Unitized formed construction materials and methods for making same

Abstract

A method for manufacturing unitized formed mineral-based construction materials includes providing starting materi- als including a clay, a sublimation agent, lime and water. The starting materials are mixed with one another to achieve a mixture of the starting materials. The mixture of the starting materials is then formed into a formed unit which is defined by a minimum dimen- sion selected from one of width, depth and thickness. The formed unit is then dried to allow the formed unit to be transferred to a kiln. One the formed unit is placed in the kiln, the kiln is heated to a processing temperature of between about 1000° and about 1200°C, and maintained at the processing temperature for a period of between about 10 minutes and about 60 minutes per centimeter of the minimum dimension of the formed unit. Following kilning the formed unit is removed from the kiln.