Development of high-performance lightweight aggregate from New Brunswick raw materials

Artificial lightweight aggregate can be produced from many sources of raw materials, including industrial by-products such as fly ash, sludge and stag. The by-products investigated in this work include: fly ash from Minto and Belledune, and pulp sludge from St. Anne Nackawic and Irving Pulp and Paper. All firing tests were done using a stationary kiln oven with a maximum temperature in the range of 1000 to 1250°C. Tests with Minto fly ash were unsuccessful at producing a suitable lightweight aggregate, but Belledune fly ash showed favourable results when fired in combination with one percent SiC or fifty percent clay.;Japanese researchers have successfully manufactured high strength lightweight aggregate from biotite-rhyolite and SiC with very low water absorption that can produce concrete with a compressive strengths up to 140 MPa. Rhyolite from New Brunswick locations were tested in combination with SiC and a variety of additives to develop a high performance lightweight aggregate comparable to that produced by Tachibani. Tests indicate that a high strength aggregate can be produced using New Brunswick rhyolite with SiC and clay. Concrete tests confirm this.