Evaluation ofwaste perlite fines in the production of construction materials

The use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) is a well established practice worldwide in the manufacture of Portland cement (PC)-based construction materials. While utilisation of industrial by-products has been successful, the potential of mining wastes is yet to receive adequate attention in the context of construction materials. In an expanded form perlite, which is a naturally occurring, hydrated volcanic siliceous glass, is an ideal material as a lightweight aggregate for use in a wide range of construction materials including concrete. The mining and processing of the grades of perlite required for the production of lightweight aggregate results in the creation of a fine grained waste which currently has no economic value. This paper reports preliminary data on the utilisation of waste perlite fines as a SCM in calcium silicate-based construction material and discusses the potential of this mining waste to reduce the environmental impact of the production of conventional cement-based construction materials.