Reflective particulate compositions including a particulate mixture having improved hardness, methods of making the same, and methods for analyzing particulate mixture strength
A reflective granular composition including a reflective pigment material including a majority of kaolin clay and a hardening additive including a sodium salt or another salt. A method for making a reflective granular composition includes the steps of mixing together a reflective pigment material including a majority of kaolin clay and a hardening additive including a sodium salt or another salt to form a particulate mixture, forming a slurry from the particulate mixture by adding to the particulate mixture water and a binder material, granulating the slurry, drying the granulated slurry, and kilning the dried, granulated slurry to form the reflective granular composition. Methods of analyzing the strength of a reflective granular composition are also disclosed.
1. A reflective granular composition comprising:
a reflective pigment material comprising a majority of kaolin clay; and
a hardening additive comprising a sodium salt or another salt,
wherein the sodium salt or the another salt comprises from about 1% to about 15% by weight of the overall reflective granular composition,
wherein the kaolin clay comprises at least about 80% by weight of the overall reflective granular composition.
2. The reflective granular composition claim 1 , wherein the reflective pigment material comprises a secondary pigment component selected from the group consisting of: metal and transition metal oxides, alkaline earth metal sulfates, alkaline earth metal carbonates, transition metal silicates, metal silicates, minerals, and mixtures thereof.
3. The reflective granular composition of claim 1 , wherein the kaolin clay comprises about 100% by weight of the reflective pigment material.
4. The reflective granular composition of claim 1 , wherein the sodium salt or the another salt comprises from about 3% to about 12% by weight of the overall reflective granular composition.
5. The reflective granular composition of claim 1 , wherein the sodium salt is selected from the group consisting of: sodium silicate, sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, sodium chloride, sodium polyacrylate, sodium sulfate, sodium thiosulfate, sodium phosphate, and mixtures thereof; or
wherein the another salt is selected from the group consisting of: any of the foregoing salts of barium, potassium, calcium, and lithium.
6. The reflective granular composition of claim 1 , wherein the kaolin clay comprises at least 90% by weight of the overall reflective granular composition.
7. A roofing material comprising the reflective granular composition of claim 1 .
8. A method for making a reflective granular composition comprising the steps of:
mixing together a reflective pigment material comprising a majority of kaolin clay and a hardening additive comprising a sodium salt or another salt to form a particulate mixture;
forming a slurry from the particulate mixture by adding to the particulate mixture water and a binder material;
granulating the slurry;
drying the granulated slurry; and
kilning the dried, granulated slurry to form the reflective granular composition,
wherein the sodium salt or the another salt comprises from about 1% to about 15% by weight of the overall reflective granular composition,
wherein the kaolin clay comprises at least about 80% by weight of the overall reflective granular composition.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the reflective pigment material comprises a secondary pigment component selected from the group consisting of: metal and transition metal oxides, alkaline earth metal sulfates, alkaline earth metal carbonates, transition metal silicates, metal silicates, minerals, and mixtures thereof.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the kaolin clay comprises about 100% by weight of the reflective pigment material.
11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the sodium salt is selected from the group consisting of: sodium silicate, sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, sodium chloride, sodium polyacrylate, sodium sulfate, sodium thiosulfate, sodium phosphate, and mixtures thereof; or
wherein the another salt is selected from the group consisting of: any of the foregoing salts of barium, potassium, calcium, and lithium.
12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the water is added in an amount of about 20% to about 50% by weight of the particulate mixture.
13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the binder material is added in an amount of about 1% to about 10% by weight of the particulate mixture.
14. The method of claim 8 , wherein granulating the slurry comprises extruding the slurry or Niro spraying the slurry.
15. The method of claim 8 , further comprising the step of crushing the dried, granulated slurry prior to kilning the dried, granulated slurry.
16. The method of claim 8 , wherein kilning is performed at a temperature of about 1000° C. to about 1300° C. for a time period of about 30 minutes to about 90 minutes.