Bismuth oxyhalide-added building materials are disclosed. The building material is a binder-containing building material, which sets and harden when mixed with water, such as gypsum and cement-based building material. Methods for applying bismuth oxyhalidecomprising coatings onto surfaces of building materials, to protect them against pollutants, are described.

The disclosure relate generally to structures, forms, and monoliths, and methods of preparing the same. This disclosure can produce uniform structured passageways or channels of active material, including adsorbent or catalyst, by imprinting or molding features into a paste on a support that can be subsequently assembled into a gas or liquid treating structure, i.e. a monolith. The paste, which can include an active material, binder, and other potential additives, can be applied to the support or pushed through a support (as in a mesh) as a thin film. The paste can be imprinted, stamped, shaped or otherwise handled to give features of desired height, shape, width, and positioning. When stacked or rolled, the features of one layer contact a subsequent layer, which seal to form passageways. The resulting structure can have high cell-density (>1000 cells per square inch) and a large volume fraction of active material.

Described herein is a cordierite membrane coated on a monolith substrate formed from cordierite. The membrane coating is formed from cordierite particles which have been processed to have a median particle size diameter of between 1 and 3 microns with a narrow particle size distribution suitable for forming a cordierite membrane on a cordierite monolith substrate. After the cordierite membrane is formed on the cordierite monolith substrate, the cordierite membrane monolith has a pore size of less than 1 micron.

A geopolymer cement and a method of producing the same are provided. A geopolymer cement binder may be provided including a geopolymer precursor and magnesium oxide as an alkali activator. The geopolymer cement binder may be mixed with water using high shear mixing.

A process for making a layered multi-material structural element having controlled mechanical failure characteristics. The process includes the steps of: supplying a cementitious layer and forming a polymer layer on the cementitious layer by additive manufacture such that the polymer layer has a first thickness and the cementitious layer has a second thickness, wherein the polymer layer comprises a polymer and the cementitious layer comprises a cementitious material; and allowing the polymer from the polymer layer to suffuse into the cementitious layer for a period of time to obtain a suffused zone in the cementitious layer such that the suffused zone has a third thickness that is less than half the second thickness.

An insulation medium invention includes a plurality of microspheres. Each microsphere comprises a porous core comprising a porous core material and having an exterior surface, a gas within the porous core, and a coating layer coating all of the exterior surface of the porous core. The coating layer comprises a coating material which transitions from a first state to a second state. In the first state, the coating material is permeable to the gas. In the second state the material is impermeable to the gas. The coating material in the second state is configured to encapsulate and maintain partial vacuum of the gas inside the porous core. In one embodiment, in the second state the coating is impermeable to air. Insulated structures, a method of making an insulation medium, a fluid storage media, and a method of delivering a fluid are also disclosed.

A shear panel building material that includes a first facing membrane, a core matrix disposed on a face of the first facing membrane, and a semi-rigid or rigid material attached to the core matrix. The core matrix can include microspheres having a size of about 200 microns to about 800 microns, sodium silicate, and ethylene vinyl acetate. In one aspect, the shear panel is substantially free from glue and cement.

Roofing granules comprising agglomerated inorganic material treated with carbon dioxide gas, and building materials, such as shingles, that include such roofing granules. By fabricating roofing granules from agglomerating inorganic material it is possible to tailor the particle size distribution so as to provide optimal shingle surface coverage, thus reducing shingle weight and usage of raw materials. Additionally, the use of agglomeration permits the utilization of by-products from conventional granule production processes.

The present invention relates to a flexible composite organic aerogel (1) comprising: a textile reinforcement (5), an organic aerogel (3) placed within said textile reinforcement (3),
said organic aerogel (3) being based on a resin resulting at least in part from polyhydroxybenzene(s) R and formaldehyde(s) F,
said organic aerogel (3) being a polymeric organic gel comprising at least one water-soluble cationic polyelectrolyte,
or said organic aerogel (3) being a pyrolysate of said gel in the form of a porous carbon monolith comprising the product of the pyrolysis of said at least one water-soluble cationic polyelectrolyte P,
said organic aerogel (3) exhibiting a specific thermal conductivity of between 10 and 40 mW.Math.m.sup.1.Math.K.sup.1 at atmospheric pressure.

An insulating material is used that contains a silica xerogel, and a nonwoven fabric fiber capable of generating carbon dioxide by reacting with atmospheric oxygen at a temperature of 300 C. or more. The insulating material uses oxidized acrylic as the nonwoven fabric fiber. A device uses the insulating material installed as a part of a heat insulating or a cold insulating structure, or installed between a heat-generating part and a casing.