Insulating Ceramic Building Material and Method With Fired Clay and Garbage Mixture

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a cement composition and building blocks formed therefrom.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Today's building industry is experimenting with building blocks of many different compositions. Primarily, buildings are constructed of precast concrete blocks made with a variety of grades and types of cements. In order to impart greater insulation qualities to concrete blocks, some manufacturers have formed blocks with hollow interiors into which insulating foam or the like has been placed. Other blocks impart greater insulation value by having added insulators in the cement mixture. Examples of such additives commonly used are expanded polystyrene beads, perlite minerals and the like. These additives have the dual advantage of increasing the insulation qualities of the block as well as making the block lightweight.

Two problems have occurred with blocks made with the aforementioned materials. First, as more insulation material is added to the cement, the block becomes lighter and less strong. Second, polystyrene beads and perlite both tend to float when mixed into the water based cement. U.S. Pat. No. 2,727,827 to Charikof addresses the problem of floating perlite by coating the mineral with an air release inhibitor. Additionally, perlite has little compression strength when used in sufficient quantity to provide good insulation qualities. Also, perlite is an expensive additive when used in the quantity necessary for good insulation. Therefore, other additives are also commonly added to perlite/cement mixtures to overcome these problems.

Mixing ceramic aggregates with cement has been considered to create fireproof and lightweight building materials. The ceramic aggregates used have been made from several materials. For example, Gilman in U.S. Pat. No. Re. 10,419 discloses a fireproof composition formed from Kaolin clay and resinous sawdust. In U.S. Pat. No. 353,631 Gilman discloses a method of making earthenware using clay, sawdust and straw.

Walker, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,278,957, discloses a lightweight ceramic aggregate composed of flint kaolin and hard kaolin clays and organic combustible fillers, preferably wood fiber. The aforesaid ceramic compositions employ wood fillers and expensive kaolin clays.

In my previous patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,486, I disclosed a ceramic composition to make cement with insulating properties. I used a variety of vitreous clays and organic mulches to produce a ceramic aggregate which was added to cement in both granular and bead form.

Today's refuse disposal industry relies substantially upon nonproductive uses for refuse, both raw and processed. Although the volume of the refuse can be reduced (e.g. by incinerator, compactor, etc.), no practical means to employ large quantities in production of building materials are currently in use. Commercial facilities are known for processing garbage into fuel pellets, but this has not been done in connection with production of a ceramic building block wherein the garbage pellets add fuel in firing and leave the fired material optimally porous.

The aforementioned prior art problems are obviated by the composition of this invention in which cement is mixed with ceramic grog and ceramic aggregates to form a building block with high insulation values. By grog is meant a fired refractory material which is preferably crushed. In this invention, grog replaces sand commonly used to mix with cement to form concrete. Aggregate is usually sand and pebbles added to cement to make concrete, but in this composition aggregate is used to describe the formed ceramic bead which replaces pebbles in the cement/ceramic composition of this invention. In the preferred composition, the ceramic portion is formed from clay (preferably a high fire clay of cone 6) mixed with organic mulch at a ratio of about one part clay to about two parts mulch by volume. The mulch may be straw, grass clippings, sawdust or other dry organic mulch. Preferably, the organic mulch is pelletized garbage and the garbage can be pre-processed into fuel pellets and then, preferably, shredded prior to mixing with the clay. During firing, the pellets add a fuel component that improves firing efficiency. Additionally, by incorporating the garbage pellets into the ceramic aggregate and firing them in that form, the fly ash is embedded into and sold with the aggregate, thereby eliminating possible pollutants from entering the air as would occur when the pellets alone are burned.

The ceramic mixture created is processed into two different forms of starting material. The first form is grog which is produced when the clay/mulch mixture is rolled out in sheets to dry. These sheets are then fired. During firing, the garbage or other mulch burns out, leaving small air holes in the sheet. The sheet is then crushed to produce granular grog, the grains being porous. The second starting product formed from the clay/mulch is aggregate beads which are generally semi-ovoid and include a central depression. The beads are fired to produce ceramic beads which are extremely porous. The air holes in the grog and beads impart insulating properties to the resultant cement/ceramic composition. The grog and aggregate are then mixed together with cement at a ratio of preferably one part cement to two parts grog to three parts aggregate (beads) by volume to produce the composition of this invention.

It is preferred that an H-shaped building block which enhances the properties of the composition be formed from the composition. The preferred block is generally an elongated block which forms an H in vertical cross section. The long edges of the blocks may be glued together when building a wall. Because the blocks may be glued together, people with no previous masonry experience may build with this product.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an economic ceramic composition for building blocks which combines the strength and insulating qualities of ceramics with cement and which utilizes reclaimed garbage pellets with ceramic composition.

It is another object of this invention to provide a composition for building blocks which uses inexpensive end plentiful clay as an ingredient.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a composition for building blocks which uses inexpensive and plentiful organic mulch as a pre-mix ingredient and, in particular, uses pelletized garbage.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a composition for building blocks which utilizes a ceramic bead as an ingredient.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a building block with improved insulation properties made of an inexpensive cement/ceramic composition.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a building block with hollow areas into which additional insulation may be fitted.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a building block which does not require mortar.

It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a lightweight building composition.

These and other objects will be more readily ascertainable to one skilled in the art from a consideration of the following Figures, description and exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates in partial cross section the ceramic aggregate bead of this composition.

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of several building blocks made of the composition of this invention, the blocks stacked to form a wall segment.

The composition for building blocks of this invention relates to a combination of ceramic materials and cement and, if desired, cement additives well known in the art. The ceramic material is made from a mixture of clay and organic mulch. The organic mulch is preferably garbage, but sawdust, dried hay, dried grass clippings or other dry organic mulch is possible as the mulch or as a portion thereof. The clay is preferably a cone 6 clay, although any clay, which when fired to its vitrification temperature is light in color, is suitable. Darker clays are dark because they contain impurities such as iron which make them unsuitable for building blocks. Thus, clays from cone 2 to cone 14 are all usable; however cone 4 clays (2167 degrees F.) to cone 6 clays (2491 degrees F.) are preferred for economic reasons.

Aggregate and grog may be formed from different clays according to desired firing temperatures. For example, the following chart gives recipes which are possible for firing at cone 2 or cones 10-15.

The preferred cone 6 clay is mixed with organic mulch at a preferred ratio of about one part clay to about two parts mulch to form a premix. This ratio may differ according to the clay and mulch and is determined by the desired weight of the aggregate to be produced. For example, with cone 6 clay and sawdust, the preferred ratio is 30% dry clay to 70% sawdust by volume. With cone 12 clay and shredded dried grass, the preferred ratio is 35% clay to 65% dried grass by volume.

An efficient organic mulch is pelletized garbage. Typical garbage is about sixty-five percent reusable cellulose. Commercial garbage processing facilities can sort raw garbage to remove glass, certain metals, automobile tires, etc. and can pelletize the remainder into pellets. Typical pellets are cylindrical, about 1.8 cm. dia. by 1.5 cm. long (3/4 inch dia..times.5/8 inch long) and can be shredded or otherwise broken up if required, yielding about a cup of fine mulch per five pellets. This material preferably is the main ingredient of the mix prior to firing.

After the clay/mulch premixture is made, two starting products are produced. One is a grog made by rolling sheets of the premix out to dry. The sheets are then fired to the clay's vitrification point (between 2000 and 2400 degrees F.) during which process the mulch burns out, leaving a multitude of tiny air holes in the sheet of ceramic. The porous sheet is then crushed to produce a granular lightweight grog which serves as a replacement for sand in the composition of this invention. The grog is about half the weight of sand and is a much better insulator.

The second product formed from the clay/mulch premixture is aggregate in the form of beads. Bead 12, as seen in FIG. 1, is preferably semi-ovoid and of a preferred 1/2 inch diameter. Both the interior 17 and the exterior 18 of the bead are pitted because the mulch has burned out. A central cavity 14 is formed in each bead to prevent explosion during the firing. The beads replace prior art gravel in the cement/ceramic composition of this invention. The beads are lighter in weight than gravel, but have ceramic strength and insulation value.

It is preferred that the aggregate beads and grog be formed to have a weight of about 0.013 to 0.033 pounds per cubic inch. Ceramic mixtures weighing less will not have the desired compression strength, and mixtures weighing more will have less insulation value. For example, a 9 inch block of this composition made with ceramic beads and aggregate made of one part cone 6 clay to two parts sawdust mulch and mixed with cement at a ratio of one part cement to two parts grog to three parts aggregate will have the improved insulation rates over a cement block without ceramic grog. A block made with 1 part cement, 2 parts sand and 3 parts aggregate bead has a density of approximately 110 lb./ft..sup.3 and an R value of 3.4. A block made of the composition of this invention having 1 part cement, 2 parts ceramic grog and 3 parts ceramic aggregate has an R value of 3.4 and a crush resistance of 1,250 pounds per cubic inch.

To make the preferred cement composition, the three parts are mixed preferably at the ratio of one part cement to two parts ceramic grog and three parts ceramic aggregate beads. The resultant composition may be formed into a 6-inch.times.8-inch.times.9-inch block with a weight of 17.34 pounds, a density of 69.48 pounds per cubic foot, and an R value of 4.24 per inch. Other ratios of mixing are possible, but for combined strength and insulation, the 1:2:3 ratio is preferred. A nine inch block made of this composition has the same or greater insulation value as a twelve inch block made from a cement/polystyrene expanded bead mixture. Thus a smaller block, which is more readily utilized with self-aligning configuration, can offer the same or greater insulation in a smaller wall.

There are many grades of cement and many possible clays and mulches which might be used in this composition. But, the important novel feature is the use of strong ceramic clays and an organic mulch made from finely shredded reclaimed garbage pellets which burns away to produce a strong ceramic insulating grog and aggregate. For example, it is possible to produce a composition for road surfaces on bridges by using a harder aggregate formed from a clay containing iron oxide and nickel. A lighter aggregate from Kaolin clay would provide a good insulating composition for basement construction.

Although a semi-ovoid bead 12 is preferred because of ease of manufacture and rapid firing, other shapes are possible; for example, beads may be cross or annular in cross section.

Now referring to FIG. 2, a novel shaped building block 20 is seen. Block, generally 20, has leg 26 and leg 24 joined by crosspiece 22. Legs 26 and 24 are rectangular blocks which, when placed on their lengthwise edges, in vertical cross section, form an H with crosspiece 22. Because the composition described above produced a building block of surprising strength and insulation, it may be formed into blocks which do not require mortar or sill to put together. To build a wall with H-shaped blocks 20, long edges 30 and 28 of legs 26 and 24 respectively are placed on top of identical surfaces 32, and legs 26 and 24 against surface 40. Surfaces 32 and 40 have been spread with a waterproof glue. No mortar is necessary with blocks 20. Because they are lightweight, blocks 20 are easy to lift and align. No special skill or strength is necessary to build a wall from blocks 20.

For additional insulation, formed sheet insulation 34 may be placed in the hollow spaces created by placing blocks 20 upon each other. When used in home construction, blocks 20 with surface 36 facing outward will provide a strong and insulated outside wall for a home.

There are many variations possible within the scope of this invention. First, different qualities of clay may be used to produce the ceramic portion of this composition. Although Portland cement has been tested, many grades of cement are possible as is well known in the art.

Organic mulch may be shredded reclaimed organic garbage pellets, straw, sawdust or the like.

Although an H-shaped block has been illustrated, it should be understood that the composition of this invention may be poured or precast into any shape, mold or form.

There are a great number of advantages to this invention. Chiefly, the use of garbage pellets indirectly solves the problems of refuse disposal. Commercial garbage reclaiming facilities process garbage into fuel pellets which are then used as mulch in the production of a ceramic/cement composition. Also, the composition of this invention uses inexpensive and plentiful clay and mulch to produce a composition for building blocks which offers both strength and good insulation. A variety of clays may be used, as well as a variety of organic mulches. The preferred building block is lightweight and easily built into walls. Added insulation is simple and inexpensively built into the wall.

Having now illustrated and described my invention, it is not my intention that such description limit the invention, but that the invention be limited only by a reasonable interpretation of the appended claims.