Lightweight foam products based on diatomite

Abstract

Results are presented from selection of the parameters of a diatomite suspension for obtaining foam-diatomite products by HCBS technology. It is established that the use of HCBS technology makes it possible to reduce the moisture content of the diatomite suspension from 63 to 54%. Specimens cast from the suspension are 3 -4 times stronger than comparable materials of similar density.The creation of durable, environmentally clean inorganic thermal insulating materials has become an important problem. Progress in a number of industries, especially metallurgy and the machine-building sector, is in large part dependent on the quality of these materials. One important consumer of thermal insulating materials is the building-materials industry. Our country has large deposits of sedimentary rocks, including diatomite, tripoli, and opoka; their main (up to 87%) component is silica. The reserves of this raw material are concentrated in the Middle Volga region, the Urals, the Kolsky Peninsula, the Leningrad region, and Central Russia. Being inherently highly porous, such natural materials are well-suited for use as heavy-duty thermal insulation. Diatomite-based products have a lower thermal conductivity than other thermal insulating materials, and their technical-economic indices gives them even more of an advantage over the latter [1].At most ceramics factories, lightweight diatomite-based products are obtained by using a diatomite slip with a moisture content of 64%. Thus, to decrease the amount of moisture in the slip, researchers examined the feasibility of comminuting the diatomite by the HCBS method [2, 3], determined the optimum moisture content of diatomite suspensions, and selected an appropriate electrolyte. Diatomite from the Inzensk deposit (in the Ulyanov region) was chosen as the main raw material for this research. It had the following chemical composition, mass %: SiO 2 82.