Extensive research has been undertaken in the use of industrial waste consisting of fly ash from power plants as a raw material for manufacturing building materials. The large volume of waste has became one of the most significant problems of environmental protection, as its disposal is expensive and non-productive. Experiments show that this waste material can be used for the production of high quality bricks, blocks and other building elements which are less energy intensive than their conventional counterparts. This research has yielded patented technology for the production of concrete-like blocks based on oil-shale and coal fly-ash, cured under normal atmospheric conditions.
A particularly interesting material that has been developed is ash-based cellular concrete, which in addition to being based on industrial waste, is also manufactured through a low-energy process. The manufacture of conventional cellular concrete of comparable properties requires very high energy input.
This material has been used in over 40 countries over the past 25 years to build residential and commercial buildings. It is an air-cured lightweight concrete that can be produced at the project site, using standard concrete equipment and molds. A typical mix for making blocks is:
Portland Cement..........190 kg Sand............................430 kg Fly Ash........................309 kg Water..........................250 kg plus a foaming agent
NOTE: THIS IS THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY AS FAR AS CONCRET IS CONCERN.
