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7/4 Lightweight aggregate manufacture

bituminous or hard coals (Cripwell, 1992). PFA is the residue of contaminants in hard
coals that are present as the result of erosion of natural minerals which sedimented into
the coal measures as they formed. Thus, there is a connection between PFA and other
argillaceous minerals, except that most of the PFA has already been subjected to temperatures
in excess of 1250°C, which vitrifies and bloats some of the particles which are known as
cenospheres. Two construction companies became involved in the exploitation of PFA
and the knowledge obtained by BRE. Cementation Ltd operated at Battersea Power
Station with two shaft kilns which failed and John Laing & Co. Ltd at Northfleet with a
sinter strand which became the most successful method in the UK of producing structural
grades of lightweight aggregate from PFA. It was, and is, marketed under the trade name
of ‘Lytag’ and has an ability to reduce the fresh density of concrete to about 1750 kg/m3
when using Lytag fines and about 1950 kg/m3 with natural fines. These fresh densities are

ww equivalent to oven-dry densities of about 1575 kg/m3 and 1825 kg/m3 respectively.
For the production of structural concrete with an oven-dry density of less
than 1800 kg/m3, a German manufacturer has produced from about the early 1970s a

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spherical expanded shale aggregate (‘Liapor’) in a range of particle densities from 0.80
to 1.70 Mg/m3. This represents one of the most significant advances in lightweight
aggregate manufacture since the aggregate particle can be designed to suit a range of

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oven-dry concrete density requirements, thereby giving greater versatility of application.
Other developments are taking place in lightweight aggregate manufacture, such as
the production of hybrids using PFA or other pulverized materials and suitable argillaceous

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minerals (clay, shales and slate). There are also aggregates termed ‘cold bonded’ which

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are mixtures of PFA with lime or Portland cement. Although the manufacture of these
aggregates is now becoming more successful, their use is more appropriate to the production
of masonry than to structural concrete.

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7.4 Manufacturing considerations for structural grades
of lightweight aggregate rin
7.4.1 Investment g .ne
For any lightweight aggregate, considerable investment in manufacturing plant is required,
sustainable quantities of appropriate resource material must be available and there must
be a market. In the USA, most cities are based on the principle of high-rise development
which in many cases leads to the use of lightweight aggregate concrete. Europe, with its
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more historic traditions and older infrastructure, has lagged behind. However, more
consideration is being given to the conservation of land-based mineral resources and it is
more difficult to obtain permission for mineral extraction. The introduction of taxes on
natural materials, which will increase, and the ever-increasing cost of transport, etc. will
provide a further impetus for investment in aggregate manufacture.

7.4.2 Resource materials

The most important asset for any lightweight aggregate manufacturer is a sustainable
source of raw material in a form and state ready for immediate use. Manufacturers using

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