR catalyst.

A process for producing a ceramic catalyst involves the steps of: a) providing functional particles having a catalytically inactive pore former as a support surrounded by a layer of a catalytically active material, b) processing the functional particles with inorganic particles to form a catalytic composition, c) treating the catalytic composition thermally to form a ceramic catalyst, wherein the ceramic catalyst comprises at least porous catalytically inactive cells which are formed by the pore formers in the functional particles, which are embedded in a matrix comprising the inorganic particles, which form a porous structure and which are at least partly surrounded by an active interface layer comprising the catalytically active material of the layer of the functional particles.

An SCR catalyst produced in by this method has an improved NO.sub.x conversion rate compared to a conventionally produced SCR catalyst.

The disclosed subject matter concerns earth based mixtures, methods of preparing mixtures, and a process of forming articles of manufacture, as well as a process of manufacturing articles in molds configured for compression molding of earth based mixtures in accordance with the disclosed subject matter, including mixtures containing one or more of, e.g., sand, silt, clay, minerals, or any combination thereof.

The disclosed subject matter concerns earth based mixtures, methods of preparing mixtures, and a process of forming articles of manufacture, as well as a process of manufacturing articles in molds configured for compression molding of earth based mixtures in accordance with the disclosed subject matter, including mixtures containing one or more of, e.g., sand, silt, clay, minerals, or any combination thereof.