Aggregate treatment method, treated aggregate, methods of producing concrete, and concrete

Abstract

An aggregate treatment method wherein an aggregate particle 10 is at least partially coated with a sizing agent 20. The sizing agent may include a resin, e.g. water-based epoxy resin. The sizing agent

Description

FIELD The invention relates to an aggregate treatment method, treated aggregate, concrete produced using the treated aggregate, and a method of making the concrete. BACKGROUND Sand is a key ingredient in the production of concrete. Conventionally, concrete is made using sharp sand. However, due to the vast quantities of sharp sand harvested each year for concrete production, supplies are dwindling. While other types of sand, such as desert sand, are available in large quantities, these alternative sands are conventionally not considered suitable for concrete production due to the size and shape of the sand grains, which are often smaller and / or smoother than sharp sand. This can lead to weaker concrete, which is unsuitable for construction. As well as sand, concrete also typically includes coarser aggregates, such as gravel. If the aggregate does not bind strongly to the binder, the resulting concrete can be weak. The present invention aims to alleviate problems associated with the prior art. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Disclosed is an aggregate treatment method, including: at least partially coating an aggregate particle with a sizing agent. The sizing agent may include a resin. The resin may be an epoxy resin. The resin may be a water-based epoxy resin. The sizing agent may include a 2D material. The 2D material may be graphene. The sizing agent may include a resin, and the 2D material may be dispersed homogeneously throughout the resin. The thickness of the coating may be in the range of 1-1000 microns, or 1-500 microns, or 1-100 microns. The aggregate particle may be coated with the sizing agent by mixing the aggregate particle with the sizing agent in a mechanical or acoustic mixer. The aggregate particle may be a sand grain or a gravel particle. The aggregate particle may include one or more of silica, quartz, feldspar, calcite, or mica. Also disclosed is a method of making concrete, including: treating aggregate using an aggregate treatment method as above; and using the treated aggregate to make concrete. The concrete may be a polymer concrete, and the method may include: treating aggregate using an aggregate treatment method as above; and after treating the aggregate, using the treated aggregate to make concrete by combining a filler composition including the treated aggregated with a binder. The method of making concrete may further include: dispersing a 2D material into a binder to form a 2D material pre-mixture; and combining the 2D material pre-mixture with a filler composition including the treated aggregate to form the polymer concrete. Also disclosed is an aggregate particle coated with a sizing agent. The sizing agent may include a resin. The resin may be an epoxy resin. The resin may be a water-based epoxy resin. The sizing agent may include a 2D material. The 2D material may be graphene. The sizing agent may include a resin, and the 2D material may be dispersed homogeneously throughout the resin. The thickness of the coating may be in the range of 1-1000 microns, or 1-500 microns, or 1-100 microns. The aggregate particle may be a sand grain or a gravel particle. The aggregate particle may include one or more of silica, quartz, feldspar, calcite, or mica. Also disclosed is concrete including an aggregate particle as above. Also disclosed is a structure manufactured using an aggregate particle as above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES In orderthatthe present disclosure may be more readily understood, preferable embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic illustration of an aggregate particle according to the disclosed technology; and Fig. 2 compares a sample of conventional concrete to a sample of concrete according to the disclosed technology. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosed technology includes an aggregate treatment method, treated aggregate, methods of producing concrete, and concrete. Fig. 1 provides a schematic illustration of a coated aggregate particle 1 comprising an aggregate particle 10 at least partially coated with a sizing agent 20. The aggregate particle 10 may have a diameter of 65 mm or less, 60 mm or less, 55 mm or less, 50 mm or less, 45 mm or less, 40 mm or less, 35 mm or less, 30 mm or less, or 25 mm or less. The aggregate particle 10 may have a diameter of at least 0.01 mm, at least 0.02 mm, at least 0.03, at least 0.04 mm, at least 0.05 mm, at least 0.06 mm, or at least 0.063 mm. The aggregate particle may have a diameter in the range of 0.01 - 65 mm, 0.02 - 65 mm, 0.03 - 65 mm, 0.04 - 65 mm, 0.05 - 65 mm, 0.06 - 65 mm, 0.063 - 65 mm, 0.01 - 60 mm, 0.02 - 60 mm, 0.03 - 60 mm, 0.04 -60 mm, 0.05 - 60 mm, 0.06 - 60 mm, 0.063 - 60 mm, 0.01 - 55 mm, 0.02 - 55 mm, 0.03 - 55 mm, 0.04 - 55 mm, 0.05 - 55 mm, 0.06 - 55 mm, 0.063 - 55 mm, 0.01 - 50 mm, 0.02 - 50 mm, 0.03 -50 mm, 0.04 - 50 mm, 0.05 - 50 mm, 0.06 - 50 mm, 0.063 - 50 mm, 0.01 - 45 mm, 0.02 - 45 mm, 0.03 - 45 mm, 0.04 - 45 mm, 0.05 - 45 mm, 0.06 - 45 mm, 0.063 - 45 mm, 0.01 - 40 mm, 0.02 -40 mm, 0.03 - 40 mm, 0.04 - 40 mm, 0.05 - 40 mm, 0.06 - 40 mm, 0.063 - 40 mm, 0.01 - 35 mm, 0.02 - 35 mm, 0.03 - 35 mm, 0.04 - 35 mm, 0.05 - 35 mm, 0.06 - 35 mm, 0.063 - 35 mm, 0.01 - 30 mm, 0.02 - 30 mm, 0.03 - 30 mm, 0.04 - 30 mm, 0.05 - 30 mm, 0.06 - 30 mm, 0.063 - 30 mm, 0.01 - 25 mm, 0.02 - 25 mm, 0.03 - 25 mm, 0.04 - 25 mm, 0.05 - 25 mm, 0.06 - 25 mm, or 0.063 - 25 mm. The diameter may be measured across the widest part of the particle. The aggregate particle 10 may include one or more of silica, quartz, feldspar, calcite, or mica. In some cases, the aggregate particle 10 may consist essentially of, or consist of, one or more of silica, quartz, feldspar, calcite, or mica. The aggregate particle 10 may be a sand grain 10. The sand grain 10 may have a diameter of at least 0.063 mm. The sand grain 10 may have a diameter of 2 mm or less. The sand grain 10 may have a diameter in the range 0.063 - 2 mm. The sand grain 10 may have a diameter falling within the category of “sand” specified in ISO standard 14688-1:2017. The sand grain 10 may be categorised as sand under ISO standard 14688-1:2017. The sand grain 10 may fall within a phi scale category of-1 to 4 under the Krumbein phi scale. The sand grain 10 may be a grain of river sand, pit sand, beach sand, artificial sand, or desert sand. The sand grain 10 may, in particular, be a grain of desert sand. For example, the desert sand may be harvested from the Arabian desert, the Mojave desert, the Sahara desert, the Great Sandy Desert, the Gobi desert, or the Kalahari desert. The sand grain 10 may, in particular, be harvested from the Arabian desert or the Mojave desert, and may be harvested from the Arabian desert. A plurality of sand grains 10 may be referred to as sand. A plurality of coated sand grains 1 may be referred to as treated sand. The aggregate particle 10 may be a gravel particle 10, which may have a diameter in the range 2 -65 mm, 2-60 mm, 2-55 mm, 2-50 mm, 2-45 mm, 2-40 mm, 2-35 mm, 2-30 mm, 2-25 mm, 4-65 mm, 4-60 mm, 4-55 mm, 4-50 mm, 4-45 mm, 4-40 mm, 4-35 mm, 4-30 mm, 4-25 mm, 8-65 mm, 8-60 mm, 8-55 mm, 8-50 mm, 8-45 mm, 8-40 mm, 8-35 mm, 8 -30 mm, or 8 - 25 mm. The gravel particle 10 may fall within a phi scale category of -6 to -1, or -5 to -1, or-5 to -3, under the Krumbein phi scale. A plurality of coated gravel particles 10 may be referred to as treated gravel. A plurality of aggregate particles 10 may be referred to as aggregate. A plurality of coated aggregate particles 1 may be referred to as treated aggregate. The sizing agent 20 may increase the adhesion of the coated aggregate particle 10 to a binder (see below), compared to the uncoated or untreated aggregate particle. For example, the sizing agent 20 may be a sizing agent 20 for increasing the adhesion of the aggregate particle 10 to a concrete binder (which may also be referred to as a binder for concrete). The sizing agent 20 may coat the aggregate particle 10 at least partially, may coat a majority of a surface of the aggregate particle 10, and may fully coat the aggregate particle 10. The coating may be substantially homogeneous. At least 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% of the surface of the aggregate particle 10 may be coated with the sizing agent 20. The sizing agent 20 may include a resin. The resin may be an epoxy resin, and may in particular be a water-based epoxy resin. The aggregate particle 10 may be coated with the sizing agent 20 by mixing the aggregate particle 10 with the sizing agent 20 in a mechanical mixer or acoustic mixer, for example. The thickness of the coating of sizing agent 20 may be in the range of 1-1000 microns, or 1-500 microns, or 1-100 microns. The thickness of the coating may be substantially uniform. The sizing agent 20 may include a 2D material, also known as a single-layer material. The 2D material may be dispersed homogeneously, or substantially homogeneously, throughout the sizing agent 20. In some versions the 2D material may comprise a single monolayer. The 2D material may be graphene, for example. The atoms comprising the monolayer may all lie in a single plane, such as in graphene and hexagonal boron nitride. However, the atoms comprising the monolayer may not all lie in a single plane, such as MXenes, graphane, and transition metal dichalcogenides. In some versions the 2D material may include few-layer materials. A material may be considered a few-layer material if it has ten or fewer layers. For example, few-layer graphene may have up to ten layers (and each layer may, individually, be considered a graphene monolayer). The 2D material may, therefore, include up to ten layers in some versions, or may comprise a single (i.e. one and only one) monolayer in some versions. The sizing agent 20 may include a plurality of 2D materials, each of which may be different. For example, the sizing agent 200 may include graphene and hexagonal boron nitride. The plurality of 2D materials may each be dispersed homogeneously, or substantially homogeneously, throughout the sizing agent 20. The 2D material may be unfunctionalized or functionalized. For example, the 2D material may be, or include, functionalized or unfunctionalized graphene. Graphene oxide is an example of functionalized graphene. Suitable 2D materials (such as graphene) are commercially available. The sizing agent 20 may include 0.01-10 wt%, 0.01-5 wt%, 0.1-5 wt%, 1-10 wt%, 1-5 wt%, or around 3 wt% of the 2D material. The treated (i.e. coated) aggregate may be used to make concrete. The concrete may comprise the treated aggregate. The concrete may comprise one or more coated aggregate particles 1. For example, the treated aggregate may be used in place of untreated aggregate in the production of polymer concrete. Methods of producing polymer concrete are described in WO2023209386, for example, and the treated aggregate may, therefore, be used in such a process to form a polymer concrete. In some versions the concrete may comprise a mixture of treated and untreated aggregate. The concrete may comprise a binder and a filler composition. The filler composition may comprise the treated aggregate. The filler composition may comprise a mixture of treated and untreated aggregate. All of the aggregate may be treated aggregate, or some of the aggregate may be treated and some of the aggregate may be untreated. For example, at least 10%, at least 20%, at least 30%, at least 40%, at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, or at least 90% of the aggregate may be treated aggregate, and the percentages may be by weight. The filler composition may comprise at least the treated aggregate, and optionally a filler polymer and / or untreated aggregate. The treated aggregate may comprise treated sand, and may comprise treated sand and treated gravel. The untreated aggregate may comprise untreated sand and / or untreated gravel. The filler polymer may comprise a (cured) thermoset polymer, for example the filler polymer may be a thermoset polymer such as a recycled thermoset polymer. In some versions the filler composition may comprise a mixture of treated and untreated aggregate. For example, the filler composition may comprise a mixture of untreated sharp sand and treated desert sand. The treated sand may, therefore, reduce the quantity of sharp sand required to form the concrete, or may replace the sharp sand entirely. The filler composition may, therefore, comprise a mixture of treated and untreated sand. The filler composition may comprise a mixture of treated and untreated gravel. The treated aggregate may, therefore, be treated before it is combined with the binder. The binder may comprise a cementitious binder such as Portland cement paste. The binder may comprise bitumen. The binder may comprise a resin and a hardener. The binder may comprise a thermoplastic material. Concrete made using a binder comprising a resin or thermoplastic material may be referred to as a polymer concrete. The binder may comprise 2D material, which may be dispersed homogeneously or uniformly throughout the binder. “Resin” is used to refer to the combination of one or more resins. The resin may comprise any suitable polyester, vinylester, epoxy or polyurethane resin or combination of resins. The resin may comprise at least one of a virgin thermoset polymer and a thermoplastic polymer. The resin may comprise a recycled thermoplastic polymer. The recycled thermoplastic polymer may have been cured before being mixed with the hardener in the method described herein. A “thermoset polymer” is used to refer to a polymer that irreversibly solidifies when it is cured. Heat may initiate the curing of a thermoset polymer but is not necessarily required. The presence of a hardener alone may be sufficient to initiate a cross linking reaction, without external temperatures elevated above standard room temperature. A “thermoplastic polymer” is used to refer to a polymer that is more pliable when heated to a temperature above a threshold value, and that will reversibly solidify upon cooling. Heating a solidified thermoplastic polymer above a threshold value restores its pliability without decomposing the polymer. A “virgin thermoset polymer” is used to refer to a thermoset polymer that has never previously been cured prior to being mixed with the hardener in the method described herein. “Hardener” is used to refer to any species or combination of one or more species that reacts or otherwise interacts with a resin to harden the resin, for example those that catalyse the crosslinking reaction of a resin. The “filler composition” is used to refer to those constituents of the polymer concrete that do not form part of the binder. The aggregate may comprise a fine aggregate and a coarse aggregate, wherein the fine aggregate has an average particle diameter that is smaller than the average particle diameter of the coarse aggregate. The fine aggregate may be the same type of material as the coarse aggregate. Alternatively, the fine aggregate may be a different type of material to the coarse aggregate. Aggregate particle diameters can be controlled using sieve analysis techniques adhering to European protocol BS EN 933, for example. The aggregate may comprise a fine aggregate having an average particle diameter of 4 mm to 8 mm, preferably 5 mm to 7 mm and most preferably about 6 mm. The aggregate material may comprise a coarse aggregate having an average particle diameter of 16 mm to 24 mm, preferably 18 mm to 22 mm and most preferably about 20 mm. The aggregate may comprise both a fine aggregate having an average particle diameter of 4 mm to 8 mm, preferably 5 mm to 7 mm and most preferably about 6 mm and a coarse aggregate having an average particle diameter of 16 mm to 24 mm, preferably 18 mm to 22 mm and most preferably about 20 mm. Biochar may be used as an aggregate. Biochar is a highly porous form of carbon that is produced by heating organic matter in a low-oxygen environment. Biochar is produced by pyrolysis. Using biochar as an aggregate allows the carbon to be trapped into the concrete structure. Adding sufficient biochar as aggregate allows the carbon emissions created during the manufacture to be offset resulting in a net removal of carbon from the atmosphere. The aggregate may comprise at least one of stone, rubber and carbon fibre. The binder may include up to 5 wt% of 2D material, such as graphene. The binder may include 1 wt% to 5 wt%, preferably 2 wt% to 4 wt% and most preferably about 3 wt% of 2D material. The concrete, which may be a polymer concrete comprising a resin and a hardener, may include up to 0.05 wt% of 2D material, such as graphene. The polymer concrete may include 0.01 wt% to 0.05 wt%, preferably 0.01 wt% to 0.04 wt% and most preferably 0.01 wt% to 0.02 wt% of 2D material. The 2D material may be dispersed into the binder using a mixer. The mixer may be, or may include, a static mixer, a screw mixer, and / or an acoustic mixer. The static mixer may include a series of fixed mixing elements, such as blades or baffles, which are arranged within a housing. The 2D material and binder may be forced against / between the mixing elements, and as the materials pass through, they may be subjected to a combination of shearand extensional forces that promote mixing and homogenisation. The screw mixer may include a screw housed in a screw barrel, and a screw mixing process may involve feeding binder into the screw with 2D material being added at positions spaced along the screw barrel. The acoustic mixer may operate at a frequency of between 10kHz and 100kHz, and more preferably between 20kHz and 60 kHz, and most preferably at around 40kHz. In versions in which the binder includes a resin and a hardener, the 2D material may be dispersed into the resin or into the hardener. The resin and hardener may then be combined (e.g. by mixing) to form the binder. The resin may be any suitable reactive resin prepolymer. The hardener may be any catalyst or coreactant suitable for use with the resin prepolymer. The resin may be an epoxy resin and the hardener may be any polyfunctional amine, acid, phenols, alcohols, or thiols. Epoxy resin has been found to provide excellent mechanical performance, and allows easy handling. The resin may be a polyester resin and the hardener may be any catalyst or initiator suitable for use with the polyester resin, such as benzoyl peroxide or methyl ethyl ketone peroxide. The resin and / or hardener may be heated during processing, for example before or during mixing with the 2D material. Increasing the temperature of the components of a viscous resin system may lead to a reduction in viscosity. This may result in increased homogeneity of the dispersion of the 2D material in the resin and / or hardener (and therefore in the binder). An example of a suitable ratio of resin to hardener is 100:30 by weight, for example where an LN2 epoxy resin is used. The homogeneity of the dispersion of the 2D material in the resin or hardener may be determined before the resin or hardener is combined with the other of the resin or hardener. For example, if the 2D material is dispersed in the resin, the homogeneity of the resin may be determined before combination of the resin with the hardener. Likewise, if the 2D material is dispersed in the hardener, the homogeneity of the hardener may be determined before combination of the hardener with the resin. The 2D material may, as described, be dispersed into only one ofthe resin or hardener (before the resin and hardener are combined). The resin and hardener may only be combined if the homogeneity meets a predetermined criterion, for example exceeds a predetermined threshold. Otherwise, the resin or hardener may be subjected to further mixing until the dispersion of 2D material in the resin or hardener is sufficiently homogeneous. Methods for determining the homogeneity ofthe mixture are known in the art. A thermoplastic material may be used in place ofthe resin and hardener to form the binder. 2D material may, therefore, be dispersed in the thermoplastic material to form a 2D material thermoplastic melt dispersion. The thermoplastic material may be provided in the form of pellets. The pellet material is typically heated in order to melt the thermoplastic material ready for mixing. A heat source may, therefore, be provided for carrying out the heating step; for example, using electrical heating via electrical heating elements. Heating may also (or alternatively) occur from mechanical processes; for example, heat may be generated by the shear forces acting on the polymeric material in a screw extruder. A method of making the concrete may comprise mixing the binder with the filler composition. The method of making the concrete may include mixing the binder with the filler composition to form the concrete, heating and consolidating the concrete to produce a cured product, and cooling the cured product to form a final product. The binder may be introduced to the filler composition using a pouring technique. When introducing the binder to the filler composition by pouring, a composition of around 17% binder to 83% (by weight) of filler composition may result in the binder evenly coating the filler material. The binder may be held in a liquid state under stirring, such as by mechanical or ultrasonic or acoustic stirring techniques, before combination with the filler composition. The binder may also be solidified, as an only partially cured composition, for example by cooling, and then re-liquified for combination with the filler composition for example by heating (in such versions the binder may include the resin and hardener, or the thermoplastic material). The filler composition may be stirred while the binder is introduced to the filler composition. For example, the binder and filler composition may be mixed in a mixer. The binder may be introduced to / mixed with the filler composition using a spraying or dropwise addition technique. This may improve the evenness of distribution of the binder amongst the filler composition. When introducing the binder to the filler composition by spraying to form the concrete, the concrete may contain as little as 2 wt% of the binder. The concrete may contain 3 wt% -17 wt% of binder, and 83 wt% - 97 wt% of filler composition, which may lead to the binder evenly coating the filler composition. A smaller amount of binder may, therefore, be required when introduced by spraying compared to when introduced by pouring. A screw mixer may be used to mix the binder and filler composition, for example. Examples In an example, the compressive strength of a sample of concrete produced using sharp sand was compared to a sample of concrete produced using treated desert sand, treated with a sizing agent as described herein. The compressive strength of a 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm cube sample of each concrete was determined using a Controls compression tester with 3000 kN load cell at a speed of 0.6 MPa / s. Fig. 2a shows compressive strength measurements for the sharp sand-based concrete. Fig. 2b shows a sample of sharp sand-based concrete at the point of failure, showing the failure mode. Fig. 2c shows debris of the sample of sharp sand-based concrete showing cross-sections of aggregate due to effective load transfer. Fig. 2d shows compressive strength measurements for the treated sand-based concrete. Fig. 2e shows a sample of treated sand-based concrete at the point of failure, showing the failure mode. Fig. 2f shows debris of the sample of treated sandbased concrete showing cross-sections of aggregate due to effective load transfer. The compressive strength of the sharp sand-based concrete was 112 MPa (see Fig. 2a). The compressive strength of the treated sand-based concrete was 116 MPa (see Fig. 2d). It can be seen, therefore, that the treated sand-based concrete outperformed the sharp sand-based concrete, despite using desert sand, which is conventionally not considered suitable for concrete production. The failure mode in each case indicated that the load was transferred to the aggregates effectively, as shown in Figs. 2b, 2c, 2e, and 2f. When used in this specification and claims, the terms "comprises" and "comprising" and variations thereof mean that the specified features, steps or integers are included. The terms are not to be interpreted to exclude the presence of other features, steps or components. The invention may also broadly consist in the parts, elements, steps, examples and / or features referred to or indicated in the specification individually or collectively in any and all combinations of two or more said parts, elements, steps, examples and / or features. In particular, one or more features in any of the embodiments described herein may be combined with one or more features from any other embodiment(s) described herein. Protection may be sought for any features disclosed in any one or more published documents referenced herein in combination with the present disclosure. Although certain example embodiments of the invention have been described, the scope of the appended claims is not intended to be limited solely to these embodiments. The claims are to be construed literally, purposively, and / or to encompass equivalents.

Claims

1. An aggregate treatment method, including:at least partially coating an aggregate particle with a sizing agent.

2. An aggregate treatment method according to claim 1, wherein the sizing agent includes a resin.

3. An aggregate treatment method according to claim 2, wherein the resin is an epoxy resin.

4. An aggregate treatment method according to claim 3, wherein the resin is a water-based epoxy resin.

5. An aggregate treatment method according to any preceding claim, wherein the sizing agent includes a 2D material.

6. An aggregate treatment method according to claim 5, wherein the 2D material is graphene.

7. An aggregate treatment method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the sizing agent includes a resin, and the 2D material is dispersed homogeneously throughout the resin.

8. An aggregate treatment method according to any preceding claim, wherein the thickness of the coating is in the range of 1-1000 microns, or 1-500 microns, or 1-100 microns.

9. An aggregate treatment method according to any preceding claim, wherein the aggregate particle is coated with the sizing agent by mixing the aggregate particle with the sizing agent in a mechanical or acoustic mixer.

10. An aggregate treatment method according to any preceding claim, wherein the aggregate particle is a sand grain or a gravel particle.

11. An aggregate treatment method according to any preceding claim, wherein the aggregate particle includes one or more of silica, quartz, feldspar, calcite, or mica.

12. A method of making concrete, including:treating aggregate using an aggregate treatment method according to any preceding claim; andusing the treated aggregate to make concrete.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the concrete is a polymer concrete, and the method includes:treating aggregate using an aggregate treatment method according to any of claims 1-11; andafter treating the aggregate, using the treated aggregate to make concrete by combining a filler composition including the treated aggregated with a binder.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the method of making concrete further includes: dispersing a 2D material into a binder to form a 2D material pre-mixture; andcombining the 2D material pre-mixture with a filler composition including the treated aggregate to form the polymer concrete.

15. An aggregate particle coated with a sizing agent.

16. An aggregate particle according to claim 15, wherein the sizing agent includes a resin.

17. An aggregate particle according to claim 16, wherein the resin is an epoxy resin.

18. An aggregate particle according to claim 17, wherein the resin is a water-based epoxy resin.

19. An aggregate particle according to any of claims 15-18, wherein the sizing agent includes a 2Dmaterial.

20. An aggregate particle according to claim 19, wherein the 2D material is graphene.

21. An aggregate particle according to claim 19 or 20, wherein the sizing agent includes a resin, and the 2D material is dispersed homogeneously throughout the resin.

22. An aggregate particle according to any of claims 15-21, wherein the thickness of the coating is in the range of 1 -1000 microns, or 1 -500 microns, or 1 -100 microns.

23. An aggregate particle according to any of claims 15-22, wherein the aggregate particle is a sand grain or a gravel particle.

24. An aggregate particle according to any of claims 15-23, wherein the aggregate particle includes one or more of silica, quartz, feldspar, calcite, or mica.

25. Concrete including an aggregate particle according to any of claims 15-24.

26. A structure manufactured using an aggregate particle according to any of claims 15-24.A

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