Study of the synergistic impact of Fe₃O₄, Na₂CO₃ and organic C on kaolin-based lightweight aggregates by a DOE (Mixture Experiments) approach

The compositional synergies involved in the thermal formation of lightweight aggregates (LWAs) have been investigated through four pure phases: non-expansive kaolin (K); cork powder (C); sodium carbonate (N) and magnetite-Fe3O4 (M). Mixture Experiments has been applied for formulation, modeling and optimization. LWAs have been manufactured from 36 starting mixtures and the main technological properties have been characterized: bloating index (BI), particle density (rho rd), water absorption (WA(24)) and crushing strength (S). Maximum BI and WA(24) together with minimum density are associated with the addition of a significant amount of iron phase in combination with small proportions of organic carbon (Optimal [BI > 60%]: 56.0% K + 40.2% M + 3.9% C + 0% N), while S increases antagonistically with expansion. Iron reduction by incomplete combustion of C appears to be critical in pore formation and concomitant bloating. N has enhanced the sphericity of the expanded specimens. The contrast between experimental and estimated data has shown that the models have generally performed very well.