Construction and Building Materials 127 (2016) 394–409

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Lightweight aggregates from waste materials: Reappraisal of expansion

behavior and prediction schemes for bloating
M. Dondi a,⇑, P. Cappelletti b, M. D’Amore b, R. de Gennaro b, S.F. Graziano b, A. Langella c, M. Raimondo a,
C. Zanelli a
a
ISTEC-CNR, Via Granarolo 64, Faenza 48018, Italy
b
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell’Ambiente e delle Risorse, Federico II University, Naples 80134, Italy
c
Dipartimento di Studi Geologici ed Ambientali, Sannio University, Benevento 82100, Italy

h i g h l i g h t s

Producing waste-bearing LWA requires a challenging control on their firing behavior.

The prediction of LWA expansion by the bulk chemical composition is not reliable.

A new protocol of analysis was set up to predict the expansion of waste-bearing LWA.

A paradigm shift occurs from batch to vitreous phase: amount, composition, viscosity.

A working example confirmed the key-role of the vitreous phase for bloating of LWA.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: There is a growing concern on lightweight aggregates (LWA) for recycling of waste materials: this
Received 21 May 2016 manufacturing technology is considered a flexible tool to make it possible the conversion of large
Received in revised form 6 September 2016 amounts of residues into building products. The main challenge for this purpose is the control on the
Accepted 26 September 2016
technological behavior during firing of waste-bearing batches. The target is engineering the sintering
Available online 12 October 2016
and expansion of LWA in order to tailor bulk density, mechanical strength and water absorption on var-
ious possible applications (e.g., structural and non-structural lightweight concretes, lightweight mortars,
Keywords:
filtration substrates, floriculture). The prediction of the aggregate expansion – and hence the batch design
Bloating
Expansion
– is usually carried out utilizing the Riley’s and/or Cougny’s schemes, which are based on the bulk chem-
Lightweight aggregate ical composition of clay bodies. However, collecting the literature data on waste-based LWA and plotting
Waste recycling them in the Riley’s and Cougny’s diagrams, no reliable discrimination turns out between expanding and
non-expanding batches. In the same way, the attempt to modify the Riley’s and Cougny’s parameters,
including elements present in wastes but not in natural raw materials, was unsuccessful. From this stand-
point, a new approach to assess the batch expandability was developed through a deeper comprehension
of mechanisms acting on sintering and expansion of LWA. A specific characterization protocol was set up,
entailing hot-stage microscopy and determination of phase composition and microstructure. This implies
a paradigm shift from batch (chemical composition) to vitreous phase (amount, chemical composition,
and viscosity at high temperature). The vitreous phase plays a key-role for bloating, microstructure
and physical properties of LWA. A working example is presented about new LWA based on waste glasses,
ceramic tile polishing sludge and clay raw materials.
Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Most Lightweight Aggregates (LWA) currently on the market
are manufactured by firing in rotary kilns (at maximum tempera-
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: michele.dondi@istec.cnr.it (M. Dondi).
tures from 1000 to 1300 °C) natural raw materials like vermiculite,
shale, clay, or slate [1]. Along with these expanded clay aggregates,
LWA are obtained also from naturally-occurring lightweight mate-
rials, like pumice, perlite, volcanic scoria, and cinders [1,2].
LWA have been attracting in the last decade a renovated
attention driven by the increasing demand for lightweight struc-
tural materials (primarily concrete) and envelope materials with

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.09.111
0950-0618/Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 M. Dondi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 127 (2016) 394–409 395

improved thermal, thermo-hygrometric and acoustic perfor-
mances, like lightweight mortars and external thermal insulation
systems [3–6].
Such a revitalized interest is further fed by the growing concern
on sustainability, which is addressing many studies on the use of
urban and industrial wastes as possible raw materials for LWA.
The number of papers on this matter overpassed 150 and the
publication rate has been increasing from 1 to 2 papers per year
in the 1990s to the annual 15–20 papers of the latest years. In this
literature, a wide range of waste materials were tested as partial or
total replacement of conventional raw materials for LWA. The
sources of such unconventional raw materials encompass munici-
pal solid wastes, sediments from water reservoirs and harbor
dredging, residues from coal power plants, mining and quarrying,
mineral transformation and metallurgical industry (Table 1).
These new kinds of raw materials are often characterized by
chemical and mineralogical features that are far away from the
composition of clays and shales currently utilized to manufacture
expanded clay aggregates. As a consequence, waste materials
exhibit in most cases a different technological behavior – and
particularly a peculiar expansion behavior – with respect to the
present industrial batches utilized to produce LWA [74,98]. Thus,
the use of wastes may impose substantial adjustments to the man-
ufacturing process in order to get the desired technical perfor-
mance of LWA. These changes mainly concern the shaping and
firing processes, because of the different plasticity and thermal
behavior of unconventional raw materials [72,73,109,113,155–
157].
Waste-based batches represent a new combination of chemical
composition and processing conditions, which can bring about
changes in the physical properties of LWA and in the ratio between
different parameters: water absorption, total porosity, bulk den-
sity, mechanical strength. Along with the chemical composition,
important variations may occur to both phase composition and
microstructure of LWA, with effects on amount, composition and
properties of the vitreous phase on one side; pore volume, pore
and septum size distribution on the other side [16,21,41–43,52,5
8–60,86,103,146,155,158].
The batch formulation of LWA is still designed empirically, by
plotting the bulk chemical composition of raw materials into the
prediction schemes after Riley [159] or Cougny [160]. These
schemes were set up with reference to expanded clay aggregates
and expect to discriminate between ‘‘bloating” and ‘‘non-
bloating” materials by defining a target field in a ternary diagram:

silica-alumina-fluxing for Riley [159], i.e. SiO2-Al2O3-
(Fe2O3 + MgO + CaO + Na2O + K2O);

aluminum-iron-alkaline + alkaline earths for Cougny [160], i.e.
Al2O3-Fe2O3-(MgO + CaO + Na2O + K2O).
The Riley’s field soon demonstrated less reliable than it initially
seemed, as amendments were proposed already in the 1960s
[161,162]. Despite be known that the bulk chemical composition
is not discriminant, as materials ‘‘that expand suitably, that expand
inadequately, or that do not expand all fall in these same ranges”
[1], the ‘‘chemical design” is still a popular procedure in the LWA
batch formulation [38,52,70,84,96,123,128,131,132] and [135].
On the other hand, besides an increasing attention has been
paid to the factors affecting the bloating process [64,65,74,117,12
0,132,133,158,163,164–167] no standard protocols to evaluate
the expansion potential and firing behavior are commonly adopted
in the design of LWA batches.
No extensive review of the novel waste-bearing LWA can be
found in the literature. The purpose of the present paper is to over-
view the composition and properties of LWA produced from
wastes and other unconventional raw materials. This first part is
aimed at reappraising the expansion behavior of the numerous
examples in the literature, firstly to assess whether the current
prediction schemes are actually suitable for waste-bearing LWA
or not. Secondly, a new characterization protocol of the expansion
behavior will be proposed and discussed.
2. Experimental approach
The literature on LWA was reviewed and about 150 papers deal-
ing with unconventional raw materials, mostly municipal and
industrial residues, came out. The spectrum of sources is extremely
diversified: many studies entailed coal fly ashes, sewage-derived
residues, and sediments dredged from harbors and water reser-
voirs, but many different wastes were proposed as raw materials

Table 1
Waste materials proposed in the literature for LWA production.

Municipal solid wastes (n = 47) Sewage sludge 21 [7–27]

Incinerator fly ash 11 [28–38]
Sewage ash 7 [10,24,39,40,41–43]
Water treatment 7 [44–50]
Mining and quarrying residues (n = 47) Ornamental stones 8 [47,48,51–56]
Zeolite-rich rocks 13 [52,53,57–67]
Natural aggregates 10 [16,20,21,68–75]
Waste clay materials 9 [16,20,21,67,76–80]
Ore beneficiation 8 [23,31,81–86]
Other rocks 6 [64,65,87–90]
Coal power plant residues (n = 35) Fly ash 26 [15,23,70–73,91–110]
Bottom ash, slag 13 [97,98,101,102,108,111–118]
Mineral transformation industry (n = 20) Soda-lime glass 13 [18,23,25,36,55,103,105,115,119–123]
Ceramic tile polishing 5 [23,52,53,105,124]
Other ceramics & glasses 4 [23,121,125,126]
Other sludges 4 [54,55,105,127]
Sediments dredging (n = 24) Water reservoirs 16 [18,26,32,34,36,118,128–137]
Harbors 9 [123,138–145]
Metallurgical industry (n = 12) Steel dust & slag 4 [88,96,141,145]
Aluminium scrap 4 [102,122,146,147]
Wastewater treatment 4 [31,81,140,148]
Other sources Air pollution 4 [32,143,149,150]
Agriculture and forestry 4 [129,151–153]
Spent catalysers 3 [56,114,154]
Construction and demolition 2 [61,154]
396 M. Dondi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 127 (2016) 394–409
for LWA (Table 1). Furthermore, residues were used alone or in
mixtures of different waste sources.
This body of literature contains data on chemical composition,
batch processing conditions, and LWA technological properties
regarding approximately 500 waste-bearing batches, which were
collected and elaborated. When the batch composition was not pro-
vided, it was calculated from the chemical composition of raw mate-
rials. The set of technological features caught from the literature is
not uniform in terms of properties and methods followed for their
determination. The properties considered include loose weight, bulk
density (of the single granule), real density, total porosity, water
absorption, bloating indices, mechanical resistance (compressive
strength of the single granule and on pile). It was possible to contrast
the chemical composition and the bulk density for 406 batches.
In order to turn simpler the graphic representation of the Riley’s
and Cougny’s schemes, the original ternary diagrams were
redrawn into binary diagrams by joining two of the three
parameters:

Al2O3/fluxing (Fe2O3 + MgO + CaO + Na2O + K2O) vs. SiO2 for
Riley [159];

Fe2O3/Al2O3 vs. MgO + CaO + Na2O + K2O for Cougny [160];
the fields of ‘‘bloating clays” are reported as well (Fig. 1).
However, the waste materials can contain, along with the eight
main components involved in the predictive schemes, also signifi-
cant amounts of elements usually not considered (because in trace
amounts) in the case of clays and shales. These components are
P2O5, B2O3, and heavy metals (Ba, Cr, Mn, Pb, Sr, Zn). Phosphorus
is present in some units weight percent in sewage sludges
[11,13–15,37,39,43], ore beneficiation sludge [85] and some sedi-
ments recovered by dredging harbors and water reservoirs
[45,46,126,144]. Boron is present in mining residues [84,86]. Heavy
metals are abundant in wastes from the metallurgical industry
[31,88,96,145]. Since P2O5, B2O3, and heavy metals can remarkably
influence the technological behavior of LWA batches, the original
Riley’s and Cougny’s parameters were modified to comprise these
additional components:

Al2O⁄3 and fluxing⁄ for Riley [159];

Fe2O⁄3, Al2O⁄3 and (MgO + CaO⁄ + Na2O + K2O + P2O5 + B2O3) for
Cougny [160];
Fig. 1. Binary representations of predictive schemes for expanded clay aggregates: field of expanding (A) and highly expanding clays (B) after Riley [159]; field of expanding
clays (C) after Cougny [160].
where fluxing⁄ is (Fe2O⁄3 + MgO + CaO⁄ + Na2O + K2O + B2O3 +
P2O5); Fe2O⁄3 stands for the sum of heavy metal oxides (Fe2O3,
Cr2O3, MnO, PbO, ZnO); Al2O⁄3 is the sum (Al2O3 + TiO2); CaO⁄
means the sum of alkali-earth oxides (CaO + SrO + BaO).
Further elements can be present in significant amounts from
both the technological (with reference to the expansion behavior)
and the environmental points of view: carbon, sulfur, and chlorine.
Carbon was found especially in fly ash and other combustion
residues [70,71,96,97,101]. Sulfur occurs mainly in municipal solid
wastes [25,34]. Chlorine is present in marine sediments
[123,143,145] and solid waste incinerator fly ashes [32,34]. How-
ever, in the LWA manufacture, these elements undergo a partial
or almost complete volatilization during firing, depending on
several factors of the process. The release of S, Cl and C into the kiln
atmosphere occurs at different temperatures, thus it cannot be
simply related with the bloating phenomena. For this reason, they
were not accounted for in the modified chemical parameters.
The database entails samples with a different degree of expan-
sion: from not expanding materials to highly bloated aggregates.
Since the bulk density values can change upon the firing conditions
(maximum temperature, soaking time, heating and pre-heating
rates) only the best result was taken for each batch composition.
Multivariate statistical analysis of the data from literature was
carried out (software Statistica 5.1: multiple regression and facto-
rial analysis) by contrasting bulk density with chemical composi-
tion, as single oxides or a combination of them.
A protocol for the evaluation of firing behavior of LWA was set
up in order to better predict the expansion behavior – through a
simulation of the industrial processing – and to characterize funda-
mental variables, like amount and chemical composition of the
liquid phase formed at high temperature.
The expansion behavior was investigated by hot-stage micro-
scopy (HSM, Misura 3, Expert System Solutions) which detects
the morphological changes occurring to a cylindrical specimen
(3 mm height  2 mm diameter) [168]. Two tests were performed:

constant rate (10 °Cmin1, measuring the specimen height) to
determine the characteristic temperatures corresponding to the
end of sintering (TES); the maximum expansion (TME) whose first
derivative represents the temperature of maximum expansion
rate (TMER); ‘‘melting”, conventionally intended as the tempera-
ture to which the specimen assumes a half sphere shape (THS).
 M. Dondi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 127 (2016) 394–409 397

Fig. 2. Bulk density of LWA from wastes in function of firing temperature (A) and water absorption (B).

Isothermal run at the temperature of maximum expansion rate
(80 °Cmin1 till TMER followed by a 45 min soaking) to estimate
the bloating index: BI = Vme/Vi, where Vme is the maximum
volume of the aggregate after expansion and Vi is the initial
volume of the unfired aggregate; the volume was calculated
approaching images to regular solids [52,60].
The mineralogical composition of LWA was investigated, in
order to determine residual crystalline phases, by means of X-ray
powder diffraction (XRPD) using a Panalytical X’Pert Pro diffrac-
tometer (Cu-Ka radiation, 40 kV, 40 mA, 4-50° 2h scanning inter-
val, 0.017° equivalent step size, 120 s per step equivalent
counting time, RTMS X’Celerator detector). Powders with grain size
<10 lm were obtained using a McCrone micronizer mill with agate
cylinders and a wet grinding time of 15 min. An internal standard
(a-Al2O3 <1 lm, Buehler Micropolish), in amount of 20 wt%, was
added to each sample. Quantitative mineralogical analyses [169]
were performed using RIR/Rietveld techniques. Bruker Topas 4.2
and Panalytical HighScore Plus 3.5 software packages were used.
Crystal structure data and atomic coordinates of minerals for
Rietveld refinements were retrieved from the ICSD and were the
following: sanidine [170], albite [171], quartz [172]. Preferred ori-
entation was treated for each phases with the spherical harmonics
approach, whenever required. Amorphous content was calculated
by difference. The chemical composition of the vitreous phase
was calculated by subtracting the contribution of crystalline
phases from the bulk composition of the fired aggregate
determined by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF-WDS, Axios,

Fig. 3. LWA from wastes in the Riley [159] predictive scheme (A) SiO2-Al2O3-(Fe2O3 + MgO + CaO + Na2O + K2O) and (B) with the modified fluxing parameter (which includes
P2O5, B2O3, and heavy metals).
398 M. Dondi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 127 (2016) 394–409

Fig. 4. LWA from wastes in the Cougny [160] predictive scheme (A) Al2O3-Fe2O3-(MgO + CaO + Na2O + K2O) and (B) with the modified parameters (which includes P2O5, B2O3,
and heavy metals).

Panalytical). The viscosity at the Tmer of the vitreous phase was

estimated, on the basis of its chemical composition, by models
for technical glass [173].

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Predicting the LWA expansion by bulk chemical composition

LWA obtained from waste materials offer, as a whole, a remark-

able range of physical characteristics (e.g., bulk density and water
absorption) and processing conditions, e.g., firing behavior (Fig. 2).
The spectrum of expansion degree is very wide as it encompasses
bulk density spanning from 0.3 to over 2.5 gcm3. In order to con-
trast at best such an experimental behavior with the expansion
predicted by the Riley’s and Cougny’s schemes, data were arbitrar-
ily subdivided in four classes of different bulk density: very low
density = 0.3–0.6 gcm3 (56 samples); low density = 0.61–
0.99 gcm3 (163 samples); medium density = 1.0–1.4 gcm3
(105 samples); and high density = >1.4 gcm3 (82 samples).
The points representing the LWA batches with a different bulk
density are plotted in the Riley’s diagram (Fig. 3A) and Cougny’s
diagram (Fig. 4A). No satisfactory distinction can be seen between
dense and more or less expanded aggregates. This picture is not
substantially changed by considering the new parameters which
entail P2O5, B2O3, and heavy metals, neither in the modified Riley’s
graph (Fig. 3B) nor in the modified Cougny’s diagram (Fig. 4B).
In detail, the four classes of LWA with very low, low, medium Fig. 5. Model of LWA expansion showing a typical firing schedule in an industrial
rotary furnace. The zone inside the kiln where the expansion occurs is sketched
and high bulk density were plotted separately in the prediction together with the expected expansion rate and bloating mechanisms (modified
scheme, counting the points that fall in the Riley’s field of expand- after [160]).
able materials. These right predictions are 36 out of 56 in the case
of LWA with very low density: the prediction reliability is 64%; it
implies that 36% of highly expandable batches would be discarded 76% (medium density). The high density aggregates are correctly
as non-expandable on the basis of Riley’s scheme. The right predic- classified only in 38% of cases.
tion rate lowers by considering the low density batches (72 out of This general picture is not significantly changed by considering
163 = 44%) and medium density (72 out of 105 = 49%). The high also additional elements sometimes present in waste materials, as
density aggregates would have to plot outside the field of expand- outlined in Figs. 3B and 4B, where data are arranged in the Riley’s
able materials, but this occurs only for 23 samples out of 82, and Cougny’s modified schemes, respectively, using new parame-
representing just a 28% of correct predictions. ters (Al2O⁄3, CaO⁄, Fe2O⁄3, fluxing⁄: see chapter 2 for definitions).
The reliability rate is remarkably improved by repeating the Overall, the percentage of correct predictions does not vary appre-
same operation with the Cougny’s scheme: the percentage of right ciably: in fact, there are many batches with a similar chemical
predictions is 78% (very low bulk density), 68% (low density), and composition (hence plotting at the same point in the Riley’s and
 M. Dondi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 127 (2016) 394–409
Fig. 6. Conditions necessary for LWA expansion, modified after Cougny [160].
Cougny’s schemes) which are characterized by a different bloating
index and final bulk density. The expansion behavior does not
depend uniquely on the bulk chemical composition, but also on
processing conditions, occurrence of proper expanding agents
and thermal transformations leading to suitable amount and vis-
cosity of the liquid phase formed during the firing stage. Such a cir-
cumstance moved us to reconsider the many variables that can
influence the expansion behavior of LWA.
3.2. Factors affecting the LWA expansion during firing
The expansion on heating of clay materials has been investi-
gated in detail, e.g. [159,160,174,175]. There is a general conver-
gence towards an expansion behavior entailing three conditions
necessary to have bloating at a given firing temperature:
(1) to have an amount of liquid phase high enough to turn the
body in a viscous (pyroplastic) state;
(2) to have a gaseous emission with development of gas
bubbles;
(3) to have a liquid phase viscosity suitable for entrapment and
growth of gas bubbles that leads to bloating.
This simplified model is depicted in Fig. 5 by means of an ideal-
ized industrial rotary furnace for the production of LWA. The tem-
perature distribution inside the kiln is shown in function of firing
time. First, raw aggregates undergo a fast thermal rate, in the initial
part of the rotary furnace, leading to surface vitrification. Then
expansion of LWA is supposed to occur, in the zone of maximum
temperature, driven by the entrapment of evolved gas (due to a
proper viscosity of the liquid phase). The process apparently pro-
ceeds with an increasing rate by pore coarsening and eventually
bloating.
A schematic representation of these concepts was proposed by
Cougny [160] and is reproduced in Fig. 6. This expansion model is
probably working also with waste-bearing lightweight aggregates,
as confirmed by recent investigations [59,74,98,157,166,167].
However, opinion as to what causes bloating diverged consider-
ably, already in early investigations on clay materials [174]. No sin-
gle factor is most important, so that attention should be paid, at
least as far as the gas release is concerned, to causes operating
simultaneously [1,160].
The factors affecting the expansion mechanism can de distin-
guished in two classes [1,160,176]:
(A) Factors depending on the physical and chemical properties
of the body:

bulk chemical composition;

phase composition, including the amount of vitreous
phase;
399

viscosity at high temperature of the vitreous phase;

particle size distribution;

use of additives.
(B) Factors depending on processing conditions:

maximum temperature;

firing schedule, including pre-heating rate and duration;

furnace atmosphere;

furnace design.
3.2.1. Bulk chemical composition
As regards the bulk chemical composition, the use of Italian
zeolitic rocks (clinoptilolite, chabazite and phillipsite-rich rocks)
was assessed for the production of lightweight aggregates [57].
The firing expansion was mainly dependent on the chemical com-
position (especially SiO2 and fluxing oxides such as Fe2O3, Na2O,
K2O, MgO and CaO) and the water content (largely related to the
zeolite amount) of the raw materials. The best results were obtained
with the clinoptilolite-rich rock characterized by rather high silica/
fluxing ratio, which gave low bulk density aggregates and fair tech-
nical properties (loose weight and strength of particles) after firing
at 1430–1500 °C. To get aggregates with bulk density in the
0.5–0.7 gcm3 range, loss on ignition (LoI) >10%; SiO2/fluxing ratio
in the 4.0–7.5 range; SiO2/Al2O3 ratio between 4 and 5.6; and raw
materials with a zeolite amount >50% should be used.
Two raw materials (white clay and reddish brown clay) were
investigated to find the suitable compositions and heat treatment
(between 1000 and 1250 °C) for the production of LWA [177].
White clay has higher silica (71.6% vs. 61.2% wt), lower alumina
(11.6% vs 14.4% wt) and iron oxide (2.6% vs. 7.5% wt) contents
compared to the reddish brown clay. Fired at 1250 °C, the white
clay expanded 21.0% versus only 5.7% the reddish brown clay. By
increasing the amount of the white clay in the mixture, the volume
expansion of aggregates increased and water absorption decreased.
Firing expansion was mainly dependent on the amount of SiO2,
fluxing oxides and LoI of the raw materials. These aggregates were
found to be highly impervious to water, but with a high bulk den-
sity (1.29–1.76 gcm3) and fair technical properties (unit weight
and bending strength) for lightweight concrete.
The features of LWA sintered (1050–1100 °C for 10–30 min)
from ash of incinerated sludge (SiO2 44.9%; Al2O3 11.6%; Fe2O3
6.8% wt) derived by a municipal sewage treatment plant were
investigated [11]. Sintering temperatures higher that 1060 °C pro-
moted the blowing phenomenon and the aggregates decreased
their weight for longer sintering time and increasing temperatures.
The addition of amorphous silica lowered the melting point and
enhanced foaming, whereas higher Al2O3 contents improved the
compressive strength. Addition of fly ash accounted for a decrease
of the sintering temperatures.
Compositions suitable for obtaining foam-glass-crystalline
materials from aluminosilicate raw materials (zeolite-rich rock
and diabase) by means of a dual-stage technology, at temperatures
not exceeding 900 °C, were examined [64]. Sodium carbonate and
marshallite (i.e., SiO2 >95% wt) were chosen as additives. By this
way, it was possible to obtain LWA with very low density (250–
350 kgm3) with a compression strength up to 2 MPa. The batch
composition must have the following requirements: at least 60%
of the glass-forming silicon oxide; for lower SiO2 content, the
mix must be adjusted by introducing an additional high-silica
component; for SiO2/Al2O3 ratios of at least 4, only additional
alkali-containing components are needed. For an optimal batch
composition, the amount of the liquid phase formed at tempera-
tures no higher than 900 °C has to be at least 70%.
3.2.2. Phase composition
A sludge ash (fired at 900 °C for 1 h) was used for the prepara-
tion of LWA sintered from 1000 to 1100 °C for 30 min [43]. The
400 M. Dondi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 127 (2016) 394–409
bulk density (0.6–1.0 gcm3) strongly decreased from 1050 to
1100 °C. The major crystalline phases identified in the raw ash
were quartz (SiO2), whose amount decreased on sintering, hema-
tite (Fe2O3), corundum (Al2O3) and berlinite (AlPO4).
Mixtures of natural zeolitized rocks (clinoptilolite- or chabazite-
rich) and SiC-bearing sludge deriving from polishing of porcelain
stoneware tiles were tested for the production of LWA as con-
stituents of structural and/or thermo-insulating lightweight con-
cretes [52]. It was demonstrated that the firing expansion is
deeply depending on the occurrence of SiC in the industrial waste.
Different amounts of a powdered limestone were also added to the
batch, resulting in an even increased expansion, though accompa-
nied by a worsening of the mechanical properties of the LWA. Natu-
ral zeolitized materials mixed with the industrial sludge (30% wt)
allowed the production of LWA with densities ranging between
0.8 and 1.0 gcm3, thus suitable for the preparation of structural
lightweight concretes. Less dense aggregates (0.6–0.7 gcm3) were
also obtained by adding powdered limestone (10% wt) potentially
useful for the manufacture of thermo-insulating lightweight
concretes.
The effect of MgO contents on the physical, chemical and
microstructural properties of LWA was assessed under controlled
or rapid cooling [104]. Results indicate that cordierite (Mg2Al4Si5
O18) is found in LWA when the MgO content reaches 2%, along with
a mullite decreasing. An increase in the content of basic magnesium
carbonate in the batch generates more CO2, turning into higher
porosity values as well as lower bulk density and compressive
strength of LWA pellets. The formation of cordierite was found to
prevent the generation of cracks within LWA pellets, improving their
strength and reducing water absorption under rapid cooling
conditions.
Microstructural and mineralogical features of LWA manufac-
tured with washing sludge (WS), fly ash (FA), used motor oil and
washing aggregate sludge, sewage sludge and a clay-rich sediment
were investigated [16,21]. The degree of vitrification of LWA is
mostly affected by temperature and batch formulation. LWA with
WS and FA generally showed an external layer and a glassy core with
isolated pores. The presence of coarser pores is related to a lower
density of the unfired pellets, whilst when the external layer is lack-
ing the water absorption values were dependent on the size and
amount of open or closed pores. The mineralogical analyses revealed
the formation of plagioclase and pyroxene, along with minor gehlen-
ite, during the heat treatment. The formation of Ca-plagioclase and
the dissolution of quartz during firing improved the compressive
Fig. 7. Best particle size distribution range for LWA expansion, modified after Cougny [160].
strength. On the other hand, the disappearance of pyroxene together
with an increasing proportion of plagioclase determine a decrease in
the density of LWA produced with the clay-rich sediment.
The mineralogical transformations occurring in the 800–
1200 °C range were investigated for a diatomaceous clay (Moler)
consisting of 70% wt diatomite and 30% wt montmorillonite along
with volcanic ash layers [178]. Moler was converted mainly into
cristobalite in the 900–1100 °C range. Samples treated at the high-
est temperatures contained less mullite and hematite.
3.2.3. Viscosity at high temperature of the vitreous phase
Kaz’mina et al. [89] assessed the viscosity of the glass-crystal
composition in the LWA foaming temperature range (800–
850 °C) which resulted to be higher than that of glass, because of
the occurrence of a residual crystalline phase (a form of SiO2)
which increases the viscosity. It was demonstrated that, for a
glassy phase content lower than 75% wt, the viscosity of the LWA
body depends on the crystals-to-glassy phase ratio; for a glassy
phase content higher than 75% wt, the viscosity of the composition
and bloating index are mainly determined by the chemical compo-
sition of the glassy phase.
LWA with bottom ash from a thermal power plant and dredged
soil were manufactured by direct sintering for 10 min at 1050–
1200 °C [115]. The weight ratio of coal bottom ash to the dredged
soil is of 7:3, and 5% wt waste glass was added to the batch; fur-
thermore, Na2O was added to the waste glass up to 6% wt in order
to control the viscosity of the vitreous phase during the heat treat-
ment. The LWA without waste glass showed a limited bloating at
1200 °C, which is enhanced by the waste glass with a consequent
decrease of the bulk density from 1.44 to 1.20 gcm3; water
absorption is in the 12–23% range.
3.2.4. Particle size
Particle size has to be controlled to get a compromise between a
fine-grained distribution (necessary to entrap gases and promote
sintering kinetics) and a coarser distribution, needed to ensure
the proper workability of aggregates. A range of particle size distri-
bution (Fig. 7) was proposed to obtain the best behavior in terms of
both expansion and technological properties of LWA [160].
Aineto and coworkers [98] analyzed vitreous slag (SL) and fly
ash (FA) from a gasification plant. Such wastes exhibit expanding
properties at high temperatures due to a gas exolution from the
glassy phase. This process, simultaneous to the devitrification of
crystalline phases, may result in the development of porosity that
 M. Dondi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 127 (2016) 394–409
can be modulated by controlling the temperature of thermal treat-
ments. The different behavior on the development of porosity
recorded in FA and SL was explained by the finer particle size
and higher content of volatile compounds in FA, which promoted
an earlier liquid phase formation and a greater gas release and coa-
lescence of bubbles with the consequent opening of the porosity.
LWA were prepared from rice husk ash (RHA) obtained from a
biomass power plant, containing over 80% wt. of silica and small
amounts of K2O, Na2O and Fe2O3 [152]. RHA has the potential for
making LWA with very low bulk density (0.2–0.4 gcm3) whose
properties are enhanced with increasing fineness of RHA. The reac-
tion of RHA with a 10 M NaOH solution (at 115 °C for 24 h to form a
sodium silicate) and following treatment to 500 °C provided better
LWA than the as-received RHA. The stability of LWA was obtained
by incorporating 2–7% wt of boric acid in the RHA mixture.
Reservoir sediments, blended with waste glass with different
degrees of fineness, were investigated to disclose how particle size
distribution affects both the sintering behavior and LWA character-
istics [10]. Fine-grained glass smoothed the surface of the aggre-
gates and decreased the LWA pore size, with the breaking load
increasing by a 76%. Waste glass particle size >150 lm brought
about LWA with bulk density <1.8 gcm3; conversely, when the
waste glass particle size was <150 lm, the LWA bulk density
exceeded 1.8 gcm3. The addition of the fine-grained waste glass
into reservoir sediment positively affects the resistance to chemi-
cal corrosion and potential alkali-silica reactivity of LWA.
3.2.5. Use of additives
As regards additives employed to improve the bloating process,
waste sludges from sawing and polishing of ornamental stones and
porcelain stoneware were experimented for the manufacture of
LWA [53]. The occurrence of SiC (the abrasive component) is a
key-point, since it decomposes at high temperature with gas
release, thus acting as a bloating promoter and giving rise to
LWA with particle density <1 gcm3. Slight variations in the batch
composition allowed to produce LWA with different properties:
e.g., high mechanical resistance (particle density 1.25 gcm3;
strength of particle 6.9 MPa).
The performance of three binders (ordinary Portland cement,
Na-bentonite and powdered limestone) was tested on the proper-
ties of sintered fly ash aggregate [99]. The properties of these LWA
depend on the type of binder and its dosage; when bentonite is
added with fly ash, a significant improvement in strength and
reduction in water absorption is observed. Although the binders
used did not substantially alter the chemical composition, they
influenced the LWA microstructure in a way that enhanced the
mechanical properties.
LWA were obtained from a water reservoir sediment (mainly
composed of SiO2 61.4%, Al2O3 22.5%, and Fe2O3 8.6% wt, with vari-
ous additions of CaO) fired at temperatures of 1170–1230 °C [132].
The addition of 1% wt. CaO to the batch calcined at 1200 °C allowed
to achieve LWA with the performance of a commercial product. CaO
addition did not promote any pozzolanic reaction and lowered
water adsorption of LWA, due to an excess of glassy phase, which
sealed the pores. In contrast, the CaO addition weakened the com-
pressive strength. The addition of sodium carbonate to a water
reservoir sediment was found to form a glassy phase during the
heating process, while the CO2 released forms a porous structure
[134]. By the addition of 5% wt Na2CO3, the firing temperature can
be lowered by 100 °C, with great effect on pore formation and
growth.
3.2.6. Firing schedule, including maximum temperature, pre-heating
rate and duration
LWA were produced from water reservoir sediment with added
calcium oxide in the 1170–1230 °C range together with an inter-
401
mediate product for foam glass crystalline materials based on silica
at temperatures not exceeding 900 °C [133]. The results show that
LWA produced above 1200 °C met the EN-13055-1, which states
that the unit weight of LWA should be lower than 2000 kgm3.
The bulk density was easily lowered by extending the soaking time
and increasing the heating rate. The ratio of strength to unit weight
of the LWA produced at 1230 °C, with a short soaking time and a
fast heating rate, was near to that of a commercial product. The
level of water adsorption was below 4%, which increased initially
and then decreased due to pore connections and pore sealing.
The formation of a glassy phase in the LWA treated at higher tem-
perature created a microstructure with rough and sealed small
pores (<0.1 mm) connected to the walls of large pores (>0.2 mm).
The effect of preheating and firing conditions on the bloating
mechanism was studied on LWA manufactured by dehydrated
sewage sludge (DSS) and clay [17]. Chemical components, espe-
cially the C/Fe ratio, were used to explain the preheating mecha-
nism; physical forces (surface tension and bloating force)
combined with C/Fe ratio were used to explain the bloating mech-
anism. The optimum addition of DSS was 20–30% wt, whose pellets
preheated for 20 min at 400 °C and fired for 10 min at 1150 °C were
good to produce LWA with a bulk density of 0.3–0.8 gcm3, a
water absorption of 5.3% wt., and non-toxic (metal leaching data
were all below the detection limit) and suitable for practical civil
engineering.
The effects of prefiring and firing dwell times on the chemical,
physical and microstructural properties of LWA produced from
mining and industrial waste with a rotary kiln were determined
[74]. It was observed that 1.5 and 3 min of prefiring and firing
dwell times, respectively, were more adequate than 5 and 4 min
to get a lower density (0.98 vs. 1.64 gcm3).
3.2.7. Furnace atmosphere
Kim et al. [164] investigated LWA made of bottom ash (70% wt)
and dredged soil (30% wt) produced under various firing atmo-
spheres (oxidizing, neutral and reducing) at 1150 and 1200 °C.
LWA fired in oxidizing atmosphere showed a microstructure with
a clear border between shell and black core, while LWA fired in
reducing atmosphere (with a CO gas flow rate of 10 L/min) exhib-
ited in cross-section only a black core area. The black core of the
LWA fired in neutral atmosphere was more extended when the
N2 gas flow rate increased.
The effect of oxidizing-reducing conditions on different mixes
based on silicate raw materials was appraised to obtain LWA
[156]. Two different coefficients were proposed: (1) the coefficient
of effective foaming Kv = (Vf  Vi)/Vi, where Vf is the final volume
and Vi is the initial volume; (2) the oxidation coefficient that char-
acterizes the quantitative ratio of the oxidizers and reducers in the
batch: Ko = (CORf  Mf + CORo  Mo)/(RCORi  Mi) where COR is
the chemical oxygen requirement in mg for 100 g of carbon-
containing foaming agents for each component (f-o-i) and M is
the mass content (% for each component f-o-i). Results showed that
Kv is strictly depending on the oxidation coefficient. Expanding
mixtures fall into three groups: oxidizing (Ko < 25), transitional
(25 < Ko < 100) and reducing (Ko > 100). LWA mixes, belonging to
the transitional group, are optimal for foaming and are character-
ized by a uniformly fine pore structure while for oxidizing and
reducing groups a high degree of structural non-uniformity is
observed.
3.2.8. Furnace design
Three main types of industrial furnaces are currently utilized for
the production of LWA: (1) rotative kiln; (2) moving grate; (3) fluid
bed. The rotary kiln is the most important and most used in the
industrial production; variants are possible (coaxial, with different
diameters in cascade, with variable diameter) and selected
402 M. Dondi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 127 (2016) 394–409
according to the raw materials and LWA characteristics [160].
Wainwright et al. [51] described the use of an innovative rotary
kiln to produce synthetic aggregates from a variety of waste
streams. This Trefoil kiln has a new design supposed to be ther-
mally more efficient than the traditional one. Different combina-
tions of wastes were tested to produce LWA suitable for natural
aggregate replacement.
3.3. Bloating agents: the role of evolved gases
The bloating process is connected with gases (mainly oxygen
and/or carbon oxides) that are entrapped by the liquid phase formed
at high temperature in the LWA. Such gases are mostly evolved from
batch components that are thermally unstable, like carbonates, iron
and manganese oxides, silicon carbide, and carbonaceous matter.
The role of gaseous substances involved in bloating has been
debated at length, as in the literature there are contrasting opinions
and contradictory findings ([157,160,166,179] among others).
About carbonates, the effect of CO2 derived by heating calcite,
dolomite and ankerite in argillaceous rocks was emphasized by
Ehlers and Richardson [180] who found a more effective entrap-
ment in illitic clays, which produce more liquid phase than kaolini-
tic clays. Nevertheless, in a zeolitite mix, calcite was found to
mainly act as a low melting agent since no expansion was
observed, unless a SiC-bearing waste be added [52].
A key role of iron oxides was claimed by Cougny [160] who
pointed to a reduction reaction of iron oxide with organic or car-
bonaceous matter in clays:
2Fe2 O3 þ C ! 4FeO þ CO2 "
This mechanism can be effective only if iron oxide and organic
matter are present in sufficient amounts: e.g., Fe2O3 should exceed
5% wt. in the batch [180]. This circumstance is relevant because
iron oxide occurs in small amounts in several wastes.
Recently, Lee [118] outlined the effect of Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 in dif-
ferent amounts (5–30% wt) on bloating when producing LWA from
wastes (bottom-ash, reject-ash and dredged soil) by fast sintering
from 1060 to 1180 °C. Bloating was related to redox reactions with
formation of gases:
2Fe2 O3 ! 2FeO þ Fe2 O3 þ 1=2O2 "
3Fe2 O3 þ C ! 2Fe3 O4 þ CO "
Fe3 O4 þ C ! 3FeO þ CO "
LWA with 10–15% iron oxide showed the lowest specific grav-
ity, but the more iron oxide, the higher the bulk density, because
of liquid phase sintering.
Bloating and sintering reactions occurring in a one-step thermal
process at 1050 and 1150 °C were described for LWA made of
reservoir sediment, where iron oxide is mainly Fe2+ (2.9% FeO vs.
2.0% Fe2O3) [130]. Divalent iron was oxidized to Fe3+ (Eqs. (5)
and (6)) in all LWA, except in the core of those fired at 1150 °C,
where another reaction was claimed, involving iron sulphate and
possible release of SO2 and SO3 (Eq. (7)). A generally accepted
mechanism for bloating – the reduction of Fe2O3 to FeO with a
release of O2 – was not observed.
2Fe2 O3 ! 4FeO þ O2 "
6Fe2 O3 ! 4Fe3 O4 þ O2 "
4FeSO4 ! 2Fe2 O3 þ 2SO3 " þ2SO2 "
Silicon carbide was used as bloating agent by exploiting a SiC-
bearing mud from polishing of ceramic tiles [52,53,60]. This kind
of waste was investigated in detail, looking at the effect of addi-
tives from the abrasive tools (silicon carbide and magnesium oxy-
chloride, MOC) on bloating at 1000–1200 °C [165]. SiC is more
effective than MOC in the same content and firing conditions, but
the best expansion occurred with a small amount of both MOC
and SiC. The bloating mechanism appears to be related to SiC oxi-
dation reaction with generation at high temperature of CO and CO2
gases:
SiC þ 2O2 ! SiO2 þ CO2 " ð8Þ
2SiC þ 3O2 ! 2SiO2 þ 2CO " ð9Þ
The bloating process occurring in silica sludge and fly ash
mixes, with SiC added as foaming agent, was investigated at differ-
ent temperatures and dwelling times [157]. The development of
porosity in presence of a liquid phase was related to an oxidation
reaction (Eq. (8)). Both porosity and median pore size increased
for prolonged dwelling time (the number of pores decreased, but
the pore volume increased).
Manganese oxide was used as bloating agent (3–7% wt MnO2)
to produce LWA from waste glass and silica mud, since it decom-
poses at high temperature and gases released can remain
entrapped inside the glassy matrix [166]. The efficiency of the
bloating action of MnO2 depends on a cascade of redox reactions
occurring in the 500–1050 °C range that lead to the formation of
Mn5O8, Mn2O3, Mn3O4 and MnO. This chain implies an oxygen
release for every reduction reaction from Mn4+ to Mn3+ and Mn2+
with mixed valence intermediate steps. Prolonged dwelling times
promote bloating (with increasing pore size) while the addition
ð1Þ
of silica mud increases the expansion temperature and slows down
the bloating process.
As regards carbon as bloating agent, the effect of relatively large
amounts of carbonaceous matter was studied in the manufacture
of LWA from bottom ash, reject ash and dredged soil by sintering
at 1050–1200 °C. First it was investigated a lower amount of car-
bon (1.7% wt) in the bottom ash [116] then a lot of unburnt carbon
in the reject ash (9.1% wt) that was removed by calcination and
replaced by 1–2% wt activated carbon [117]. The bloating phe-
nomenon occurred due to a gas retention caused by large quantity
of liquid formed at the specimen surface; coherently, by increasing
ð2Þ
the amount of Na2O in the batch, the black core and size of macro-
pores in LWA increased [116]. On the other hand, the addition of
ð3Þ
activated carbon was not effective [117].
Cellulose residues (46% of total carbon) were proposed as bloat-
ð4Þ
ing agent to produce LWA (expanded clay). From semi-industrial
trials, moderate additions of cellulose residues to clay originate
suitable LWA [151].
In conclusion, although a general framework where bloating
phenomena depend on gas release is confirmed, an extremely com-
plicated picture arose. As a matter of fact, there is a convolution of
different factors, beyond the gas release, that makes it difficult any
prediction based on this ground. In addition, account must be
taken that waste-based systems entail even more complex chemi-
cal and phase composition, as well as their behavior is not so well
known to have an overall model. For these reasons, we need to
have first a protocol of characterization to get all the information
necessary for a correct prediction of the bloating behavior of
waste-bearing LWA.
ð5Þ
ð6Þ
3.4. Proposal of a characterization protocol for LWA
ð7Þ
A comprehensive protocol to determine the expansion behavior
of batches intended to be used in LWA manufacturing is here
proposed to implement the technological characterization [181].
Such a protocol entails four different aspects:
 M. Dondi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 127 (2016) 394–409 403

Fig. 8. Expected behavior of LWA batches during hot-stage microscope runs at constant thermal rate (A) and in isothermal conditions (B). Characteristic temperatures for
start of sintering (TSS), end of sintering (TES), maximum expansion (TME), maximum expansion rate (TMER) and half sphere (THS). Bloating index as (VM  V0)/V0 ratio (see text
for details).

thermal behavior, with special emphasis on the assessment of
aggregate expansion (bulk density, bloating index) in conditions
able to simulate those occurring in industrial furnaces by means
of a hot-stage microscope (HSM);

compositional features, in particular chemical composition of
the vitreous phase inferred from quantitative phase analysis
(XRD plus Rietveld refinement) and bulk chemical composition
of the batch (WDS-XRF or ICP-OES);

physical properties of the vitreous phase, especially viscosity at
high temperature, as calculated from its chemical composition
by means of models set up for glasses [173];

microstructural features, like amount, size and shape of pores
and septal thickness, as measured by image analysis on
micrographs taken under an optical microscope or a scanning
electron microscope (SEM).
This protocol is thought to determine the expansion behavior of
batches and should be integrated by technological tests (simulat-
ing the LWA industrial processing) and standard characterization
of LWA, including loose weight, water absorption, chemical and
mechanical resistance [53,182–184].
3.4.1. Expansion behavior
Expansion behavior can be investigated by HSM, which allows
to properly simulate the very fast thermal rates involved in LWA
production and to get quantitative results in terms of both charac-
teristic temperatures and expansion degree or bloating index. The
protocol requires to perform HSM runs in function of temperature
and time (Fig. 8). A first run is carried out at a constant thermal rate
(typically 10 °Cmin1) to get characteristic temperatures from the
changing shape of the specimen [168]. A second run is performed
in isothermal conditions (getting as fast as possible at the temper-
ature of maximum expansion rate) to have information on the
degree of expansion over time (typically 30–45 min, i.e. a common
time taken by aggregates to roll along an industrial rotary kiln).
The typical firing behavior of LWA batches, in the run at constant
thermal rate, is inferred by the change in size (and shape) of the
specimen, that consists in (Fig. 8A)

Fig. 9. Examples of the behavior of different materials during hot-stage microscope runs at constant thermal rate (A) and in isothermal conditions (B).
404 M. Dondi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 127 (2016) 394–409

Table 2
Bulk chemical and mineralogical composition of the bodies consisting of zeolite rock mining waste + ceramic tile polishing mud + scrap glass, together with the chemical
composition of the vitreous phase.

Bulk (% wt) V0 VB1 VB2 VB3 VS1 VS2 VS3

SiO2 65.14 66.43 67.80 68.83 65.01 64.80 64.67
TiO2 0.52 0.49 0.40 0.36 0.53 0.49 0.49
ZrO2 <0.02 <0.02 <0.02 <0.02 0.22 0.41 0.62
Al2O3 17.16 15.55 13.71 12.15 15.59 13.87 12.41
Fe2O3 3.29 2.81 2.56 2.23 2.83 2.59 2.28
MnO 0.13 0.11 0.11 0.09 0.11 0.11 0.09
MgO 2.50 2.44 2.36 2.32 2.26 2.01 1.79
CaO 3.57 4.21 4.85 5.50 3.18 3.00 2.54
SrO <0.02 <0.02 <0.02 <0.02 0.84 1.65 2.47
BaO <0.02 <0.02 <0.02 <0.02 0.93 1.83 2.73
PbO <0.02 <0.02 <0.02 <0.02 0.04 0.09 0.13
Na2O 1.42 2.26 3.08 3.94 2.09 2.71 3.21
K2O 6.19 5.63 5.06 4.54 6.30 6.37 6.52
P2O5 0.08 0.07 0.07 0.05 0.07 0.07 0.05
Mineralogy (% wt) V0 VB1 VB2 VB3 VS1 VS2 VS3
Sanidine 8 5 5 4 5.5 4 11
Plagioclase 3 4 4 4 4.5 4 4
Quartz 4 3 2 2 3 2 2
Vitreous phase 85 88 89 90 87 90 83
Vitreous phase (% wt) V0 VB1 VB2 VB3 VS1 VS2 VS3
SiO2 63.80 65.83 67.76 68.87 64.30 64.40 64.15
TiO2 0.62 0.55 0.45 0.40 0.62 0.54 0.59
ZrO2 <0.02 <0.02 <0.02 <0.02 0.26 0.46 0.75
Al2O3 17.45 15.34 13.10 11.42 15.19 13.34 11.14
Fe2O3 3.87 3.20 2.88 2.48 3.29 2.88 2.75
MnO 0.16 0.13 0.12 0.10 0.13 0.12 0.11
MgO 2.94 2.77 2.66 2.58 2.62 2.24 2.16
CaO 3.83 4.32 4.98 5.65 3.10 2.87 2.56
SrO <0.02 <0.02 <0.02 <0.02 0.98 1.84 2.98
BaO <0.02 <0.02 <0.02 <0.02 1.08 2.03 3.29
PbO <0.02 <0.02 <0.02 <0.02 0.05 0.10 0.16
Na2O 1.25 2.18 3.08 4.02 1.94 2.65 3.29
K2O 5.99 5.61 4.91 4.43 6.37 6.47 6.04
P2O5 0.09 0.08 0.07 0.06 0.08 0.07 0.06
Physical properties V0 VB1 VB2 VB3 VS1 VS2 VS3
TMER, °C 1210 1190 1180 1170 1180 1180 1110
Viscosity TMER, log10 (Pas) 3.67 3.58 3.46 3.37 3.66 3.48 3.69
Flow point, °C 1186 1154 1123 1095 1156 1125 1094
Littleton point, °C 917 894 873 854 892 869 847
TFIRE, °C 1195 1195 1195 1170 1195 1195 1110
Bulk density at TFIRE, gcm3 0.41 0.39 0.54 0.51 0.45 0.55 0.62
Bloating index, (V  V0)/V0 2.43 2.66 1.68 1.85 2.23 1.61 1.36
Viscosity TFIRE, log10 (Pas) 3.76 3.55 3.39 3.37 3.58 3.41 3.69

TFIRE: temperature of firing trials on LWA.

Fig. 10. (A) Estimated viscosity at the temperature of maximum expansion rate (TMER) in function of scrap glass addition. (B) Bloating index as a function of the viscosity at
the firing temperature (TFIRE) of LWA.
 M. Dondi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 127 (2016) 394–409 405

Fig. 11. Microstructure and pore distribution of LWA: as cumulative number (A), cumulative volume (B).

Fig. 12. Size distribution of septa between pores in LWA containing waste glass.

slight volume increasing, due to the natural thermal expansion
of the material, till the start of sintering (TSS);

sintering, usually by viscous flow, till the temperature of maxi-
mum densification, which corresponds to the end of sintering
(TES);

bloating, due to a progressive volume growth until the temper-
ature of maximum expansion (TME); a temperature of maximum
expansion rate can be taken by the first derivative (TMER);

melting point, which is conventionally taken as the temperature
of half sphere (THS).
The bloating behavior, as assessed in the isothermal run at the
TMER (Fig. 8B) allows to get:

a more reliable evaluation of the actual expansion (estimating a
volume instead of the specimen height); the volume is calcu-
lated approaching the specimen shape to regular polyhedra;

a quantitative bloating index, BI = (VM  V0)/V0, where V0 is the
volume of unfired specimen and VM is the maximum volume
achieved;

information on the bloating stability over the firing time: a
given batch may exhibit a stable expansion degree (keeping
its BI constant for increasing time from t1 to t2) or be affected
by unstable expansion with collapse of the aggregate (BI
decreases with time from t1 to t2).
Examples of the behavior of different materials are reported in
Fig. 9. For instance, a typical commercial batch for expanded clay
exhibits, in the constant rate run, a strong expansion (almost
120% of the initial specimen size) and a stable expansion, corre-
sponding to nearly 4 times the volume of the starting aggregate
all over the isothermal run. An efficacious bloating agent, like the
SiC-bearing mud from ceramic tiles polishing, is characterized by
an outstanding expansion in both runs, more accentuated than that
406 M. Dondi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 127 (2016) 394–409
of the expanded clay batch. Residues often present a limited
expansion propensity, as in the case of the waste in Fig. 9, clearly
insufficient for LWA requirements. Nevertheless, the same waste
material can be improved by the addition of the bloating agent,
turning its behavior close to that of expanded clay in the constant
rate run (Fig. 9A) and able to increase the expansion in the isother-
mal run, till a LWA volume almost 3 times the initial one (Fig. 9B).
3.4.2. Compositional characterization
A compositional characterization is fundamental to obtain a
quantitative estimation on the amount of vitreous and crystalline
phases present in the LWA. The bulk chemical composition of the
batch is needed to calculate, for every oxide, the fraction referred
to the vitreous phase by subtracting the contribution of every crys-
talline phase.
A working example concerns the two residues characterized in
Fig. 9 (a zeolite rock mining waste and ceramic tile polishing mud)
that were admixed in the 7:3 ratio by weight. This body (V0) was
added with 10%, 20% or 30% wt of waste glasses (VB container
scrap glass or VS screen glass from TV-PC dismantling). The bulk
chemical composition of the seven bodies is shown in Table 2,
together with the chemical composition of the vitreous phase
obtained after subtraction of the contribution from residual phases
(quartz, sanidine and plagioclase).
The addition of soda-lime glass (VB) brought about an incre-
ment of CaO and Na2O (minor for SiO2) as well as a diminution
of Al2O3, Fe2O3, MgO and K2O. In the case of screen glass (VS) the
decreasing in Al2O3, Fe2O3, MgO and CaO was compensated by an
increasing of Na2O, SrO and BaO (plus minor amounts of ZrO2,
PbO and K2O). These trends occurred in both the bulk and the vit-
reous phase. When the amount of scrap glass is increased from
zero to 30% the following changes of technological behavior can
be observed:
- decreasing of TMER from 1210 °C (V0) to 1170 °C (VB) and
1110 °C (VS);
- increasing bulk density from 0.41 gcm3 (V0) to 0.51 gcm3
(VB) and 0.62 gcm3 (VS);
- correspondent decreasing of the BI from 2.43 (V0) to 1.85 (VB)
and 1.36 (VS).
3.4.3. Estimation of physical properties of the liquid phase
The changes of chemical composition in the VB and VS series
reflected in a clear fluidity increasing of the vitreous phase, as
shown by decreasing Flow point (temperature at which the glass
begins to flow), Littleton point (temperature at which the glass
deforms under its own weight) and viscosity at the TMER (Table 2
and Fig. 10A). This effect brought about pros (a lower temperature
to get the maximum expansion rate: 40 °C for VB3 and 100 °C
for VS3) and cons (the lower the viscosity, the lower the bloating
index, Fig. 10B).
3.4.4. Microstructural features
Are important to define quantity and quality of both the pores
and septal systems characterizing the LWA. In general, the com-
pressive strength largely depends on microstructural factors, thus
size and number of pores and septa affect the mechanical behavior
of LWA. The addition of equal amounts of Na-Ca glass (VB) or Ba-Sr
glass (VS) induced a different microstructure, as observed under
optical microscopy (Fig. 11). The image analysis allows to quantita-
tively discriminate between VB-bearing and VS-bearing LWA: the
former contain a larger number (Fig. 11A) and volume (Fig. 11B)
of pores coarser than 5 mm; the latter has pores mostly between
1 and 5 mm.
On the other hand, any modification in pore size has repercus-
sion on the septal system around the cavities. It was observed that
a small glass addition (10%) did not induce significant changes in
the size distribution of septa (Fig. 12). Increasing amounts of glass
provoked a different distribution in the VB and VS series, with LWA
containing screen glass that have bigger septa.
4. Conclusions
The main challenge in the manufacture of waste-bearing LWA is
the control on their technological behavior during firing. Basic
properties (bulk density, mechanical strength and water absorp-
tion) that must be tailored for various applications depend on
the actual engineering of the LWA sintering and bloating processes.
Several factors play a significant role during the LWA firing, includ-
ing chemical and phase composition, particle and pellet size, vis-
cosity of the vitreous phase, firing schedule, furnace atmosphere
and design, use of additives (and particularly of bloating agents).
It has been demonstrated, by reviewing a large body of litera-
ture, that the prediction of the aggregate expansion, usually based
on the bulk chemical composition by the Riley’s and/or Cougny’s
schemes, is not reliable and a new approach to assess the batch
expandability is needed. In order to go deeper in the comprehen-
sion of mechanisms active during expansion of LWA, a specific
characterization protocol was set up, entailing hot-stage micro-
scopy and determination of phase composition and microstructure.
This implies a paradigm shift from batch (chemical composition) to
vitreous phase (amount, chemical composition, and viscosity at
high temperature). A working example with batches based on
waste glasses, ceramic tile polishing sludge and clay raw materials
confirmed the key-role of the vitreous phase for bloating,
microstructure and physical properties of LWA.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Emilia-Romagna region (POR-
FESR 2014-2020) within the project MATER_SOS (Sustainable
materials for restoration and construction of new buildings, CUP
E32I16000020007).
References
[1] A.L. Bush, D.P. Bryan, D.R. Hack, Lightweight aggregates, in: Industrial
Minerals and Rocks: Commodities, Markets, and Uses, 2006, pp. 181–194.
[2] M. Singh, M. Garg, Perlite-based building materials—a review of current
applications, Constr. Build. Mater. 5 (1991) 75–81.
[3] N. Narayanan, K. Ramamurthy, Structure and properties of aerated concrete: a
review, Cem. Concr. Compos. 22 (2000) 321–329.
[4] A. Elsharief, M.D. Cohen, J. Olek, Influence of lightweight aggregate on the
microstructure and durability of mortar, Cem. Concr. Res. 35 (2005) 1368–
1376.
[5] S.B. Sadineni, S. Madala, R.F. Boehm, Passive building energy savings: a review
of building envelope components, Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 15
(2011) 3617–3631.
[6] M. Hassanpour, P. Shafigh, H.B. Mahmud, Lightweight aggregate concrete
fiber reinforcement – a review, Constr. Build. Mater. 37 (2012) 452–461.
[7] K.J. Mun, A study on using expanded clay and organic sludge for
manufacturing of super lightweight aggregate, in: Proc. Conf. Korean Soc.
Waste Manage., Seoul, Korea, 2002, pp. 243–246.
[8] P. Trong-Quyen, K. Duck-Mo, M. Kyoung-Ju, S. Yang-Seob, Manufacturing
lightweight aggregate uses high content of sewage sludge for non-structural
concrete, in: Proc. Korean Concr. Inst., 2003, pp. 124–127.
[9] K.J. Mun, N. Choi, Y.S. Soh, Feasibility study of lightweight aggregates using
sewage sludge for non-structural concrete, in: RILEM Int. Symp. Environ.
Conscious Mater. Systems, 2005, pp. 155–162.
[10] I.J. Chiou, K.S. Wang, C.H. Chen, Y.T. Lin, Lightweight aggregate made from
sewage sludge and incinerated ash, Waste Manage. 26 (2006) 1453–1461.
[11] C.C. Tsai, K.S. Wang, J. Chiou, Effect of SiO2–Al2O3–flux ratio change on the
bloating characteristics of lightweight aggregate material produced from
recycled sewage sludge, J. Hazard. Mater. 134 (2006) 87–93.
[12] K.D. Kim, S.G. Kang, Impact sound reduction analysis of concrete slab
containing artificial lightweight aggregates fabricated using a sewage sludge,
Mater. Sci. Forum 544 (2007) 581–584.
[13] K.J. Mun, Development and tests of lightweight aggregate using sewage
sludge for nonstructural concrete, Constr. Build. Mater. 21 (2007) 1583–1588.
 M. Dondi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 127 (2016) 394–409
[14] X. Wang, Y. Jin, Z. Wang, R.B. Mahar, Y. Nie, A research on sintering
characteristics and mechanisms of dried sewage sludge, J. Hazard. Mater. 160
(2008) 489–494.
[15] X. Wang, Y. Jin, Z. Wang, Y. Nie, Q. Huang, Q. Wang, Development of
lightweight aggregate from dry sewage sludge and coal ash, Waste Manage.
29 (2009) 1330–1335.
[16] B. González-Corrochano, J.A. Azcárate, M. Rodas, F.J. Luque, J.F. Barrenechea,
Microstructure and mineralogy of lightweight aggregates produced from
washing aggregate sludge, fly ash and used motor oil, Cem. Concr. Compos. 32
(2010) 694–707.
[17] Y. Qi, Q. Yue, S. Han, M. Yue, B. Gao, H. Yu, T. Shao, Preparation and
mechanism of ultra-lightweight ceramics produced from sewage sludge, J.
Hazard. Mater. 176 (2010) 76–84.
[18] I.J. Chiou, C.H. Chen, Properties of artificial lightweight aggregates made from
waste sludge, Comput. Concr. 8 (2011) 617–629.
[19] J.A. Cusidó, C. Soriano, Valorization of pellets from municipal WWTP sludge in
lightweight clay ceramics, Waste Manage. 31 (2011) 1372–1380.
[20] B. González-Corrochano, J.A. Azcárate, M.R. Gonzalez, Heavy metal chemical
fractionation and immobilization in lightweight aggregates produced from
mining and industrial waste, Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 8 (2011) 667–676.
[21] B. González-Corrochano, J.A. Azcárate, M. Rodas, J.F. Barrenechea, F.J. Luque,
Microstructure and mineralogy of lightweight aggregates manufactured from
mining and industrial wastes, Constr. Build. Mater. 25 (2011) 3591–3602.
_
[22] J. Latosińska, M. Zygadło, The application of sewage sludge as an expanding
agent in the production of lightweight expanded clay aggregate mass,
Environ. Technol. 32 (2011) 1471–1478.
[23] S.X. Liu, L.L. Shen, F.S. Niu, Researching status and prospect of lightweight
aggregates obtained from solid wastes in China, Adv. Mater. Res. 163 (2011)
624–628.
[24] S.H. Hu, S.C. Hu, Y.P. Fu, Resource recycling through artificial lightweight
aggregates from sewage sludge and derived ash using boric acid flux to lower
co-melting temperature, J. Air Waste Manage. Ass. 62 (2012) 262–269.
[25] B.L.A. Tuan, C.L. Hwang, K.L. Lin, Y.Y. Chen, M.P. Young, Development of
lightweight aggregate from sewage sludge and waste glass powder for
concrete, Constr. Build. Mater. 47 (2013) 334–339.
[26] B.L.A. Tuan, M.G. Tesfamariam, Y.Y. Chen, C.L. Hwang, K.L. Lin, M.P. Young,
Production of lightweight aggregate from sewage sludge and reservoir
sediment for high-flowing concrete, J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 140 (2014)
04014005.
[27] A. Białowiec, W. Janczukowicz, Z.M. Gusiatin, A. Thornton, J. Rodziewicz, M.
Zielińska, Recycling potential of air pollution control residue from sewage
sludge thermal treatment as artificial lightweight aggregates, Waste Manage.
Res. 32 (2014) 221–227.
[28] P.J. Wainwright, P. Robery, Production and properties of sintered incinerator
residues as aggregate for concrete, Stud. Environ. Sci. 48 (1991) 425–432.
[29] S. Bethanis, C.R. Cheeseman, Manufacture of lightweight aggregate from
incinerator bottom ash and pulverised fuel ash, Proc. Heleco Conf., Athens,
2005, p. 10.
[30] C.R. Cheeseman, A. Makinde, S. Bethanis, Properties of lightweight aggregate
produced by rapid sintering of incinerator bottom ash, Resour. Conserv.
Recycl. 43 (2005) 147–162.
[31] S.C. Huang, F.C. Chang, S.L. Lo, M.Y. Lee, C.F. Wang, J.D. Lin, Production of
lightweight aggregates from mining residues, heavy metal sludge, and
incinerator fly ash, J. Hazard. Mater. 144 (2007) 52–58.
[32] H.J. Chen, S.Y. Wang, C.W. Tang, Reuse of incineration fly ashes and reaction
ashes for manufacturing lightweight aggregate, Constr. Build. Mater. 24
(2010) 46–55.
[33] R. Cioffi, F. Colangelo, F. Montagnaro, L. Santoro, Manufacture of artificial
aggregate using MSWI bottom ash, Waste Manage. 31 (2011) 281–288.
[34] C.L. Hwang, L.A.T. Bui, K.L. Lin, C.T. Lo, Manufacture and performance of
lightweight aggregate from municipal solid waste incinerator fly ash and
reservoir sediment for self-consolidating lightweight concrete, Cem. Concr.
Compos. 34 (2012) 1159–1166.
[35] W.F. Tan, L.A. Wang, C. Huang, Y. Liu, J.E. Green, D. Newport, T. Green,
Utilization of municipal solid waste incineration fly ash in lightweight
aggregates, J. Central South Univ. 19 (2012) 835–841.
[36] C.L. Hwang, L.A.T. Bui, C.T. Lo, K.L. Lin, Production and application of synthetic
lightweight aggregates using municipal solid waste incinerator fly ash,
reservoir sediment and waste glass powder, Adv. Sci. Lett. 19 (2013) 147–
152.
[37] W.F. Tan, L.A. Wang, C. Huang, J.E. Green, Municipal solid waste incineration
fly ash sintered lightweight aggregates and kinetics model establishment, Int.
J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 10 (2013) 465–472.
[38] M.J. Quina, M.A. Almeida, R. Santos, J.M. Bordado, R.M. Quinta-Ferreira,
Compatibility analysis of municipal solid waste incineration residues and
clay for producing lightweight aggregates, Appl. Clay Sci. 102 (2014) 71–80.
[39] J.I. Bhatty, K.J. Reid, Lightweight aggregates from incinerated sludge ash,
Waste Manage. Res. 7 (1989) 363–376.
[40] W.K. Yip, J.H. Tay, Aggregate made from incinerated sludge residue, J. Mater.
Civ. Eng. 2 (1990) 84–93.
[41] C.R. Cheeseman, C.J. Sollars, S. McEntee, Properties, microstructure and
leaching of sintered sewage sludge ash, Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 40 (2003)
13–25.
[42] C.R. Cheeseman, G.S. Virdi, Properties and microstructure of lightweight
aggregate produced from sintered sewage sludge ash, Resour. Conserv.
Recycl. 45 (2005) 18–30.
407
[43] K. Lin, Mineralogy and microstructures of sintered sewage sludge ash as
lightweight aggregates, J. Ind. Eng. Chem.-Seoul 12 (2006) 425.
[44] J.H. Tay, W.K. Yip, K.Y. Show, Clay-blended sludge as lightweight aggregate
concrete material, J. Environ. Eng. 117 (1991) 834–844.
[45] J.H. Tay, K.Y. Show, Reuse of wastewater sludge in manufacturing non-
conventional construction materials-an innovative approach to ultimate
sludge disposal, Water Sci. Technol. 26 (1992) 1165–1174.
[46] J.H. Tay, K.Y. Show, Utilization of municipal wastewater sludge as building
and construction materials, Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 6 (1992) 191–204.
[47] M.A. Monteiro, F. Raupp-Pereira, V.M. Ferreira, J.A. Labrincha, M. Dondi,
Lightweight aggregates made of industrial wastes or sub-products, Proc.
RILEM Conf., Barcelona, Spain, 2004, pp. 107–114.
[48] M.A. Monteiro, F. Raupp-Pereira, V.M. Ferreira, M. Dondi, J.A. Labrincha,
Lightweight aggregates based industrial wastes, Ind. Ceram. 25 (2005) 157–
163.
[49] C. Huang, J.R. Pan, Y. Liu, Mixing water treatment residual with excavation
waste soil in brick and artificial aggregate making, J. Environ. Eng. 131 (2005)
272–277.
[50] C.H. Huang, S.Y. Wang, Application of water treatment sludge in the
manufacturing of lightweight aggregate, Constr. Build. Mater. 43 (2013)
174–183.
[51] P.J. Wainwright, D.J.F. Cresswell, H.A. Van der Sloot, The production of
synthetic aggregate from a quarry waste using an innovative style rotary kiln,
Waste Manage. Res. 20 (2002) 279–289.
[52] R. de Gennaro, A. Langella, M. D’Amore, M. Dondi, A. Colella, P. Cappelletti, M.
de Gennaro, Use of zeolite-rich rocks and waste materials for the production
of structural lightweight concretes, Appl. Clay Sci. 41 (2008) 61–72.
[53] R. de Gennaro, S.F. Graziano, P. Cappelletti, A. Colella, M. Dondi, A. Langella,
M. de Gennaro, Structural concretes with waste-based lightweight
aggregates: from landfill to engineered materials, Environ. Sci. Technol. 43
(2009) 7123–7129.
[54] V. Ducman, B. Mirtič, Lightweight aggregate from silica sludge, Ind. Ceram. 29
(2009) 13–17.
[55] V. Ducman, B. Mirtič, The applicability of different waste materials for the
production of lightweight aggregates, Waste Manage. 29 (2009) 2361–2368.
[56] K. Kim, The fabrication of artificial fine aggregates using stone sludge and
spent bleaching clay, J. Korean Ceram. Soc. 51 (2014) 492–497.
[57] R. de Gennaro, P. Cappelletti, G. Cerri, M. de Gennaro, M. Dondi, A. Langella,
Zeolitic tuffs as raw materials for lightweight aggregates, Appl. Clay Sci. 25
(2004) 71–81.
[58] R. de Gennaro, P. Cappelletti, G. Cerri, M. de Gennaro, M. Dondi, A. Langella,
Neapolitan Yellow Tuff as raw material for lightweight aggregates in
lightweight structural concrete production, Appl. Clay Sci. 28 (2005) 309–
319.
[59] V.I. Vereshchagin, S.N. Sokolova, Formation of a porous structure in a
granulated glass ceramic material from zeolite-bearing rock with alkali
additives, Glass Ceram. 63 (2006) 227–229.
[60] R. de Gennaro, P. Cappelletti, G. Cerri, M. de Gennaro, M. Dondi, S.F. Graziano,
A. Langella, Campanian Ignimbrite as raw material for lightweight aggregates,
Appl. Clay Sci. 37 (2007) 115–126.
[61] A. Mueller, S.N. Sokolova, V.I. Vereshagin, Characteristics of lightweight
aggregates from primary and recycled raw materials, Constr. Build. Mater. 22
(2008) 703–712.
[62] V.I. Vereshchagin, S.N. Sokolova, Granulated foam glass–ceramic material
from zeolitic rocks, Constr. Build. Mater. 22 (2008) 999–1003.
[63] V.I. Vereshchagin, S.N. Sokolova, Effect of the technological parameters on the
properties of granular porous crystal glass material based on zeolite-bearing
rock, Glass Ceram. 66 (2009) 46–49.
[64] O.V. Kaz’mina, V.I. Vereshchagin, A.N. Abiyaka, Assessment of the
compositions and components for obtaining foam-glass-crystalline
materials from aluminosilicate initial materials, Glass Ceram. 66 (2009) 82–
85.
[65] O.V. Kaz’mina, V.I. Vereshchagin, A.N. Abiyaka, A.V. Mukhortova, Y.V.
Popletneva, Temperature regimes for obtaining granular material for
foamed crystal glass materials as a function of the batch composition, Glass
Ceram. 66 (2009) 179–182.
[66] S.N. Sokolova, V.I. Vereshagin, Lightweight granular material from zeolite
rocks with different additives, Constr. Build. Mater. 24 (2010) 625–629.
[67] V.A. Lotov, Making foam glass based on natural and technogenic
aluminosilicates, Glass Ceram. 68 (2012) 302–305.
[68] Blanco García, M. Rodas, C.J. Sánchez, J. Alonso Azcarate, M. Dondi, J. Tirlocq,
R. Swennen, J. Elsen, Utilización de lodos de gravera en la fabricación de
pavimentos y revestimientos cerámicos, ladrillos y áridos artificiales, in: Proc.
I Congreso Nacional de Aridos, Zaragoza, Spain, 2006, pp. 705–710.
[69] A. Ray, R. Sriravindrarajah, J.P. Guerbois, P.S. Thomas, S. Border, H.N. Ray, J.
Haggman, P. Joyce, Evaluation of waste perlite fines in the production of
construction materials, J. Therm. Anal. Calorim. 88 (2007) 279–283.
[70] B. González-Corrochano, J.A. Azcárate, M. Rodas, Characterization of
lightweight aggregates manufactured from washing aggregate sludge and
fly ash, Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 53 (2009) 571–581.
[71] B. González-Corrochano, J.A. Azcárate, M. Rodas, Production of lightweight
aggregates from mining and industrial wastes, J. Environ. Manage. 90 (2009)
2801–2812.
[72] B. González-Corrochano, J.A. Azcárate, M. Rodas, Chemical partitioning in
lightweight aggregates manufactured from washing aggregate sludge, fly ash
and used motor oil, J. Environ. Manage. 109 (2012) 43–53.
408 M. Dondi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 127 (2016) 394–409
[73] B. González-Corrochano, J.A. Azcárate, M. Rodas, Effect of thermal treatment
on the retention of chemical elements in the structure of lightweight
aggregates manufactured from contaminated mine soil and fly ash, Constr.
Build. Mater. 35 (2012) 497–507.
[74] B. González-Corrochano, J.A. Azcárate, M. Rodas, Effect of prefiring and firing
dwell times on the properties of artificial lightweight aggregates, Constr.
Build. Mater. 53 (2014) 91–101.
[75] S. Volland, O.V. Kazmina, V.I. Vereshchagin, M. Dushkina, Recycling of sand
sludge as a resource for lightweight aggregates, Constr. Build. Mater. 52
(2014) 361–365.
[76] L.S. Pioro, I.L. Pioro, Production of expanded-clay aggregate for lightweight
concrete from non-selfbloating clays, Cem. Concr. Compos. 26 (2004) 639–643.
[77] D. Fragoulis, M.G. Stamatakis, E. Chaniotakis, G. Columbus, Characterization
of lightweight aggregates produced with clayey diatomite rocks originating
from Greece, Mater. Charact. 53 (2004) 307–316.
[78] L.E.G. Cambronero, J.M. Ruiz-Román, J.M. Ruiz Prieto, Obtención de espumas a
partir de residuos de pizarra, Bol. Soc. Esp. Cerám. Vidrio 44 (2005) 368–372.
[79] E. Fakhfakh, W. Hajjaji, M. Medhioub, F. Rocha, A. López-Galindo, M. Setti, F.
Kooli, G. Zargouni, F. Jamoussi, Effects of sand addition on production of
lightweight aggregates from Tunisian smectite-rich clayey rocks, Appl. Clay
Sci. 35 (2007) 228–237.
[80] W. Franus, N. Franus, The use of spent glauconite in lightweight aggregate
production, Bol. Soc. Esp. Cerám. Vidrio 50 (2011) 193–200.
[81] F.C. Chang, S.L. Lo, M.Y. Lee, C.H. Ko, J.D. Lin, S.C. Huang, C.F. Wang,
Leachability of metals from sludge-based artificial lightweight aggregate, J.
Hazard. Mater. 146 (2007) 98–105.
[82] T. Kavas, A. Christogerou, Y. Pontikes, T. Tunç, G.N. Angelopoulos, Production
of lightweight aggregates from different types of boron wastes, in: Afyon
Kocatepe Univ. J. Sci. special issue, 2009, pp. 245–250.
[83] Y. Liu, F. Du, L. Yuan, H. Zeng, S. Kong, Production of lightweight ceramisite
from iron ore tailings and its performance investigation in a biological
aerated filter (BAF) reactor, J. Hazard. Mater. 178 (2010) 999–1006.
[84] T. Kavas, A. Christogerou, Y. Pontikes, G.N. Angelopoulos, Valorisation of
different types of boron-containing wastes for the production of lightweight
aggregates, J. Hazard. Mater. 185 (2011) 1381–1389.
[85] M. Loutou, M. Hajjaji, M. Mansori, C. Favotto, R. Hakkou, Phosphate sludge:
thermal transformation and use as lightweight aggregate material, J. Environ.
Manage. 130 (2013) 354–360.
[86] A. Christogerou, T. Kavas, G.N. Angelopoulos, Synergy of boron containing
solid wastes and fructose for the production of lightweight aggregates:
microstructure and properties, Waste Biomass Valorization 5 (2014) 733–
741.
[87] C. Carbonchi, M. Dondi, N. Morandi, F. Tateo, Possible use of altered volcanic
ash in ceramic tile production, Ind. Ceram. 19 (1999) 67–75.
[88] H.J. Lee, Y.T. Kim, G.G. Lee, J.H. Kim, S.G. Kang, Properties of artificial
aggregate for orchid culture fabricated from solid wastes, Mater. Sci. Forum
544 (2007) 601–604.
[89] O.V. Kaz’mina, V.I. Vereshchagin, A.N. Abiyaka, Y.V. Popletneva, Viscosity
evaluation for glass and glass crystal compositions in their foaming
temperature range, Glass Ceram. 66 (2009) 236–239.
[90] O.V. Kaz’mina, V.I. Vereshchagin, B.S. Semukhin, A.N. Abiyaka, Low-
temperature synthesis of granular glass from mixes based on silica-
alumina-containing components for obtaining foam materials, Glass Ceram.
66 (2009) 341–344.
[91] S.K. Chopra, K. Lal, Sintered lightweight aggregate from indian fly ashes,
Indian Concr. J. May (1961) 1–2.
[92] J.M.J.M. Bijen, Manufacturing processes of artificial lightweight aggregates
from fly ash, Int. J. Cem. Comp. Lightweight Concr. 8 (1986) 191–199.
[93] C.L. Verma, S.K. Handa, S.K. Jain, R.K. Yadav, Techno-commercial perspective
study for sintered fly ash light-weight aggregates in India, Constr. Build.
Mater. 12 (1998) 341–346.
[94] P.J. Wainwright, D.J.F. Cresswell, Synthetic aggregates from combustion ashes
using an innovative rotary kiln, Waste Manage. 21 (2001) 241–246.
[95] G. Li-xiong, Y. Yan, W. Ling, Research on sintered fly ash aggregate of high
strength and low absorption of water, in: Proc. Int. Workshop Sustain.
Develop. Concrete Technol, 2004, p. 151.
[96] Y.T. Kim, J.H. Kim, K.G. Lee, S.G. Kang, Recycling of dust wastes as lightweight
aggregates, J. Ceram. Process. Res. 6 (2005) 91–94.
[97] M. Aineto A., Acosta, J.M. Rincón, M. Romero, Production of lightweight
aggregates from coal gasification fly ash and slag, in: 2005 World of Coal Ash
(WOCA), Lexington, Kentucky, USA, 2005, 15 p.
[98] M. Aineto, A. Acosta, J.M. Rincón, M. Romero, Thermal expansion of slag and
fly ash from coal gasification in IGCC power plant, Fuel 85 (2006) 2352–2358.
[99] K. Ramamurthy, K.I. Harikrishnan, Influence of binders on properties of
sintered fly ash aggregate, Cem. Concr. Compos. 28 (2006) 33–38.
[100] O. Kayali, Fly ash lightweight aggregates in high performance concrete,
Constr. Build. Mater. 22 (2008) 2393–2399.
[101] I.M. Anagnostopoulos, V.E. Stivanakis, Utilization of lignite power generation
residues for the production of lightweight aggregates, J. Hazard. Mater. 163
(2009) 329–336.
[102] I.M. Anagnostopoulos, V.E. Stivanakis, G.N. Angelopoulos, D.C. Papamantellos,
Valorization of lignite combustion residues and ferroalumina in the
production of aggregates, J. Hazard. Mater. 174 (2010) 506–511.
[103] I. Kourti, C.R. Cheeseman, Properties and microstructure of lightweight
aggregate produced from lignite coal fly ash and recycled glass, Resour.
Conserv. Recycl. 54 (2010) 769–775.
[104] H. Shuguang, Y. Tingting, W. Fazhou, Influence of mineralogical composition
on the properties of lightweight aggregate, Cem. Concr. Compos. 32 (2010)
15–18.
[105] V. Ducman, B. Mirtič, Lightweight aggregate processed from waste materials,
Adv. Sci. Technol. 68 (2011) 75–83.
[106] N.U. Kockal, T. Ozturan, Characteristics of lightweight fly ash aggregates
produced with different binders and heat treatments, Cem. Concr. Compos.
33 (2011) 61–67.
[107] N.U. Kockal, T. Ozturan, Optimization of properties of fly ash aggregates for
high-strength lightweight concrete production, Mater. Des. 32 (2011) 3586–
3593.
[108] A. Sarabèr, R. Overhof, T. Green, J. Pels, Artificial lightweight aggregates as
utilization for future ashes – a case study, Waste Manage. 32 (2012) 144–
152.
[109] D. Zorić, D. Lazar, O. Rudić, M. Radeka, J. Ranogajec, H. Hiršenberger, Thermal
conductivity of lightweight aggregate based on coal fly ash, J. Therm. Anal.
Calorim. 110 (2012) 489–495.
[110] E. Güneyisi, M. Gesoğlu, Ö. Pürsünlü, K. Mermerdasß, Durability aspect of
concretes composed of cold bonded and sintered fly ash lightweight
aggregates, Compos. B: Eng. 53 (2013) 258–266.
[111] O. Ariöz, G. Arslan, A. Tuncan, M. Tuncan, G. Kaya, B. Karasu, K. Kilinc, S.
Kivrak, Lightweight expanded aggregate production from bottom ash, in: J.G.
Heinrich, C. Aneziris (Eds.), Proc. 10th ECerS Conf., Göller Verlag, Baden-
Baden, 2007, pp. 2051–2053.
[112] O. Ariöz, K. Kilinc, B. Karasu, G. Kaya, G. Arslan, M. Tuncan, S. Kivrak, A
preliminary research on the properties of lightweight expanded clay
aggregate, J. Aust. Ceram. Soc. 69 (2008) 23–30.
[113] Y.T. Kim, Y. Ryu, H. Jeon, K.G. Lee, S.G. Kang, J.H. Kim, C.S. Jang, S.G. Lee, Study
of the plasticity of lightweight aggregate green bodies including bottom ash,
J. Ceram. Process. Res. 11 (2010) 225–232.
[114] S.N. Jo, S. Kang, A study on the properties of artificial aggregates containing
bottom ash from the power plant and waste catalyst slag, J. Korean Cryst.
Growth Cryst. Technol. 22 (2012) 200–206.
[115] S.G. Kang, S.N. Jo, G.G. Lee, Influence of addition of waste glass as a fluxing
agent on the bloating phenomenon of artificial aggregates fabricated from
coal bottom ash, Mater. Sci. Forum 724 (2012) 455–459.
[116] S.H. Kang, K.G. Lee, Y.T. Kim, S.G. Kang, Effects of chemicophysical properties
of carbon on bloating characteristics of artificial lightweight aggregates using
coal ash, Adv. Sintering Sci. Technol. II: Ceram. Trans. 232 (2012) 35.
[117] M.A. Kang, S. Kang, Effect of activated carbon on bloating properties of
artificial lightweight aggregates containing coal reject ash and bottom ash, J.
Korean Cryst. Growth Cryst. Technol. 23 (2013) 201–206.
[118] K.G. Lee, Bloating mechanism for coal ash with iron oxide, J. Korean Cryst.
Growth Cryst. Technol. 24 (2014) 77–83.
[119] V. Ducman, A. Mladenovič, J.S. Šuput, Lightweight aggregate based on waste
glass and its alkali–silica reactivity, Cem. Concr. Res. 32 (2002) 223–226.
[120] V. Ducman, Foaming process of waste glass using CaCO3, MnO2 and water-
glass as foaming agents, in: Sustainable Waste Manage. Recycl. London, 2004,
pp. 59–66.
[121] E. Bernardo, G. Scarinci, P. Bertuzzi, P. Ercole, L. Ramon, Recycling of waste
glasses into partially crystallized glass foams, J. Porous Mater. 17 (2010) 359–
365.
[122] D. Bajare, A. Korjakins, J. Kazjonovs, Application of aluminium dross and glass
waste for production of expanded clay aggregate, in: Proc 3rd Int. Sci. Conf.
on Civil Eng., Latvia University of Agriculture, 2011, pp. 27–31.
[123] Y.L. Wei, C.Y. Lin, K.W. Ko, H.P. Wang, Preparation of low water-sorption
lightweight aggregates from harbor sediment added with waste glass, Marine
Poll. Bull. 63 (2011) 135–140.
[124] A.M. Bernardin, M.J. da Silva, H.G. Riella, Characterization of cellular ceramics
made by porcelain tile residues, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 437 (2006) 222–225.
[125] S.M. Sim, K.S. Kim, Fabrication of lightweight aggregates from FRP Waste,
Adv. Compos. Mater. 19 (2010) 289–297.
[126] C.W. Tang, Producing synthetic lightweight aggregates by treating waste TFT-
LCD glass powder and reservoir sediments, Comput. Concr. 13 (2014) 325–
342.
[127] Y. Huifen, D. Chunge, L. Wentao, M. Wen, Utilization of red mud for the
preparation of lightweight aggregates, Int. Conf. Digital Manuf. Autom. 2
(2010) 883–886.
[128] M.F. Hung, C.L. Hwang, Study of fine sediments for making lightweight
aggregate, Waste Manage. Res. 25 (2007) 449–456.
[129] K.Y. Chiang, P.H. Chou, C.R. Hua, K.L. Chien, C.R. Cheeseman, Lightweight
bricks manufactured from water treatment sludge and rice husks, J. Hazard.
Mater. 171 (2009) 76–82.
[130] Y.L. Wei, C.Y. Lin, Role of Fe compounds in light aggregate formation from a
reservoir sediment, J. Hazard. Mater. 171 (2009) 111–115.
[131] C.W. Tang, H.J. Chen, S.Y. Wang, J. Spaulding, Production of synthetic
lightweight aggregate using reservoir sediments for concrete and masonry,
Cem. Concr. Compos. 33 (2011) 292–300.
[132] Y.C. Liao, C.Y. Huang, Effects of CaO addition on lightweight aggregates
produced from water reservoir sediment, Constr. Build. Mater. 25 (2011)
2997–3002.
[133] Y.C. Liao, C.Y. Huang, Effects of heat treatment on the physical properties of
lightweight aggregate from water reservoir sediment, Ceram. Int. 37 (2011)
3723–3730.
[134] Y.C. Liao, C.Y. Huang, Glass foam from the mixture of reservoir sediment and
Na2CO3, Ceram. Int. 38 (2012) 4415–4420.
 M. Dondi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 127 (2016) 394–409
[135] H.J. Chen, M.D. Yang, C.W. Tang, S.Y. Wang, Producing synthetic lightweight
aggregates from reservoir sediments, Constr. Build. Mater. 28 (2012) 387–
394.
[136] Y.C. Liao, C.Y. Huang, Y.M. Chen, Lightweight aggregates from water reservoir
sediment with added sodium hydroxide, Constr. Build. Mater. 46 (2013) 79–
85.
[137] I.J. Chiou, C.H. Chen, Effects of waste-glass fineness on sintering of reservoir-
sediment aggregates, Constr. Build. Mater. 38 (2013) 987–993.
[138] D.C. Rhoads, R.B. Gordon, J.R. Vaisnys, Conversion of marine muds to
lightweight construction aggregate, Environ. Sci. Technol. 9 (1975) 360–362.
[139] J.D. Derman, H.A. Schlieper, Decontamination and beneficial reuse of dredged
material using existing infrastructure for the manufacture of lightweight
aggregate, in: Proc. 19th Western Dredging Association (WEDA XIX), 1999, p.
11.
[140] J.H. Tay, K.Y. Show, S.Y. Hong, Concrete aggregates made from sludge-marine
clay mixes, J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 14 (2002) 392–398.
[141] J.H. Tay, K.Y. Show, S.Y. Hong, C.Y. Chien, D.J. Lee, Thermal stabilization of
iron-rich sludge for high strength aggregates, J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 15 (6) (2003)
577–585.
[142] K.Y. Show, D.J. Lee, J.H. Tay, S.Y. Hong, C.Y. Chien, Lightweight aggregates
from industrial sludge–marine clay mixes, J. Environ. Eng. 131 (2005) 1106–
1113.
[143] K. Laursen, T.J. White, D.J.F. Cresswell, P.J. Wainwright, J.R. Barton, Recycling
of an industrial sludge and marine clay as light-weight aggregates, J. Environ.
Manage. 80 (2006) 208–213.
[144] Y.L. Wei, J.C. Yang, C.Y. Lin, S.Y. Chuang, H.P. Wang, Recycling of harbor
sediment as lightweight aggregate, Marine Poll. Bull. 57 (2008) 867–872.
[145] Y.L. Wei, C.Y. Lin, S.H. Cheng, H.P. Wang, Recycling steel-manufacturing slag
and harbor sediment into construction materials, J. Hazard. Mater. 265
(2014) 253–260.
[146] D. Bajare, A. Korjakins, J. Kazjonovs, I. Rozenstrauha, Pore structure of
lightweight clay aggregate incorporate with non-metallic products coming
from aluminium scrap recycling industry, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 32 (2012) 141–
148.
[147] D. Bajare, A. Korjakins, J. Kazjonovs, Lightweight concrete with aggregates
made by using industrial waste, J. Sustainable Arch. Civ. Eng. 4 (2013) 67–73.
[148] J.H. Tay, S.Y. Hong, K.Y. Show, Reuse of industrial sludge as pelletized
aggregate for concrete, J. Environ. Eng. 126 (2000) 279–287.
[149] M. Franus, L. Bandura, W. Franus, Modification of the lightweight aggregate
with the use of spent zeolite sorbents after the sorption of diesel fuel, Proc.
Nat. Univ. 781 (2014) 32–41.
[150] M.J. Quina, J.M. Bordado, R.M. Quinta-Ferreira, Recycling of air pollution
control residues from municipal solid waste incineration into lightweight
aggregates, Waste Manage. 34 (2014) 430–438.
[151] S. Pinto, K. Rosenbom, L. Machado, A.M.S. Correia, J.A. Labrincha, V.M.
Ferreira, Monitoring of exhaust gases from the production of lightweight
aggregates containing industrial waste, in: Proc. Global Symp. Recycling,
Waste, Treatment and Clean Technology, vol. 2, 2004, pp. 1829–1832.
[152] P. Chindaprasirt, C. Jaturapitakkul, U. Rattanasak, Influence of fineness of rice
husk ash and additives on the properties of lightweight aggregate, Fuel 88
(2009) 158–162.
[153] C.M. García, T.C. Palomino, F.J.I. Godino, F.A.C. Iglesias, Porosity of expanded
clay manufactured with addition of sludge from the brewing industry, Int. J.
Energy Environ. Eng. 5 (2014) 341–347.
[154] S.N. Jo, Y. Kim, S.G. Kang, C.S. Kim, Properties of artificial lightweight
aggregates (ALAs) made of dredged soil mixed with waste catalyst slag, Appl.
Mech. Mater. 174 (2012) 1079–1085.
[155] V.A. Lotov, V.A. Kutugin, Formation of a porous structure of foam silicates
based on liquid-glass compositions, Glass Ceram. 65 (2008) 6–10.
[156] O.V. Kaz’mina, Effect of the component composition and oxidation–reduction
characteristics of mixes on foaming of pyroplastic silicate pastes, Glass
Ceram. 67 (2010) 109–113.
[157] L. Korat, V. Ducman, A. Legat, B. Mirtič, Characterisation of the pore-forming
process in lightweight aggregate based on silica sludge by means of X-ray
micro-tomography (micro-CT) and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP),
Ceram. Int. 39 (2013) 6997–7005.
[158] V.A. Lotov, E.V. Krivenkova, Kinetics of formation of the porous structure in
foam glass, Glass Ceram. 59 (2002) 89–93.
409
[159] C.M. Riley, Relation of chemical properties to the bloating of clays, J. Am.
Ceram. Soc. 34 (1951) 121–128.
[160] G. Cougny, Specifications for clayey raw materials used to produce expanded
lightweight aggregates, Bull. Int. Ass. Eng. Geol. 41 (1990) 47–55.
[161] W.A. White, Lightweight aggregate from Illinois shales, Illinois State
Geological Survey, Urbana, 1960, Circular 290.
[162] J.W. Sweeney, H.P. Hamlin, Lightweight aggregates: expansion properties of
selected Illinois shales and clays, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Mines,
Washington DC 1965, rep. 6614.
[163] V. Adell, C.R. Cheeseman, M. Ferraris, M. Salvo, F. Smeacetto, A.R. Boccaccini,
Characterising the sintering behaviour of pulverised fuel ash using heating
stage microscopy, Mater. Charact. 58 (2007) 980–988.
[164] K.D. Kim, Y. Ryu, C.S. Jang, K.G. Lee, S.G. Kang, J.H. Kim, Y.T. Kim, A study on
the black core formation of artificial lightweight aggregates at various
sintering atmospheres, J. Korean Cryst. Growth Cryst. Technol. 19 (2009)
318–323.
[165] X. Xi, A. Shui, Y. Li, Y. Wang, H. Abe, M. Naito, Effects of magnesium
oxychloride and silicon carbide additives on the foaming property during
firing for porcelain ceramics and their microstructure, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 32
(2012) 3035–3041.
[166] V. Ducman, L. Korat, A. Legat, B. Mirtič, X-ray micro-tomography
investigation of the foaming process in the system of waste glass–silica
mud–MnO2, Mater. Charact. 86 (2013) 316–321.
[167] C.A. Velis, C. Franco-Salinas, C. O’Sullivan, J. Najorka, A.R. Boccaccini, C.R.
Cheeseman, Up-cycling waste glass to minimal water adsorption/absorption
lightweight aggregate by rapid low temperature sintering: optimization by
dual process-mixture response surface methodology, Environ. Sci. Technol.
48 (2014) 7527–7535.
[168] M. Dondi, G. Guarini, I. Venturi, Assessing the fusibility of feldspathic fluxes
for ceramic tiles by hot stage microscope, Ind. Ceram. 21 (2001) 67–73.
[169] D.L. Bish, J.E. Post, Quantitative mineralogical analysis using the Rietveld full
pattern fitting method, Am. Mineral. 78 (1993) 932–940.
[170] M.W. Phillips, P.H. Ribbe, The structure of mono-clinic potassium-rich
feldspars, Am. Mineral. 58 (1973) 263–270.
[171] J.V. Smith, Feldspar Minerals, Crystal Structure and Physical Properties, vol. 1,
Springer-Verlag, New York, 1974.
[172] Y. Le Page, G. Donnay, Refinement of the crystal structure of low-quartz, Acta
Crystall. B32 (1976) 2456–2459.
[173] A. Fluegel, Glass viscosity calculation based on a global statistical modelling
approach, Glass Technol.-Eur. J. Glass Sci. Technol. A48 (2007) 13–30.
[174] A.L. Bush, Lightweight aggregates, in: D.A. Brobst, W.P. Pratt (Eds.), United
States Mineral Resources, U.S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Paper 820, 1973, pp. 333–355.
[175] E.G. Ehlers, The mechanism of lightweight aggregate formation, Am. Ceram.
Soc. Bull. 37 (1958) 95–99.
[176] A. Ozgüven, L. Gündüz, Examination of effective parameters for the
production of expanded clay aggregate, Cem. Concr. Compos. 34 (2012)
781–787.
[177] S. Rattanachan, C. Lorprayoon, Korat clays as raw materials for lightweight
aggregates, Sci. Asia 31 (2005) 283–298.
[178] A.N. Christensen, B. Lundtoft, I.C. Madsen, Investigation of formation of
cristobalite from the diatomaceous clay Moler using X-ray powder diffraction
data and profile refinement methods, J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 84 (2001) 878–880.
[179] S.K. Chopra, K. Lal, V.S. Ramachandran, Gas-producing agents in the
production of lightweight aggregates, J. Appl. Chem. 14 (1964) 181–185.
[180] E.G. Ehlers, J.H. Richardson, Mineralogical factors involved in the formation of
lightweight aggregates. Part 2. A study of lightweight aggregates, in: J.O.
Everhart (Ed.), Ohio State Univ. Eng. Exp. Station Bull., vol. 27, 1958, pp. 22–
44.
[181] A. Ozgüven, Development of expandability charts for Ankara Kalecik Clay,
Appl. Clay Sci. 101 (2014) 533–540.
[182] A. Mladenovič, J.S. Šuput, V. Ducman, A.S. Škapin, Alkali-silica reactivity of
some frequently used lightweight aggregates, Cem. Concr. Res. 34 (2004)
1809–1816.
[183] Y. Ke, A.L. Beaucour, S. Ortola, H. Dumontet, R. Cabrillac, Influence of volume
fraction and characteristics of lightweight aggregates on the mechanical
properties of concrete, Constr. Build. Mater. 23 (2009) 2821–2828.
[184] M. Bernhardt, H. Tellesbø, H. Justnes, K. Wiik, Mechanical properties of
lightweight aggregates, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 33 (2013) 2731–2743.