The present invention discloses a novel, improved, simple and economic process for manufacturing lightweight ceramic sand. The lightweight ceramic sand is produced from the industrial wastes, wherein the major raw materials are fly ash, bauxite residue and biomass-coal fly ash. The present invention relates to the production of new fine particulates at high throughput and at low manufacturing cost to provide an alternative or substitute to the fast-depleting natural sand including crushed stones and lightweight fine aggregates produced from expanded clay, expanded glass and volcanic activities. Lightweight ceramic sand of the present invention can be used as a building and construction material and foundry sand.

A method of manufacturing an expanded granular material comprises: forming a mixture comprising a silicate material, an alkali compound and water; curing the mixture to form a solid precursor; crushing and/or milling the solid precursor to form an expandable granular material; and heating the granular material to form an expanded granular material.

The present invention provides a fiber-reinforced cement composition comprising; cement, fiber, silica, filler, expanded perlite, and polymer. The fiber-reinforced cement composition according to the present invention has low density, high toughness and flexural strength, and not contains volatile composition. When it is molded into workpiece, the workpiece is lightweight, easy to be cut and/or lathed into desired shapes, drilled and fixed with screws and/or repeatedly nailed at the same position, tolerant to humidity, termites and insects, inflammable and does not produce powder when cut, drilled and/or lathed that is hazardous to the workers. Therefore, it is suitably applicable for being utilized as a material for manufacturing furniture parts.

Cement compositions containing a hydraulic cement, a synthetic phyllosilicate (e.g. Laponite®), and silica flour. The cement compositions may optionally include other additives such as an expandable agent, a defoamer, and a fluid loss controller. Cement slurries and wellbore cements made therefrom are also specified. The inclusion of the synthetic phyllosilicate has enhanced the mechanical strength, improved the density homogeneity, as well as decreased the permeability of the wellbore cement, making it suitable for cementing oil and gas wells under high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) conditions.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to char bricks and methods of making char bricks. A composition (e.g., a char brick) includes about 0% to about 10% sand, about 30% to about 70% pyrolysis char (PC), and about 30% to about 60% cement. The PC has a particle size distribution from about 50 μm to about 500 μm. A method of making the composition includes mixing dry ingredients into a dry mixture, mixing the dry mixture with water to create a wet mixture; molding the wet mixture into a composition; and curing the composition. The dry ingredients include sand, pyrolysis char (PC), and cement. The PC has a particle size distribution from about 50 μm to about 500 μm.

A magnesium-based fly ash porous sound-absorbing material with a surface hydrophobically modified, and a preparation method thereof are provided. In the preparation method, a basic magnesium sulfate cement is adopted as a cementing agent and a fly ash is adopted as a mineral admixture to prepare a slurry; foaming is conducted through a physical foaming process in a foaming machine to obtain a foam; and the foam is mixed with the slurry, and a resulting mixture is poured and cured, and then subjected to a surface hydrophobic modification through vapor deposition to obtain the sound-absorbing material. The sound-absorbing material has a density of 251 kg/m.sup.3 to 306 kg/m.sup.3, a noise reduction coefficient (NRC) of 0.65 to 0.7, a compressive strength of 1.8 MPa to 2.2 MPa, and a water contact angle of 129° to 151°.

Provided herein are compositions, methods, and systems related to bimodal, trimodal, and/or multi-modal distribution of reactive vaterite cement particles.

A method for the construction of a data center, includes (a) providing a fresh concrete composition including a paste that includes a hydraulic binder, a mineral addition and water, the paste being present in a mixture with sand and aggregates, whereby the paste is present in the concrete composition in a volume of <320 L/m.sup.3 and/or the solid volume fraction of said paste is >50 vol.-% and (b) placing the fresh concrete composition so as to build walls, a floor and/or a ceiling of the data center, which are intended to surround the individual components of computer systems, which are housed in the data center.

A cementitious panel system reinforced on its opposed surfaces by a fabric of basalt fiber woven or non-woven mesh. Preferably the mesh is a woven basalt scrim with thicker yarn and larger mesh openings to provide a cementitious panel with improved handling properties while retaining tensile strength and long term durability. The fabric is constructed as a mesh of high modulus strands of bundled basalt fibers. The fabric also has suitable physical characteristics for embedment within the cement matrix of the panels or panels closely adjacent the opposed faces thereof. The fabric provides a panel system with long-lasting, high strength tensile reinforcement and improved handling properties regardless of their spatial orientation during handling. Included as part of the invention are methods for making the reinforced cementitious panel.

Provided herein are compositions, methods, and systems related to bimodal, trimodal, and/or multi-modal distribution of reactive vaterite cement particles.