AGGLOMERATED, RESIN-BOUND MATERIAL FOR BUILDING USE

Abstract: The composition of an agglomerated material, advantageously used for the production of slabs for floors and/or coverings in the building field, comprises an inert mineral in the form of granules or sands or chips, a mineral filler, for instance silica, and an oven-curable resin, for instance a polyester resin. Said composition further comprises at least a synthetic material which acts as an inert and/or a filler and it is used, in a predetermined amount, in the form of powder or of chips.

Description: AGGLOMERATED, RESIN-BOUND MATERIAL FOR BUILDING USE * * * * * * * * TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a stone-like material the composition of which comprises a synthetic material, particularly a recycled synthetic material, said material being advantageously used for the production of slabs for floors and/or coverings. The present invention is mainly applied to the building field; however, said agglomerated material can be used in many different fields, e.g. for the production of a plurality of articles (paper-weights, ash-trays, trophy bases, etc.), in the funerary field (for the production of tombstones, particularly of temporary tombstones), for the production of ornaments (wall panels, icons, sacred articles, etc.), of Hi-Fi components or for the production of electronic instrument components (in particular, where heavy components are provided for reducing undesired vibrations), etc. BACKGROUND ART A process for manufacturing slabs or blocks in agglomerated material, e.g. constituted by marble and/or sands and/or quartz and/or any kind of intrusions (metals, glass, ceramics, wood, precious stones, etc.), or by granites, quartzes or sands bonded with predetermined quantities of bonding resins, is well known in the art. Such a process comprises many different working steps, more precisely: a first step during which the materials constituting the agglomerated material are crushed; a second step wherein the crushed materials are mixed together to obtain a product as homogeneous as possible, the bonding resins being added during this step; a third step of pressing and compacting the agglomerated, during which the correct shape is achieved; a fourth step of hardening, performed at a predetermined temperature; a fifth step, which is carried out if needed, of smoothing and polishing; a sixth step of cutting to size, chamfering, gauging and countersinking the slab. Such a process enables the production of slabs or blocks made of agglomerated material according to predetermined lengths, widths and thicknesses, said slabs being generally used as coverings or coatings of walls and floors in internal and/or external applications. According to well known processes of the prior art, the starting agglomerated material can be advantageously added with predetermined amounts of silicic powders or sands which are not impregnated by the resin material. In fact, said silicic powders or sands behave as a filler, what allows the percentage of resin material to be reduced, as well as and the hardness and the abrasion resistance of the obtained slabs to be increased. As mentioned above, the composition of the agglomerated material can include any kind of intrusions (e.g., metallic elements, glass, glass fiber, mother-of- pearl, wood, hard plastic materials, ceramics, small gravel, china, mica, etc.) which have the aim to achieve particularly desired optical and/or aesthetic effects. Thus, in order to obtain said effects, the intrusions are advantageously inserted into the agglomerated material before the pressing step. In fact, at the end of the smoothing and polishing operations, said slabs or blocks exhibit a very pleasant aesthetic look which is conferred by said intrusions that create a chromatic effect on the surface thereof. Said chromatic effect is due to the colour contrast between the stone-like material colour and the colour or colours of the intrusions which have been inserted into said stone-like material, said intrusions being suitably selected in order to achieve any desired optical effect. Sometimes, said intrusions are added to the agglomerated material in order to increase the abrasion resistance of the slabs or blocks, mainly in the case of metallic intrusions, e.g. chips or small pieces or fragments of bronze, brass, copper, aluminium alloys, steel fragments or small balls, etc.. Furthermore, the use of colouring agents to be added to the components constituting the starting agglomerated material which is used for the production of said slabs or blocks, is well known too; said colouring agents are suitably selected in order to achieve any desired optic and/or aesthetic effect, as they increase the aesthetic value of the finished product and do not decrease its physical-mechanical properties. For instance, colouring agents based on titanium dioxide can be advantageously used thanks to their non- toxicity and their particular light resistance. The slabs known in the art are disadvantageously rather heavy, what implies a plurality of further problems such as a difficult laying thereof, increased transport costs and increased loads to be supported by the structure which is suitable for receiving said slabs. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention aims to provide for an agglomerated material which is advantageously used, for instance, for the production of slabs for floors and/or coverings, said agglomerated material exhibiting a suitable lightness as well as very good binding properties which allow a more compression resistant, and sometimes harder, material to be manufactured, when compared to the traditional slabs. This is achieved by means of the features disclosed in the main claim. The dependent claims outline particularly advantageous forms of embodiment of the invention. The composition of the agglomerated material according to the present invention comprises a synthetic material, advantageously a recycled synthetic material, which is mixed, according to predetermined and variable ratios suitably selected for any desired specific need and use, with a composition traditionally used for manufacturing slabs or blocks. In fact, a slab according to the prior art is generally obtained by mixing an inert mineral, as defined above (e.g. quartz, silicic sand, granite, marble), with a mineral filler (e.g. ventilated silica or ventilated marble) , and with a resin material which is oven-curable and which has the function to amalgamate said mixture. According to the present invention said agglomerated material, which is advantageously used for the production of slabs for floors and/or coverings in the building field, is obtained by introducing a suitable synthetic material inside of the starting mixture, said synthetic material partially or wholly replacing the inert mineral and/or the mineral filler. This means that said synthetic material is introduced in the starting composition as an inert material and/or a filler in order to become part of the intrinsic structure of said agglomerated material, said synthetic material being not an intrusion and conferring to the agglomerated material none specific aesthetical effect of the type mentioned above. Said synthetic material can be selected, for instance, in the group comprising: polyethylentereftalate (PET) , polyethylene (PE) , polypropylene, polyamides (PA) , polyurethane (PU) , EXP.ANCELL® and any other synthetic material advantageously obtained by recycling processes of synthetic materials . Among the polyamides Kevlar® is particularly preferred. According to the present invention, predetermined amounts of the synthetic material are added accordingly to the specific requirements of the product to be obtained, e.g. a slab or a block for internal and/or external floors and/or coverings for building use, or for a funerary use. In fact, said synthetic material is either used to partially replace the inert mineral and/or filler which constitutes the starting mixture, or to wholly replace said filler in the case where the granulometry of said synthetic material is equal to that of the wholly replaced filler. Therefore, the finished product, which is obtained by using the agglomerated material according to the present invention, is much lighter than similar products which are made of traditional agglomerated materials . Since the specific weight of said synthetic material is lower than the specific weight of the inert minerals and fillers traditionally in use, the partial or whole replacement of said traditional inert minerals and fillers allows products to be obtained, e.g. slabs, which are remarkably lighter, and whose physical and mechanical properties are generally improved. Furthermore, the agglomerated material according to the present invention assures very good binding properties, above all when the synthetic material is PET, said binding properties conferring to the agglomerated material a remarkable compactness as well as a high shock and compression stress resistance. In fact, the agglomerated material of the present invention stands to relevant shocks and compression stresses which are generally not tolerable by the products made of the traditional agglomerated materials. A further particularly advantageous feature of the agglomerated material according to the present invention is constituted by the fact that said synthetic material, e.g. PET, is almost impervious to water, since a given amount of the inert mineral and/or filler of the starting mixture has been replaced by said synthetic material. Therefore, if compared with the slabs of the prior art, the slabs according to the invention exhibit improved characteristics of surface unalterability when subjected to the action of atmospheric agents . Furthermore, the partial or whole replacement of inert mineral and/or filler by the above mentioned synthetic material is extremely advantageous not only in what concerns lightness and resistance to shocks and compression stresses, but also from both a thermal and a noise deadening points of view. In fact, in the case where said agglomerated material is used for the production of slabs, performing a suitable dosage of said agglomerated material and carefully selecting the components to be mixed, it is possible to assure an effective thermal insulation in the room where the slab has been laid, e.g. a floor. As mentioned above, said slab can show advantageous sound deadening properties which reduce the trampling noise in the case where said slabs are laid on floors; furthermore, they improve the sound absorption in the case where said slabs are used as wall coverings. Furthermore, the agglomerated material according to the present invention allows remarkable amounts of raw materials to be saved, e.g. silicic sands and/or quartz and/or silica and/or granite and/or marble, in percentages even higher than 35%, said raw materials being advantageously replaced by a recycled synthetic material. In this way it is possible to partially solve the onerous problem of the disposal of waste synthetic materials, what generally requires expensive treatments to be carried out, said treatments being also very dangerous in terms of possible environmental pollution. However, it is not necessarily required that the synthetic material of the agglomerated material according to the present invention is a recycled synthetic material . According to the invention, the above mentioned synthetic material is introduced in the starting agglomerated material either in the form of powder, or chips produced by a traditional extrusion process, or nanospheres according to the specific requirements of the finished product which is obtained. According to a particular form of embodiment of the present invention, the resin of the agglomerated material is a synthetic resin, advantageously a polyester resin, which which can be advantageously added with a suitable catalyst and a reaction accelerator, said additives being particularly useful during the polymerization step. A further advantage of the agglomerated material according to the invention can be seen in the fact that the products made of said agglomerated material can be subjected to colourings and/or decorations by means of sublimatic colours. In this way, the result is a high quality, fast and aesthetically pleasant colouring and/or decoration, above all in the case where said agglomerated material is used for the production of slabs for coverings and/or floors. According to a further form of embodiment of the present invention, the above mentioned synthetic material is advantageously used also for the production of slabs made of concrete; in this case said synthetic material is used to replace grits or any other inert material present inside of the concrete mixture. This means that said slabs made of concrete are advantageously light, they show very good physical- mechanical properties, and they can be coloured process by means of sublimatic dyes as mentioned above. DESCRIPTION OF SOME FORMS OF EMBODIMENT Some non-limiting examples of compositions, which are advantageously used for the production of slabs for floors and/or coverings according to the present invention, are reported herein below. Each given composition is referred to the production of a slab or tile, whose dimensions are of about 30 cm x 30 cm x 2 cm. ****** EXAMPLE I Inert mineral diameter 0,7 to 1,2 mm 360 gr Inert mineral diameter 0,3 to 0,8 mm 1.410 gr Inert mineral diameter 0,1 to 0,3 mm 685 gr Silica 895 gr Resin + Additives 275 gr The composition of Example I shows is traditionally used for the production of slabs, said composition comprising inert minerals of different granulometry, a filler (silica in Example I) and a resinous polymerizable material which is advantageously added with catalysts and polymerization accelerators. ****** EXAMPLE II Inert mineral diameter 0,7 to 1,2 mm 250 gr Inert mineral diameter 0,3 to 0,8 mm 990 gr Inert mineral diameter 0,1 to 0,3 mm 480 gr Silica 625 gr Resin + Additives 280 gr PET 635 gr In the composition of Example II the synthetic material is PET. According to said composition the inert mineral and the filler are present in a percentage by weight which is of about the 30% lower than the amounts shown in Example I. The percentages by weight of the inert mineral and of the filler have been replaced by PET, the PET amount being selected in such a way that the PET volume is equal to the volume of the replaced material . Thus, since the specific weights of PET and of the replaced inert mineral and silica are different, the weight of the obtained slab is remarkably lower than the weight of a slab according to the composition of Example I. ****** E3CAMPLE III Inert mineral diameter 0,7 to 1,2 mm 250 gr Inert mineral diameter 0,3 to 0,8 mm 990 gr Inert mineral diameter 0 J to 0,3 mm 480 gr Silica 895 gr Resin + Additives 280 gr PET 310 gr The composition of Example III is similar to that of Example II, said composition comprising the same amounts of inert mineral of Example II (thus, a percentage by weight which is of about the 30% lower than the amounts shown in Example I) , while the silica amount is the same of Example I . Also in this case the percentage by weight of the inert mineral has been replaced by PET, the PET amount being chosen so that the PET volume is equal to the volume of the replaced material. Therefore, since the specific weight of PET and of the replaced inert mineral and silica are different, the weight of the obtained slab is remarkably lower than the weight of a slab which is obtained with the composition of Example I . ****** The invention has previously been described with reference to some advantageous forms of embodiment of the same. However, it is clear that the invention is not limited to said forms of embodiment; for instance, it is possible to provide the surface of a slab with suitable cavities inside of which suitable elements, advantageously prestressed elements, made of synthetic material, in particular in form of a foam, are introduced. According to a further form of embodiment of the invention, said synthetic material is placed on the bottom of the slab and vibrocompacted together with the starting material which is necessary for the production of the slab. In such a way, it is possible to obtain very light slabs, what implies remarkable savings of the raw materials which are partially replaced by a synthetic material, advantageously a recycled synthetic material. Besides, said elements made of synthetic material can be selected in order to confer advantageous deadening and thermal insulation properties to said slabs.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. Agglomerated material, advantageously used for the production of slabs for floors and/or coverings in the building field, the composition of said agglomerated material comprising an inert mineral in the form of granules or sands or chips, a mineral filler, for instance silica, and an oven-curable resin, advantageously a polyester resin, characterized in that said composition further comprises at least a synthetic material which acts as an inert and/or a filler and it is used, in a predetermined amount, in the form of powder or of chips . 2. Agglomerated material according to claim 1, characterized in that said synthetic material is a recycled synthetic material. 3. Agglomerated material according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said synthetic material is selected in the group comprising: polyethylentereftalate (PET) , polyethylene (PE) , polypropylene (PP) , polyamides (PA) , polyurethane (PU) , EXP.ANCE .L®. 4. Agglomerated material according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterized in that the resin is added with a catalyst and/or an accelerator of the polymerization reaction. 5. Agglomerated material according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterized in that said inert material is concrete. 6. Use of an agglomerated material according to anyone of the preceding claims in the building field for the obtainment of slabs for floors and/or internal and/or external coverings, or in the funerary field. 7. Tile or slab for floors and/or internal and/or external coverings, characterized in that it is made of an agglomerated material according to anyone of the claims from 1 to 5. 8. Tile or slab according to claim 7, characterized in that it is provided with suitable cavities which are present on the surface of said slab, and in that said cavities are suitable for containing elements made of synthetic material of a predetermined shape . 9. Tile or slab according to claim 8, characterized in that the synthetic material is selected in the group comprising: polyethylentereftalate (PET) , polyethylene (PE) , polypropylene (PP) , polyamides (PA) , polyurethane (PU) , EXPiNCELL®.

Inventors: VALENTE GABRIELE, VALENTE, GABRIELE
Applicants: VALENTE GABRIELE, VALENTE, GABRIELE
Application year: 1998
Main classification: C04B26
IPC codes: C04B26