A method for producing an insulating composite block including a mineral foam, includes: providing a block including at least one cell having walls which are either sufficiently humid or consist of a water-repellent material, and b. filling the cell with a mineral foam that does not substantially include any calcium aluminate.

The method for producing a carbonate bonded, compacted article, which method comprises the steps of providing a particulate, carbonatable material; compacting the particulate material to form a compact; and carbonating said compact. The carbonation of the compact is started and subsequently continued for at least 1 hour with a low partial carbon dioxide pressure in the carbonation gas which is lower than 0.5 bars, after which carbonation of the compact is continued for at least 8 hours with a high partial carbon dioxide pressure in the carbonation gas which is higher than 0.5 bars. By carbonating in two phases with a low and a high partial carbon dioxide pressure, a higher compressive strength of the carbonated compacts can be achieved within a predetermined carbonation time, in particular within a carbonation time of about 24 hours so that every day new compacts can be carbonated.

The method for producing a carbonate bonded, compacted article, which method comprises the steps of providing a particulate, carbonatable material; compacting the particulate material to form a compact; and carbonating said compact. The carbonation of the compact is started and subsequently continued for at least 1 hour with a low partial carbon dioxide pressure in the carbonation gas which is lower than 0.5 bars, after which carbonation of the compact is continued for at least 8 hours with a high partial carbon dioxide pressure in the carbonation gas which is higher than 0.5 bars. By carbonating in two phases with a low and a high partial carbon dioxide pressure, a higher compressive strength of the carbonated compacts can be achieved within a predetermined carbonation time, in particular within a carbonation time of about 24 hours so that every day new compacts can be carbonated.

A method of producing a carbonate bonded article includes preparing a reactive mixture having a particulate mineral source and an aqueous source, and reacting the reactive mixture with carbon dioxide to form a mineral matrix including carbonates. The particulate mineral source includes a leachable compound, the leachable compound including one or more elements selected from: As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, F, Hg, Mo, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, V, and Zn. The reactive mixture includes a reducing agent, where the reducing agent includes one or more of a sulfide, disulfide, and polysulfide compound that reacts with the particulate mineral source. The pH of the reactive mixture is at least 10.

A method of producing a carbonate bonded article includes preparing a reactive mixture having a particulate mineral source and an aqueous source, and reacting the reactive mixture with carbon dioxide to form a mineral matrix including carbonates. The particulate mineral source includes a leachable compound, the leachable compound including one or more elements selected from: As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, F, Hg, Mo, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, V, and Zn. The reactive mixture includes a reducing agent, where the reducing agent includes one or more of a sulfide, disulfide, and polysulfide compound that reacts with the particulate mineral source. The pH of the reactive mixture is at least 10.

A method for manufacturing cement clinker raw materials includes at least one stainless steel slag material that is calcined and burned to produce the cement clinker. The method further includes solidifying the liquid steel slag so that it comprises a sufficiently small amount of fines. These fines and/or the fines produced when crushing the coarser fraction of the steel slag to recover stainless steel are used as powdery stainless steel slag material for manufacturing cement clinker. These fines contain considerably less chromium than the sand and the coarser aggregate fractions produced from the solidified stainless steel slag. By replacing the conventional lime sources partially by the stainless steel slag material, carbon dioxide emissions and the energy requirements of the cement kiln can be reduced. The powdery stainless steel slag material also does not need to be finely ground and melts immediately in the rotary kiln.

A method for manufacturing cement clinker raw materials includes at least one stainless steel slag material that is calcined and burned to produce the cement clinker. The method further includes solidifying the liquid steel slag so that it comprises a sufficiently small amount of fines. These fines and/or the fines produced when crushing the coarser fraction of the steel slag to recover stainless steel are used as powdery stainless steel slag material for manufacturing cement clinker. These fines contain considerably less chromium than the sand and the coarser aggregate fractions produced from the solidified stainless steel slag. By replacing the conventional lime sources partially by the stainless steel slag material, carbon dioxide emissions and the energy requirements of the cement kiln can be reduced. The powdery stainless steel slag material also does not need to be finely ground and melts immediately in the rotary kiln.

A concrete-based composite material including iron rich particles is characterized by an iron content greater than 17% by weight of the composite material, can include iron particles which are an iron by-product recovered from iron slag material, can include iron rich particles which have an iron content of at least 60% by weight of the iron rich particles, and/or can include iron particles having a particle size distribution in the range of about inch to +60 mesh or in the range of about 20 mesh to about +60 mesh. The composite material can include ground granulated blast furnace slag as a portion of the cementitious component of the composite material. A method of forming a structural element from the composite material includes casting the structural element such that the structural element is characterized by a ballistic performance of Level 10 as defined by Underwriters Laboratories standard UL752.

A concrete-based composite material including iron rich particles is characterized by an iron content greater than 17% by weight of the composite material, can include iron particles which are an iron by-product recovered from iron slag material, can include iron rich particles which have an iron content of at least 60% by weight of the iron rich particles, and/or can include iron particles having a particle size distribution in the range of about inch to +60 mesh or in the range of about 20 mesh to about +60 mesh. The composite material can include ground granulated blast furnace slag as a portion of the cementitious component of the composite material. A method of forming a structural element from the composite material includes casting the structural element such that the structural element is characterized by a ballistic performance of Level 10 as defined by Underwriters Laboratories standard UL752.

A composition for producing a glass fiber reinforced cement rebar, the composition comprising glass fiber; and a binder, the binder impregnates the glass fibers to hold the glass fibers together, where the binder comprises a cementitious component and a non-cement component, where the non-cement component comprises graphene oxide.