The invention relates to a composition which contains modified chromate-deficient red mud, comprising a mineral composition of10 to 50 wt. % of iron compounds,12 to 35 wt. % of aluminum compounds,5 to 17 wt. % of silicon compounds,2 to 10 wt. % of titanium dioxide,0.5 to 6 wt. % of calcium compounds,0 to 1 ppm of chromium (VI) compounds, andoptionally additional unavoidable impurities. The composition, in particular the modified chromate-deficient red mud, contains a poorly soluble reducing agent for Cr(VI). In this manner, an inexpensive chemical composition is provided in particular as an iteratively functioning long-term adsorbent for pollutants in liquid, gaseous, and solid milieu. The invention further relates to a method for producing same and to uses thereof.

Lightweight molding produced from a dry mixture including graphite particles and a binder for setting of the dry mixture by water, alkali and/or aqueous salt solution, where the proportion by mass of the graphite particles in the dry mixture is more than 0.05, the binder includes magnesia binder, cement, caustic calcined magnesite, lime and/or clay powder, the density of the lightweight molding is in the range from 0.1 g/cm.sup.3 to 3.5 g/cm.sup.3 and the lightweight molding has a thermal conductivity of at least 0.5 W/mK.

A composition of matter and method of forming a radiation shielding member at ambient temperatures in which the composition of matter includes a cold-fired chemically bonded oxide-phosphate ceramic cement matrix; with one or more suitably prepared and distributed radiation shielding materials dispersed in the cold-fired chemically bonded oxide-phosphate ceramic cement matrix.

Disclosed is a method to produce composite materials, which contain customized mixes of nano- and/or micro-particles with tailored electromagnetic spectral properties, structural elements based thereon, in particular layers, but also bulk materials including inhomogeneous bulk materials. In some embodiments the IR-reflectivity is enhanced predominantly independently of reflectivity for visible wavelength. The enhanced IR-reflectivity is achieved by combining spectral properties from a plurality of nano- and/or micro-particles of distinct size distribution, shape distribution, chemical composition, crystal structure, and crystallinity distribution. This enables to approximate desired target spectra better than know solutions, which comprise only a single type of particles and/or an uncontrolled natural size distribution. Furthermore disclosed are methods of manufacturing such materials, including ceramics, clay, and concrete, as well as applications related to design and construction of buildings or other confined spaces.

A heat insulating member includes a heat insulating layer containing: a porous structure that has a plurality of particles connected to form a skeleton, has pores in an inside, and has a hydrophobic site on at least a surface between the surface and the inside; infrared shielding particles; and inorganic fibers, the heat insulating layer satisfying the following conditions (a) to (d) with a total mass of the heat insulating layer as 100% by mass. (a) A content of the inorganic fibers is 5% by mass or more and 25% by mass or less. (b) A content of the infrared shielding particles is 10% by mass or more. (c) A total content of the porous structure and the infrared shielding particles is 70% by mass or more. (d) A ratio of a content of the porous structure to the content of the infrared shielding particles is 1.2 or more.

A construction material mixture contains a dry mass of 10 to 98 wt. % carbon and 2 to 70 wt. % binding agent. The construction material mixture further comprises 1 to 80 wt. % loose particles, wherein the surface of the loose particles is at least partially coated with an electrically conductive material.

The present invention relates to a modified red mud/a modified bauxite residue and also to processes for the production thereof and to a storage medium comprising a modified red mud, to a heat storage means comprising a storage medium and to numerous uses of a modified red mud as storage medium, in particular in a heat storage means. The modified red mud contains the following components: haematite (Fe.sub.2O.sub.3), corundum (Al.sub.2O.sub.3), rutile (TiO.sub.2) and/or anatase (TiO.sub.2), quartz (SiO.sub.2), optionally perowskite (CaTiO.sub.3) and optionally pseudobrookite ((Fe.sup.3+,Fe.sup.2+).sub.2(Ti,Fe.sup.3+)O.sub.5), nepheline ((Na,K)[AlSiO.sub.4]) and/or hauynite ((Na,Ca).sub.4-8[Al.sub.6Si.sub.6O.sub.24(SO.sub.4)]), wherein the modified red mud is substantially free from Na.sub.2O and/or glass. A novel material is thus provided, and the production thereof for use as a storage medium in a sensitive energy storage system in the low-, medium- or high-temperature range is described.

A fire proof compound is provided including MgSO4.7H2O) (Mg4Si6O15(OH)2.6H2O) CaO (s)+H.sub.2O (l)Ca(OH).sub.2 (aq) (H.sub.r=63.7 kJ/mol of CaO) (CaSO.sub.4.2H.sub.2O) H.sub.4Mg.sub.2Si.sub.3O.sub.10). The compound can be added to a gypsum substrate of a wallboard to manufacture a fire proof wallboard. The compound can also be mixed with a paint to provide a fire proof paint. In certain composition, the compound can also exhibit an electromagnetic field blocking property. An existing wallboard manufacturing process line can be modified to accept the additional process of adding the compound to the gypsum substrate of the wallboard.

Radiation shielding composite material can include basalt fiber and concrete. The basalt fiber can be basalt-boron fiber, basalt-gadolinium fiber, basalt-boron gadolinium fiber, or a combination thereof. The concentration can be up to about 60 kilograms per cubic meter and, in some embodiments, range from about 60 kilograms per cubic meter to about 20 kilograms per cubic meter. The basalt fiber can be formed from a basalt melt that includes up to about 20% of boron oxide, up to about 20% of gadolinium oxide, and up to about 10% of boron oxide and about 10% of gadolinium oxide. The concrete can be ordinary concrete or heavy (i.e., barite) concrete.

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to methods and materials for fabricating building materials and other components from coal. More specifically, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to materials and other components, such as char clay plaster, char brick, and foam glass fabricated from coal, and to methods of forming such materials. In an embodiment is provided a building material fabrication method. The method includes mixing an organic solvent with coal, under solvent extraction conditions, to form a coal extraction residue, and heating the coal extraction residue under pyrolysis conditions to form a pyrolysis char, the pyrolysis conditions comprising a temperature greater than about 500 C. The method further includes mixing the pyrolysis char with water and with one or more of clay, cement, or sand to create a mixture, and molding and curing the mixture to form a building material. Pyrolysis char-containing materials are also disclosed.