22: 4 (2022) 191-195 ISSN: 2084-6096

ISSN (online): 2299-128X

Marcin Głodniok*, Jerzy Korol, Paweł Zawartka

Central Mining Institute, Plac Gwarków 1, 40-166 Katowice, Poland
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
Received (Otrzymano) 31.10.2022

PROPERTIES OF DEVELOPED SYNTHETIC LIGHTWEIGHT AGGREGATE

(COMPOSITE) BASED ON HYDRAULIC BINDERS AND WASTE
Lightweight aggregates developed on the basis of hydraulic binders and mining waste were investigated in the study.
Original technology was utilized to obtain the aggregates. The synthetic aggregate materials obtained in the work satisfy
the basic requirements for materials used in construction. Granulates were obtained by granulating raw materials with
a counter-current high intensity mixer having a nominal capacity of 30 litres. A rotary tube furnace was selected as the most
appropriate to sinter the produced granulates. The process combined two operations: burning the combustible fractions (sew-
age sludge) responsible for porosity, and sintering (consolidating) the granulate. The sintering process was conducted at the
temperature of 950°C in the presence of air. The working reactor tilt was about 2°. Initially the rotational speed for the quick
tests was 4.28 rpm, which yielded a granule residence time of about 7.3 minutes in the heating zone (a variant was applied for
the tests). The obtained aggregates were subjected to strength testing, and their crushing resistance was determined based on
standard PN-EN 13055-1. Depending on the proportions of the individual raw materials, the aggregates are characterised by
high crushing resistance from 4.1 to 6.5 MPa, which confirms the potential for their industrial application. These aggregates
may be used for purposes such as lightweight building and pavement concrete production due to their relatively low bulk den-
sity.
Keywords: sewage sludge, synthetic lightweight aggregate, granulates

INTRODUCTION
Lightweight aggregates (LWA) are construction the contribution of synthetic aggregates in the said pro-
materials with a lower bulk density than standard con- duction is of great importance and priority [5]. Involv-
struction aggregates. The microstructure of LWA has ing industry in the circular economy has become
an influence on the properties of the aggregate such as a significant challenge in recent years. Among others,
the density, absorbability and strength, which is propor- the zinc and lead sectors are struggling with major
tional to its influence on concrete. The microstructure problems related to the management of enormous quan-
of the aggregate is influenced by the applied raw mate- tities of produced waste. The generated slag constitutes
rials and methods of hardening [1]. Sintering and cold an environmental problem both with regard to the
bonding are the two most common methods for produc- necessity for its storage and the potential release
ing synthetic LWA. Sintering is a method for altering of contaminants to the soil and water environment.
the structure and density of materials without melting A solution to this is the appropriate processing of waste
them to the point of liquefaction by means of heat or and granting it useful properties with the simultaneous
pressure [2], whereas cold bonding utilises various prevention of its negative impact on the environment.
kinds of binders, including hydraulic and synthetic The purpose of this paper is to analyse the properties of
agents. Subjecting the input material to chemical proc- a lightweight aggregate developed based on the Central
essing and preserving it in acidic or basic conditions Mining Institute’s technology, protected by a patent,
may also have a significant influence on the final prop- Pat. 238116, which may constitute an attractive substi-
erties of the aggregate [3]. tute for materials of natural origin [6].
Some of the current major challenges in waste man-
agement include recycling, protecting limited natural
resources, as well as reducing energy consumption and
MATERIALS AND METHODS
greenhouse gas emissions. The use of natural aggre-
gates by the construction material industry ranges from The conducted work involved studies intended
8 to 12 billion tons a year [4]. In the context of sustain- to produce granulates obtained by granulating raw
able ecological development, reducing the amount of materials with a counter-current high intensity mixer.
cement for the production of concrete and increasing The studies included mixing intensity testing, rotor and
192 M. Głodniok, J. Korol, P. Zawartka

pan rotational speed selection, and determination of the affecting the course of the sintering process also has
time required for granulation. The granulates for further a significant influence on the selection of the furnace
investigations were prepared by means of a mixer with type. Another benefit is the ease of critical process pa-
a nominal capacity of 30 litres. The setup used to rameter control and variation during the process itself.
obtain the granulates is presented in Figure 1.
a)

b)

Fig. 1. Counter-current high intensity mixer used for the studies

(Ideapro, Nowa Sól, Pl)
Fig. 2. Photographs of: a) rotary tube furnace, b) automatic screw feeder

During the processing of the researched materials,

the mixer was equipped with a star belt agitator. Generally, the process combined two operations:
The structure of this agitator enables the disintegration burning the combustible fractions (sewage sludge)
and fragmentation of agglomerated raw materials. responsible for porosity, and sintering (consolidating)
The high linear velocities of the agitator in the utilised the granulate. Sludge burning is a strongly exothermic
mixer, to a level of 20 m/s, made it possible to conduct process (spontaneous local rising of the furnace is pos-
this stage of the work by setting the pan and agitator to sible) at the beginning of the working zone, when the
a counter-current mode of operation. The next step of heat exceeds the ignition temperature. The process is
the process was homogenisation, ensuring a uniform accompanied by intense combustion gas emissions that
mixture composition in the entire feed volume and its must be removed from the working zone as they limit
granulation in the final stage. oxygen access and thereby hinder the sintering process.
The granulated samples were sintered in a Czylok It should, however, be remembered that too quick com-
(Poland) PRS 150x150/110/OBR rotary tube furnace. bustion gas removal may result in a too great oxygen
The basic technical parameters of the furnace include: inflow and an increase in temperature. The actual sin-
- maximum operating temperature – 1100°C tering of the granules occurs only in the remaining part
- three heating zones of the reactor. Therefore, the possibility of selective
- heating zone length – 1500 mm individual heating zone parameter control is of key
- internal diameter – 150 mm. importance to enable the process to be conducted cor-
The furnace is equipped with a three-zone heater rectly. In the sintering of this type of granules, the total
and a horizontal reactor. Each heating zone is equipped number of granules is subjected to the process simulta-
with a separate heating controller and features a heating neously. The time and temperature of combustible frac-
power of 6 kW (a total power of 18.5 kW). The utilised tion burning (furnace zone 1), the time and temperature
furnace is presented in Figure 2. of individual granule sintering (working zone 2 and 3)
The rotary tube furnace was selected as the most as well as the rotational speed of the reactor, the work-
appropriate for the experiment. It makes it possible to ing tilt, atmosphere, the method and volume of air sup-
conduct the process in a continuous manner (similar to ply to the process, the method of combustion gas
industrial conditions), without stopping the stock feed removal, and the method and rate of product cooling
or product collection. Such a solution makes it possible must be selected in such a way that the combustible
to obtain process conditions that are stable and constant components may be burnt first before the material is
over time. This type of furnace enables constant atmos- sintered. Ignoring the order of the processes may sig-
phere control as well as its alteration in real time, if nificantly increase the process time and cost, as well as
necessary. The ease of discharging reaction gases impact the final product properties. Thus, conducting
Composites Theory and Practice 22: 4 (2022) All rights reserved
 Properties of developed synthetic lightweight aggregate (composite) based on hydraulic binders and waste 193

the process appropriately necessitates the correct (often the quick tests was 4.28 rpm, which yielded a granule
experimental) selection of all the relevant parameters. residence time of about 7.3 minutes in the heating zone
The furnace reactor consists of a 159 x 6.3 mm tube (a variant was applied for the tests). The high reactor
formed from heat resistant steel (type 1.4841 – speed and the presence of numerous granules in the
X15CrNiSi25-21) with a length of 3000 mm. Inside the heating zone resulted in intense burning of the combus-
reactor tube, over the entire length is a corrugation tible fractions. A rapid temperature increase at the
formed from an 8 mm heat resistant bar with a pitch feeder was observed, with a real risk of granulate igni-
of 48 mm (distance between the coils of 40 mm). tion in the feeder. This phenomenon also led to an un-
The reactor is mounted on supports and driven by controlled temperature increase inside the reactor,
a gear-motor with a gear ratio of 62 via a chain trans- which posed a risk of losing control over the process.
mission (chain 12B) with a gear ratio of 0.267.
The reactor rotational speed at a nominal motor rota-
tional speed is 3.74 rpm, which at a corrugation pitch
of 48 mm yields a material residence time of about
120 minutes. The range of gear-motor control is within
25-110% of the nominal motor rational speed, i.e. from
0.935 to 4.11 reactor rotations per minute. The reactor
is sealed with Teflon face gaskets, while constant pres-
sure is achieved by means of a spring assembly
mounted on the unit collecting the sintered material. Fig. 3. Sight glass in furnace flange showing sintered granules during
The tilt of the furnace, reactor and other working ele- sintering
ments relative to the base is regulated within an angle
range of 0 to 4°. Tilting is accomplished by means of The granules obtained in the quick test had a het-
a hydraulic system consisting of a water seal and a po- erogeneous internal morphology, clearly exhibiting
sition lock mounted on the charging side (charging unburned components (light outer edge, darker inner
hopper). areas). To improve the granulate parameters, the granu-
During sintering, the raw material is fed to the late feeding rate to the reactor (the quantity of granulate
working reactor by means of an automatic screw feeder fed in a unit of time) was reduced together with
(Fig. 2b). The primary working element of the feeder is a decrease in the reactor rotational speed to 2.15 rpm,
an auger with a working diameter of 60 mm and a pitch which at the corrugation pitch of 48 mm doubled the
of 40 mm, driven by an MRA 40 gear-motor with residence time in the furnace heating zone to about
a gear ratio of 64 via a chain transmission (chain 8B) 14.5 minutes. This made it possible to avoid the uncon-
with a gear ratio of 0.217 (z1 = 60, z2 = 13); the feeder trolled temperature increase by conducting a less
is equipped with a reinforced connection to the reactor dynamic sintering process, while yielding a more
that simultaneously constitutes the basis of the entire homogeneous internal granule structure (grey colour).
reactor system with process gas conduits. The feeder
tank is in a hopper with a volume of 18 dm3, formed
entirely from stainless materials, with an installed stock
SINTERED GRANULATE CRUSHING
agitator driven via a chain transmission by means of
a screwdriver. The tank is equipped with a feeding port RESISTANCE TEST
for loading the stock, sealed with a quick-clamp silicon Aggregates exhibiting properties appropriate for
gasket. At the operator’s side is a round sight glass for lightweight aggregates were obtained from the raw
observing the sidewall loading level. granulates by the sintering process. The bulk density of
The product collection assembly at the end of the the obtained aggregates (for 4-10 mm fractions) is pro-
working reactor consists of a collection chamber in the vided in Table 1.
form of a funnel that is suspended in the reactor, with
a mounted reactor coupling tube. All these elements are TABLE 1. Obtained aggregate bulk density
formed from stainless steel. The chamber is pressed to
Aggregate [kg/m3]
the reactor by a system of 4 springs. A detachable
flange is mounted on the wall opposite the inlet to grant KR1 716
access to the reactor and collection tank. The flange KR2 723
includes two 25 mm visors, a gas discharge port and KR3 699
a measuring thermocouple socket for temperature KR4 713
measurements in the second and third furnace reactor KR5 696
working chamber heating zones. Figure 3 presents KR6 712
a view of the sintered granules during sintering.
KR7 653
The sintering process was conducted at the tempera-
KR8 669
ture of 950°C in the presence of air. The working reac-
KR9 761
tor tilt was about 2°. Initially, the rotational speed for
Composites Theory and Practice 22: 4 (2022) All rights reserved
194 M. Głodniok, J. Korol, P. Zawartka

The obtained aggregates were subjected to strength TABLE 2. Compositions of studied material variants in w/w%
testing, and their crushing resistance was determined
based on standard PN-EN 13055-1. 1. The purpose of the w/w% KR1 KR2 KR3 KR4 KR5 KR6 KR7 KR8 KR9
strength testing was to determine the properties of the
granules after heat treatment at various sewage sludge, Clay 40 30 40 30 40 30 40 30 50
clay and ash contributions in the mixture. The tests
Sewage
were conducted at various contributions
ontributions of individual 20 30 30 40 40 50 50 60 50
sludge
components in the granulates. Three crushing resistance
test samples were prepared from each obtained aggre-
aggr Ash 40 40 30 30 20 20 10 10 0
gate. According to the aforementioned standard, crush-
crus
ing resistance tests may be carried out for aggregates
with a size range
nge of 4 to 22 mm and a bulk density The obtained aggregate crushing resistance ranges
greater than 150 kg/m3. Thus, the fractions under 4 mm from 5.8 to 4.1 MPa. It can be observed that the aggre-
aggr
and over 10 mm were removed from the prepared indi- ind gate resistance increases together with the increase
vidual aggregate test samples in order to provide more in clay content and the decrease in sewage sludge in the
uniform samples for comparative tests. The aggregates investigated aggregate compositions. The aggregates
obtained
ned by sintering were characterised by a varied produced from clay or containing predominantly clay
content of fractions greater than 10 mm. Individual are characterised
terised by the greatest strength due to their
large granules in the tested material volume could have most compact structure, as confirmed by the bulk
resulted in false readings of the force necessary to density tests of the individual aggregates. The aggre-
aggr
achieve the appropriate piston compression in the
t stud- gates with the greatest clay content are characterised by
ied material as per the standard. The researched aggre-
aggr the highest bulk density. Most likely, these aggregates
aggr
gates were subjected to mechanical testing consisting in also exhibit the lowest porosity compared to the those
uniaxial granulate compression in the steel cylinder of produced primarily from sewage sludge. The key pa- p
an INSTRON 4469 testing machine (Instron, Norwood, rameter determining the sintered material strength in
MA, USA) with a maximum force off 10 kN. this case was probably the sewage sludge content ow- o
Crushing resistance Ca of individual aggregates was ing to the generation and release of the greatest quantity
calculated based on the following equation: of gaseous components during granulate sintering, and
an increase in porosity as a result, which is confirmed
 N

௔   by the lowest bulk density of the sintered products
 mmଶ obtained from granules with the greatest sewage sludge
where: Ca – crushing resistance in Newtons per square content.
millimetre [MPa], L – force exerted by the piston, in In the casee of sewage sludge, which is a waste mate-
mat
Newtons, F – force required to press the piston, rial currently without common use in industrial proc- pro
in Newtons, A – piston surface area, in square millime-
millim esses, it can also find effective application in synthetic
tres. aggregate production. It must only be considered what
The crushing resistance of the individual investi-
invest level of aggregate strength and porosity is desired.desire
gated synthetic aggregates was determined based on the The obtained strength test results suggest a fairly broad
conducted tests (three samples per aggregate). The spectrum of possible individual waste material contri-
contr
measurement results are depicted in Figure
Fig 4. Further- butions in the raw material volume for synthetic aggre-
aggr
more, Table 2 presents the individual granulate compo-
comp gate production. The key parameter limiting the possi-poss
sitions in w/w%. bility of utilising individual raw materials may be the
degree of their contamination and the likelihood of in- i
troducing harmful substances (of various character)
into the aggregate, with a negative influence on the ma- m
terial properties such as leachability or environmental
migration etc.
In analysing the obtained test results, it can also be
concluded that the ash and its content have a significant
influence on the strength properties of the produced
aggregates. It is acknowledged that ash has a positive
effect on the sintering process, intensifying
inte it depend-
ing on the sintering temperature. Based on the obtained
results and the individual aggregate compositions, it
can be clearly determined to what degree the ash con- co
tent in the aggregates influences their strength proper-
prope
ties at a given sintering
ring temperature of the analysed
Fig. 4. Crushing resistance of studied aggregate;; where: KSP8’ – sample granulates. In the investigated granulates, the ash con-co
sintered over a shorter time tent ranged from 0 to 40 w/w%. Based on the environ-
enviro

Composites Theory and Practice 22: 4 (2022) All rights reserved

 Properties of developed synthetic lightweight aggregate (composite) based on hydraulic binders and waste 195

mental perspective, and the fact that ash is a critical amounts of 10 and 20 w/w%. Analysing the obtained
additive to achieve the correct granulate formation test results makes it possible to conclude
concl that the quick-
process, its inclusion makes it possible to obtain the lime additions result in decreased strength properties of
appropriate level of granulation mixture moisture, the researched aggregates.
while its addition in the final stage of granulation has
further beneficial effects. Its application in greater
quantities is valid both from the perspective of o the CONCLUSIONS
process and the environment.
To summarise the strength test results, it should be The conducted investigations of the obtained mate-
mat
noted that the obtained aggregate strength is signifi-
signif rials in the form of lightweight aggregates demon-
demo
cantly higher compared to most aggregates available on strated that the by-products
products of limestone aggregate
a
the market. The crushing
rushing resistances of example com-
co washing such as sewage sludge or clay, as well as
mercial aggregates include: combustion by-products
products in the form of ash, can be used
- Liapor – 0.7-10 MPa as raw materials for lightweight aggregate production.
- Arlita – 0.98 MPa The synthetic aggregate materials obtained over the
- Lytag – 0.43 MPa course of the work satisfy the basic
basi requirements for
- LECA and Ardelite – 0.09 MPa materials used in construction. Depending on the
- Geokeramzyt Matrix – 0.8 MPa proportions of the individual raw materials, the aggre-
aggr
- LECA Gniew – 0.7-4.0 MPa gates are characterised by high crushing resistance from
For comparative purposes, the resistance test results 4.1 to 6.5 MPa, which confirms the potential for their
of the analysed synthetic aggregates produced in industrial application.
on. These aggregates may be used
a mixer with a nominal capacity of 600 litres at a semi-
semi for purposes such as lightweight building and pavement
industrial scale are presented in Figure 5, with their concrete production due to their relatively low bulk
compositions displayed in Table 3. density.
This work contributes to the increasingly popular
idea of circular economy, which makes studies of this
type
pe all the more valid and promising.

Acknowledgements
The work was conducted as part of grant 11131031-
11131031
340 under the Central Mining Institute’s
Institute charter,
financed by the Ministry of Education and Science in
2021.

REFERENCES
Fig. 5. Tested aggregate crushing resistance
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238116, Polski Urząd Patentowy.
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amounted to 1:1. Quicklime was added to individual
mixtures in the amount of 5 w/w%, as well as fly ash in

Composites Theory and Practice 22: 4 (2022) All rights reserved