Coal-derived carbon-based mortar and methods of making the same

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to pyrolysis char mortar (PCM) and methods of forming PCM. A composition, such as a pyrolysis char mortar (PCM), includes about 10% to about 30% of a cementitious material, about 0.05% to about 20% of a pyrolysis char (PC), water, and about 50% to about 80% sand. In some embodiments, the composition includes an additive. The method of forming the composition includes mixing a PC, sand, and cementitious materials to form a dry mixture, mixing the dry mixture with water to form a wet mixture, curing the wet mixture to form a pyrolysis char mixture (PCM).

Description

COAL-DERIVED CARBON-BASED MORTAR AND METHODS OFMAKING THE SAMEBACKGROUNDField

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to mortar materials. In particular, the disclosure relates to pyrolysis char mortar (PCM) and methods of fabricating PCM using coal-derived pyrolysis char (PC).Description of Related Art

[0002] Coal currently serves an important role as an energy source but the increasing demand for renewable energy has reduced the production and consumption of coal in the United States of America (USA). Coal is carbon-rich, and its use in energy generation may affect atmospheric CO2 levels. The air pollution and global environmental issues associated with the combustion of coal have limited the continuous application of coal in energy production. Specifically, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), global warming that results from various greenhouse gas emissions is partly due to fossil fuel burning, such as the combustion of coal.

[0003] Wyoming Powder River Basin (PRB) coal plays an important role in the Wyoming energy industry as well as other coal plays in different parts of the United States and the world more generally. However, renewable energy is slowly replacing the coal industry, causing the market price of coal to drop. Thus, to attract new investment through technological innovation and support coal mine operations, environmentally friendly methods to create new diversified coal products are needed.

[0004] Mortar is a composite material consisting of sand and a binder material, such as cement. Mortar is used in buildings and civil infrastructure to assemble masonry units and bridge the space between building blocks. In addition, mortar can be used to fill and seal irregular gaps. Mortar is applied as a workable paste and binds building blocks when it cures.

[0005] However, cement is a major component of mortar, and cement production may be harmful to the environment. Carbon dioxide emission from cement production contribute to approximately 8-10% of global CO2 emissions.

[0006] In addition, ordinary cement-based materials, such as those materials made from ordinary Portland cement, are generally brittle and have poor tensile and flexural properties. To improve the strength of cementitious materials and to delay the onset of microcracks and flexural cracks, conventional technologies utilize steel reinforcement bars, nanoscale fibers, and carbon nanotubes. However, microcracking and flexural cracking persist even with such conventional technologies.

[0007] Therefore, there is a need for improved mortar and methods of fabricating mortar using coal-derived pyrolysis char (PC).SUMMARY

[0008] In one embodiment, a composition is disclosed. The composition includes about 10% to about 30% of a cementitious material, about 0.05% to about 20% of a pyrolysis char (PC), water, and about 50% to about 80% sand.

[0009] In another embodiment, a pyrolysis char mortar is disclosed. The PCM includes about 10% to about 30% of a cementitious material, about 0.05% to about 20% of a PC, water, about 50% to about 80% sand, and an additive.

[0010] In another embodiment, a method of forming a composition is disclosed. The method includes mixing a PC, sand, and cementitious materials to form a dry mixture, mixing the dry mixture with water to form a wet mixture, curing the wet mixture to form a pyrolysis char mixture (PCM).BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appendeddrawings illustrate only exemplary embodiments and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, and may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

[0012] Figure l is a flow diagram of a method of forming a composition, according to embodiments.

[0013] Figure 2 is a graph of the water retention percentage of the mortar specimens, according to embodiments.

[0014] Figure 3 is a graph of the density of the mortar specimens, according to embodiments.

[0015] Figure 4 is a graph of the compressive strength of the mortar specimens, according to embodiments.

[0016] Figure 5 is a graph of the water retention percentage of the MC-S mortar specimens, according to embodiments.

[0017] Figure 6 is a graph of the air content percentage of the MC-S mortar specimens, according to embodiments.

[0018] Figure 7 is a graph of the density of the MC-S mortar specimens, according to embodiments.

[0019] Figure 8 is a graph of the compressive strength of the MC-S mortar specimens, according to embodiments.

[0020] Figure 9 is a graph of the flexural strength of the MC-S mortar specimens, according to embodiments.

[0021] Figure 10 is a graph of the water absorption of the MC-S mortar specimens, according to embodiments.

[0022] Figure 11 is a graph of the shrinkage of the MC-S mortar specimens over time, according to embodiments.

[0023] Figure 12 is a graph of the porosity of the MC-S mortar specimens, according to embodiments.

[0024] Figure 13 is a graph of the thermal conductivity of the MC-S mortar specimens, according to embodiments.

[0025] Figure 14A is a graph of the thermogravimetric-differential thermal (TG- DT) analysis of the MC-S mortar specimens at 1 day of curing, according to embodiments.

[0026] Figure 14B is a graph of the TG-DT analysis of the MC-S mortar specimens at 28 day of curing, according to embodiments.

[0027] Figure 15A is an SEM micrograph of the MC-S-0 mortar specimens cured for 1 day, according to embodiments.

[0028] Figure 15B is an SEM micrograph of the MC-S-5 mortar specimens cured for 1 day, according to embodiments.

[0029] Figure 16A is an SEM micrograph of the MC-S-0 mortar specimens cured for 28 days, according to embodiments.

[0030] Figure 16B is an SEM micrograph of the MC-S-5 mortar specimens cured for 28 days, according to embodiments.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to mortar materials. In particular, the disclosure relates to pyrolysis char mortar (PCM) and methods of fabricating PCM using coal-derived pyrolysis char (PC).

[0032] Mortar products are generally made from sand, cementitious material (acting as a binder), and water. However, conventional technologies for improving the tensile properties or other physical characteristics of mortar products and cementitious compositions are lacking. With the continued use of mortar and other cementitious materials, maintaining the integrity of structures is paramount.

[0033] The inventors have found new and improved methods for fabricating pyrolysis char mortar (PCM) from coal-derived pyrolysis char (PC). Briefly, raw coal is thermo-chemically converted to produce PC. The resulting PC is then converted into materials such as pyrolysis char mortar (PCM).

[0034] The desire for environmentally-friendly materials, energy savings, and reduced energy consumption in building materials can be addressed by the building materials described herein. Mortar made with PC has increased compressive strength, increased flexural strength, and decreased thermal conductivity when compared to conventional mortar.

[0035] The use of heading is for purposes of convenience and does not limit the scope of the present disclosure. Embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0036] As used herein “composition” can include component(s) of the composition, reaction product(s) of two or more components of the composition, a remainder balance of remaining starting component(s), or combinations thereof. Compositions of the present disclosure can be prepare by suitable mixing process.COMPOSITIONS

[0037] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to mortar materials. In particular, the disclosure relates to pyrolysis char mortar (PCM) and methods of fabricating PCM using coal-derived pyrolysis char (PC).

[0038] A composition (e.g., a pyrolysis char mortar (PCM)) includes cementitious material, pyrolysis char (PC), water, and sand. The cementitious material, PCM, water, and sand, when mixed together, form a wet mixture. The wet mixture, when cured, forms the PCM. In some embodiments, the PCM includes one or more additives.

[0039] The cementitious material includes ordinary Portland cement (Type I (per ASTM C150 / 150M-22), Type II (per ASTM C150 / 150M-22), Type III, Type IV, Type V), slag cement, slag-modified Portland cement, expansive cement, white cement,water-repellant cement, masonry cement Type N (per ASTM C270-19ael), masonry cement Type S (per ASTM C91 / 91M-23), cement lime (CL) type S (per ASTM C270- 19ael), mortar cement, oil well cement, plastic cement, rapid setting cement, Portland blast-furnace slag cement, Portland-pozzolans cement, and pozzolans-modified Portland cement, or combinations thereof. Other types of cement are contemplated. In some embodiments, the cementitious materials may include ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), fly ash (e.g., Class C fly ash), ground limestone, silica fume, and combinations thereof. The specific gravity of the cement is about 3.15 in accordance with ASTM C188. The cementitious materials are about 10% to about 30% of the total composition, such as about 25% of the composition.

[0040] In some embodiments, the composition may further include one or more additives. The additives include gravel, stone, pozzolans such as volcanic glass, zeolitic trass or tuffs, rice husk ash, diatomaceous earth, and other natural pozzolans, plasticizers, superplasticizers, pigments, accelerators such as calcium chloride, solid particles or powders, such as those comprising an electrically conductive material such as manganese oxide, tin oxide, titanium oxide, nickel oxide, or resistive material, carbon nanotubes, nanowires or other fine threads or fibers, ceramics, glass beads or fibers, composite materials, pH buffers, and salts. In some embodiments, dispersants, surfactants, stabilizers, or combinations thereof can be utilized as additives or combinations thereof.

[0041] The PC utilized for the PC specimens was derived from coal materials. The PC is about 0.05% to about 20% of the composition, such as about 3.75% to about 15% of the composition. The coal materials are produced from the Powder River Basin (PRB) coal, which is classified as sub-bituminous coal. In some embodiments, the PC is chemically processed from the Powder River Basin (PRB) coal, Wyoming. Despite having a low thermal content, PRB coal can have a low sulfur content and high carbon content. The PC is added in a mortar to, for example, improve its engineering properties including compressive strength, flexural strength, and thermal conductivity. The PC is utilized as a partial sand replacer. The coal material is pyrolyzed in a furnace up to a temperature of about 850°C to remove volatiles and tar and form a pyrolyzed char (PC).

[0042] The sand may include a graded sand and 20-30 sand, as defined in ASTM C2778-21. The sand is about 50% to about 80% of the composition, such as about 60% to 75% of the composition. The PC partially replaces the sand in the PCM. The replacement of the sand with PC may improve materials properties that are beneficial for use in mortar material applications. By improving the material properties of mortar materials through the replacement of sand with PC, the mortar materials are more durable in their applications, leading to a reduction in the demand for mortar materials. As a result in the reduction in the demand in mortar materials, the need for additional cementitious material and sand is reduced, which may contribute to a decrease in CO2 emissions resulting from the production of cementitious material.

[0043] The PCM mixture has a water retention percentage of about 25% to about 85%. The compressive strength of the composition is about 5 MPa to about 50 MPa, such as about 20 MPa to about 45 MPa, such as between 30 MPa and 40 MPa. The flexural strength of the composition is about 1 MPa to about 5 MPa. The air content percentage of the composition is about 5% and about 20%. The water absorption of the composition is about 40 g / 100cm2to about 140 g / 100cm2. The shrinkage of the composition is between about 0.04 to about 0.12. The composition has a density of about 1.5 g / cm3to about 2.5 g / cm3. The porosity of the composition is about 8% to about 16 %. The thermal conductivity of the composition is about 1.5 W / mK to about 2.5 W / mK.

[0044] Figure 1 is a flow diagram of a method 100 of forming a composition (e.g., a PCM). In some embodiments, the composition is formed in accordance with ASTM C305-20 for preparing conventional mortar. At operation 101, a pyrolysis char (PC), sand, and a cementitious material are weighed out. The PC, sand, and cementitious material may be weighed out in accordance with Table 1, shown below. The PC is about 3.75% to about 15% of the composition. The sand is about 50% to about 80% of the composition, such as about 60% to 75% of the composition. The cementitious materials are about 10% to about 30% of the total composition, such as about 25% of the composition.

[0045] At operations 102, the PC, sand, and cementitious materials are mixed to form a dry mixture. The cementitious material includes Portland cement, masonry cement, and cement lime. The PC, sand, and cementitious materials are mixed for about 1 minute to about 5 minutes, such as about 3 minutes. In some embodiments, an additive is mixed with the PC, sand, and cementitious materials to form the dry mixture.

[0046] At operations 103, the dry mixture is mixed with water to form a wet mixture. The dry mixture is mixed with water for about 1 minute to about 5 minutes, such as about 3 minutes. In some embodiments, the additive is mixed with the water and the dry mixture to form the wet mixture.

[0047] At operation 104, the wet mixture is poured into a mold. At operation 105, the wet mixture is cured to form a pyrolysis char mortar (PCM). The wet mixture is cured at ambient conditions (e.g., room temperature of about 20°C to about 30°C, such as about 21 °C to about 25°C) and relative humidity of -40%. The PCM is cured for about 1 day to about 60 days, such as about 3 days, 7 days, 14 days, 28 days, or 56 days.EXAMPLESTest Methods

[0048] The water retention of the conventional mortar and PCM are measured in accordance with ASTM Cl 506- 17.

[0049] The air content of the conventional mortar and PCM are measured in accordance with ASTM Cl 85-20.

[0050] The compressive strength of the conventional mortar and PCM are measured in accordance with ASTM Cl 09 / C 109-21 after curing for 1, 7, and 28 days.

[0051] The flexural strength of the conventional mortar and PCM are measured in accordance with ASTM C348-21 after curing for 1, 7, and 28 days.

[0052] The rate of water absorption of the conventional mortar and PCM are measured in accordance with ASTM Cl 403 -22a.

[0053] The drying shrinkage of the conventional mortar and PCM are measured in accordance with ASTM C596-18.

[0054] Porosity of the conventional mortar and PCM is measured using 50 mm cubic specimens that are weighed after 24 hours (Mi) and after 7 days of wet curing in saturated lime water (Msat). The cubic specimens are oven dried at 105°C for 24 hours and the oven dried mass (Mod) is measured. The porosity is calculated according to Equation 1 : p ^sat~^ ocl z x

[0055] Thermal conductivity of the conventional mortar and PCM is measured using cubic specimens cured for 1, 7, and 28 days at 99% humidity using a Hot Disk Thermal Constants Analyzer.

[0056] The thermogravimetric (TM) and differential thermal (DT) analysis were performed using TA Instruments Q500 equipment. The conventional mortar and PCM specimens were crushed into particles and sieved through an ASTM #200 (75 pm) sieve and oven dried at 60°C for 24 hours. Prior to sieving, the crushed specimens were submerged in isopropyl alcohol (IP A) for 5 hours and then oven dried for 24 hours at 60°C in order to prevent hydration. 28 day curing specimens were dried without the IPA treatment. During the TM and DT analysis, the temperature was increased from room temperature to 950°C with a ramp rate of 10°C / min in an inert gas environment.

[0057] The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was performed using FEI Quanta 250 SEM equipment set to detect secondary electrons. Small, flat particles with a diameter < 5mm after 1 and 28 days of curing were measured using SEM analysis.EXPERIMENTALExperiment 1

[0058] Table 1 is a summary of the mortar mix designs. The mortar specimens include a control OPC mortar (OPC-0), a 3.75% OPC PCM specimen (OPC-5), a 7.5%OPC PCM specimen (OPC- 10), a 15% OPC PCM specimen (OPC-20), a control CL-S specimen (CL-S-0), a 3.75% CL-S PCM specimen (CL-S-5), a 7.5% CL-S PCM specimen (CL-S- 10), a 15% CL-S PCM specimen (CL-S-20), a control masonry cement type N (MC-N) specimen (MC-N-0), a 3.75% MC-N PCM specimen (MC-N- 5), a 7.5% MC-N PCM specimen (MC-N- 10), a 15% MC-N PCM specimen (MC-N- 20), a control masonry cement type S (MC-S) specimen (MC-S-0), a 3.75% MC-S PCM specimen (MC-S-5), a 7.5% MC-S PCM specimen (MC-S- 10), a 15% MC-S PCM specimen (MC-S-20).Table 1. Summary of Mortar Mix Designs.

[0059] Figure 2 is a graph of the water retention percentage of the mortar specimens. The mortar specimens with OPC had the lowest water retention percentage, ranging from 50% to 25%. Low water retention percentages may indicate lower workability in masonry use. CL-S mortar specimens and MC-N specimens approximately equal water retention percentage value. As the PC percentage increases, the water retention percentage decreases for all mortar samples.

[0060] Figure 3 is a graph of the density of the mortar specimens. The mortar specimens include OPC-O, OPC-10, CL-S-0, CL-S-10, MC-N-0, MC-N-10, MC-S-0, and MC-S-10. The OPC mortar specimens have the highest density of about 2.2 g / cm3. The MC-N mortar specimens have the lowest density of about 1.8 g / cm3. The addition of PC does not influence the density of the mortar specimens.

[0061] Figure 4 is a graph of the compressive strength of the mortar specimens. The OPC mortar specimens had the highest compressive strength for mortar specimens cured for 28 days. The OPC-O has a compressive strength of about 42.6 MPa. The addition of PC may decrease the strength of the OPC-10, CL-S-10, and MC-S-10 mortar specimens. However, the addition of PC increase the strength of the MC-N-10 mortar specimens by about 28%.

[0062] The MC-S mortar specimens have water retention ranging from 50% to 81% and an addition of 10% PC reduces the strength of about 2.7%. The relatively higher compressive strength of MC-S compared to CL-S and MC-N mortar specimens indicate the MC-S mortar specimens are more suited for masonry use.

[0063] Figure 5 is a graph of the water retention percentage of the MC-S mortar specimens. As the PC content increases, the water retention percentage decreases from about 80% to about 62%. The MC-S-10 mortar specimen exhibited the lower water retention percentage, which was about 22.5% lower than the MC-S-0 specimen.

[0064] Figure 6 is a graph of the air content percentage of the MC-S mortar specimens. The MC-S mortar specimens show a decrease in air content as the PC content increases. The MC-S-5 mortar specimen exhibited the lowest air content, which is a decrease of 68.75% compared to the MC-S-0 mortar specimen.

[0065] Figure 7 is a graph of the density of the MC-S mortar specimens. The density of the MC-S mortar specimens range from about 2.0 g / cm3to about 2.1 g / cm3. The MC-S-1 and MC-S-5 mortar specimens had the highest density.

[0066] Figure 8 is a graph of the compressive strength of the MC-S mortar specimens. The MC-S mortar specimens are cured in saturated lime water for 1, 7, and28 days. The 7 day cure MC-S-1 mortar sample exhibited the highest compressive strength of about 17.7 MPa. The 28 day cure MC-S-5 mortar sample exhibited the highest compressive strength of about 22.1 MPa. The MC-S-1 and MC-S-5 mortar specimens has higher compressive strengths at all curing times.

[0067] Figure 9 is a graph of the flexural strength of the MC-S mortar specimens. The MC-S mortar specimens are cured in saturated lime water for 1, 7, and 28 days. The MC-S-1 and MC-S-5 mortar specimens have the highest 28 cure strength, of about 4.35 MPa, which is about 17.6% greater than the MC-S-0 mortar specimen, which had a flexural strength of about 3.7 MPa

[0068] Figure 10 is a graph of the water absorption of the MC-S mortar specimens. The water absorption of the MC-S mortar specimens is performed on oven dried cubic samples after 28 days of curing. The rate of water absorption was measured at 15 minutes, 1 hour, 4 hours, and 24 hours. The water absorption increases with an increase in the PC content for all the MC-S mortar specimens, with the exception of the MC- S0.1 mortar specimen, which had a lower water absorption than the MC-S-0 mortar specimens.

[0069] Figure 11 is a graph of the shrinkage of the MC-S mortar specimens over time. The drying shrinkage was performed on mortar prisms, with length measurements taken at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days. The MC-S-10 mortar specimen exhibited the highest shrinkage with 0.04% at 7 days to 0.11% at 28 days. The MC-S-0.1 and MC-S-1 mortar specimens have similar shrinkage values to the MC-S mortar sample, i.e., about 0.06% after 28 days.

[0070] Figure 12 is a graph of the porosity of the MC-S mortar specimens. As the PC content increases, the porosity increases. The porosity of the MC-S-1 mortar specimen is about 9.54%, which is an increase of about 9.5% over the MC-S-0. At the MC-S-10 mortar specimen exhibited a porosity of about 14.98%, which is an increase of about 72% over the MC-S-0 mortar specimen.

[0071] Figure 13 is a graph of the thermal conductivity of the MC-S mortar specimens. The MC-S-1 has the highest thermal conductivity value. The thermal conductivity of the 28 day cure MC-S-1 is 4% higher than the MC-S-0. As the PC content increase, the thermal conductivity decreases. As the thermal conductivity decreases, the insulative properties of the mortar increase. Therefore, the PCMs have increased thermal insulation properties over the conventional mortar.

[0072] Figure 14A is a graph of the thermogravimetric-differential thermal (TG- DT) analysis of the MC-S mortar specimens at 1 day of curing. Figure 14B is a graph of the TG-DT analysis of the MC-S mortar specimens at 28 days of curing. A first peak is exhibited at about 60°C to about 350°C may indicate the dehydration of cement hydration products (e.g., ettringite, CSH, etc.). A second peak is exhibited at about 400°C to about 500°C may indicate the dehydroxylation of portlandite. A third peak is exhibited at about 400°C to about 500°C may indicate the decarbonation of calcite. The third peak for decarbonation is the highest peak.

[0073] Table 2 is a summary of the composition of the MC-S mortar specimens for the TG analysis. The mortar specimens cured for 28 days exhibited a higher peak for all major temperature ranges than the mortar specimens cured for 1 day. This may be due to the increased hydration as the curing increases. The percentage of bound water, portlandite, and calcite increases as the curing increases from 1 day to 28 days. For MC-S-5, the bound water content increases from 4.89% for 1 day cured mortar specimen to 7.87% for 28 days cured mortar specimen, which was an increase of 60.9%. Due to the addition of PC in MC-S-5, compared to MC-S-0, the calcite content increases from 25.6% to 26.75% for mortar specimen cured at 28 days, which was an increase of 4.5%.Table 2. Summary of Composition of MC-S Mortar Specimens for TG Analysis

[0074] Figure 15A is an SEM micrograph of the MC-S-0 mortar specimens cured for 1 day. Figure 15B is an SEM micrograph of the MC-S-5 mortar specimens cured for 1 day. Figure 16A is an SEM micrograph of the MC-S-0 mortar specimens cured for 28 day. Figure 16B is an SEM micrograph of the MC-S-5 mortar specimens cured for 28 day. Hydration products like ettringite, CSH, and PC are visible in the micrograph. At 1 day of curing, the MC-S-0 and MC-S-5 mortar specimens do not exhibit a significant number of hydration products. As curing time increases, there is an increase in the amount of hydration products. The amount of ettringite is lower in the MC-S-5 mortar specimens. Few hydration products are formed in the pores of the PC.

[0075] In summation, pyrolysis char mortars (PCMs), in particular masonry cement type S PCMs (MC-S PCMs), exhibited material properties favorable to use as mortar. The water retention percentage and air content percentage decrease as the PC content increased. MC-S-5 mortar specimens had the highest compressive and flexural strength of the mortar specimens. The rate of water absorption increases with an increase in the PC content, the drying shrinkage increases at higher PC, the porosity increases with an increase in the PC content, and the thermal conductivity decreases with an increase in PC content. TG-DT analysis exhibited significant peaks for decarbonation temperatures of 600-800°C in all MC-S PCMs. The estimated calcite content is increased by 4.5% in mortar with 5% sand replacement by PC compared to MC-S-0 mortar specimens. SEM images exhibit an increase in hydration products with increased curing times for all MC-S PCM specimen. Formation of hydration product in the pores of PC was also observed.EMBODIMENTS LISTING

[0076] Clause 1. A composition including: about 10% to about 30% of a cementitious material; about 0.05% to about 20% of a pyrolysis char (PC); water; andabout 50% to about 80% of sand.

[0077] Clause 2. The composition of clause 1, wherein the composition has a compressive strength of about 5 MPa to about 50 MPa.

[0078] Clause 3. The composition of clause 1, wherein the composition has a flexural strength of about 1 MPa to about 5 MPa

[0079] Clause 4. The composition of clause 1, wherein the composition has a density of about 1.5 g / cm3 to about 2.5 g / cm3.

[0080] Clause 5. The composition of clause 1, wherein the composition has a thermal conductivity of about 1.5 W / mK to about 2.5 W / mK.

[0081] Clause 6. The composition of clause 1, wherein the composition has an air content percentage of about 5% and about 20%.

[0082] Clause 7. The composition of clause 1, wherein the composition has a water absorption of about 40 g / 100cm2to about 140 g / 100cm2.

[0083] Clause 8. The composition of clause 1, wherein the composition has a shrinkage of about 0.04 to about 0.12.

[0084] Clause 9. The composition of clause 1, wherein the composition has a porosity of about 8% to about 16 %.

[0085] Clause 10. The composition of clause 1, further including an additive.

[0086] Clause 11. The composition of claims 10, wherein the additive including gravel, stone, pozzolans such as volcanic glass, zeolitic trass or tuffs, rice husk ash, diatomaceous earth, and other natural pozzolans, plasticizers, superplasticizers, pigments, accelerators such as calcium chloride, solid particles or powders, such as those comprising an electrically conductive material such as manganese oxide, tin oxide, titanium oxide, nickel oxide, or resistive material, carbon nanotubes, nanowires or other fine threads or fibers, ceramics, glass beads or fibers, composite materials, pH buffers, and salts, dispersants, surfactants, stabilizers, or combinations thereof.

[0087] Clause 12. A pyrolysis char mortar (PCM) including: about 10% to about 30% of a cementitious material; about 0.05% to about 20% of a pyrolysis char (PC); water; about 50% to about 80% sand; and an additive.

[0088] Clause 13. The PCM of clause 12, wherein the additives including gravel, stone, pozzolans such as volcanic glass, zeolitic trass or tuffs, rice husk ash, diatomaceous earth, and other natural pozzolans, plasticizers, superplasticizers, pigments, accelerators such as calcium chloride, solid particles or powders, such as those comprising an electrically conductive material such as manganese oxide, tin oxide, titanium oxide, nickel oxide, or resistive material, carbon nanotubes, nanowires or other fine threads or fibers, ceramics, glass beads or fibers, composite materials, pH buffers, and salts, dispersants, surfactants, stabilizers, or combinations thereof.

[0089] Clause 14. The PCM of clause 12, wherein the composition has a compressive strength of about 5 MPa to about 50 MPa.

[0090] Clause 15. The PCM of clause 12, wherein the composition has a flexural strength of about 1 MPa to about 5 MPa

[0091] Clause 16. The PCM of clause 12, wherein the composition has a density of about 1.5 g / cm3 to about 2.5 g / cm3.

[0092] Clause 17. The composition of clause 12, wherein the composition has a thermal conductivity of about 1.5 W / mK to about 2.5 W / mK.

[0093] Clause 18. The composition of clause 12, wherein the composition has an air content percentage of about 5% and about 20%.

[0094] Clause 19. The composition of clause 12, wherein the composition has a water absorption of about 40 g / 100cm2to about 140 g / 100cm2.

[0095] Clause 20. The composition of clause 12, wherein the composition has a shrinkage of about 0.04 to about 0.12.

[0096] Clause 21. The composition of clause 12, wherein the composition has a porosity of about 8% to about 16 %.

[0097] Clause 22. A method of forming a composition, including: mixing a PC, sand, and cementitious materials to form a dry mixture; mixing the dry mixture with water to form a wet mixture; curing the wet mixture to form a pyrolysis char mixture (PCM).

[0098] Clause 23. The method of clause 22, wherein curing the mixture is performed at about 20°C to about 30°C and relative humidity of -40%.

[0099] Clause 24. The method of clause 22, further comprising mixing an additive with the PC, sand, and cementitious material to form the dry mixture.

[0100] Clause 25. The method of clause 22, further comprising mixing an additive with the dry mixture and water to form the wet mixture.

[0101] Clause 26. The method of clause 24 or clause 25, wherein the additive includes gravel, stone, pozzolans such as volcanic glass, zeolitic trass or tuffs, rice husk ash, diatomaceous earth, and other natural pozzolans, plasticizers, superplasticizers, pigments, accelerators such as calcium chloride, solid particles or powders, such as those comprising an electrically conductive material such as manganese oxide, tin oxide, titanium oxide, nickel oxide, or resistive material, carbon nanotubes, nanowires or other fine threads or fibers, ceramics, glass beads or fibers, composite materials, pH buffers, and salts, dispersants, surfactants, stabilizers, or combinations thereof.

[0102] Clause 27. The method of claim 11, wherein the dry mixture is about 3.75% to about 15% PC, about 50% to about 80% sand, and about 10% to about 30% cementitious material.

[0103] Clause 28. The method of clause 22, wherein the cementitious material includes Portland cement, masonry cement, and cement lime.

[0104] Clause 27. The method of clause 22, wherein mixing the PC, sand, and cementitious material is performed for about 1 minute to about 5 minutes.

[0105] Clause 28. The method of clause 22, wherein mixing the dry mixture and water is performed for about 1 minute to about 5 minutes.

[0106] Clause 29. The method of clause 22, further comprising pouring the wet mixture into a mold prior to curing the wet mixture.

[0107] Clause 30. The method of clause 22, wherein curing the wet mixture is performed for about 1 day to about 60 days.

[0108] As is apparent from the foregoing general description and the specific aspects, while forms of the aspects have been illustrated and described, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it is not intended that the present disclosure be limited thereby. Likewise, the term “comprising” is considered synonymous with the term “including.” Likewise whenever a composition, process operation, process operations, an element or a group of elements is preceded with the transitional phrase “comprising,” it is understood that we also contemplate the same composition or group of elements with transitional phrases “consisting essentially of,” “consisting of,” “selected from the group of consisting of,” or “Is” preceding the recitation of the composition, process operation, process operations, element, or elements and vice versa, such as the terms “comprising,” “consisting essentially of,” “consisting of’ also include the product of the combinations of elements listed after the term.

[0109] For purposes of this present disclosure, and unless otherwise specified, all numerical values within the detailed description and the claims herein are modified by “about” or “approximately” the indicated value, and consider experimental error and variations that would be expected by a person having ordinary skill in the art. For the sake of brevity, only certain ranges are explicitly disclosed herein. However, ranges from any lower limit may be combined with any upper limit to recite a range not explicitly recited, as well as, ranges from any lower limit may be combined with any other lower limit to recite a range not explicitly recited, in the same way, ranges from any upper limit may be combined with any other upper limit to recite a range not explicitly recited. For example, the recitation of the numerical range 1 to 5 includes the subranges 1 to 4, 1.5 to 4.5, 1 to 2, among other subranges. As another example, the recitation of the numerical ranges 1 to 5, such as 2 to 4, includes the subranges 1 to 4 and 2 to 5, among other subranges. Additionally, within a range includes every point or individual value between its end points even though not explicitly recited. For example, the recitation of the numerical range 1 to 5 includes the numbers 1, 1.5, 2, 2.75, 3, 3.80, 4, 5, among other numbers. Thus, every point or individual value may serve as its own lower or upper limit combined with any other point or individual value or any other lower or upper limit, to recite a range not explicitly recited.

[0110] While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present disclosure, other and further embodiments of the disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof.

Claims

What is Claimed Is:

1. A composition comprising: about 10% to about 30% of a cementitious material; about 0.05% to about 20% of a pyrolysis char (PC); water; and about 50% to about 80% of sand.

2. The composition of claim 1, wherein the composition has a compressive strength of about 5 MPa to about 50 MPa.

3. The composition of claim 1, wherein the composition has a flexural strength of about 1 MPa to about 5 MPa.

4. The composition of claim 1, wherein the composition has a density of about 1.5 g / cm3to about 2.5 g / cm3.

5. The composition of claim 1, wherein the composition has a thermal conductivity of about 1.5 W / mK to about 2.5 W / mK.

6. A pyrolysis char mortar (PCM) comprising: about 10% to about 30% of a cementitious material; about 0.05% to about 20% of a pyrolysis char (PC); water; about 50% to about 80% sand; and an additive.

7. The PCM of claim 6, wherein the additive comprises gravel, stone, pozzolans such as volcanic glass, zeolitic trass or tuffs, rice husk ash, diatomaceous earth, and other natural pozzolans, plasticizers, superplasticizers, pigments, accelerators such as calcium chloride, solid particles or powders, manganese oxide, tin oxide, titanium oxide, nickel oxide, or resistive material, carbon nanotubes, nanowires or other finethreads or fibers, ceramics, glass beads or fibers, composite materials, pH buffers, and salts, dispersants, surfactants, stabilizers, or combinations thereof.

8. The PCM of claim 6, wherein the PCM has a compressive strength of about 5 MPa to about 50 MPa.

9. The PCM of claim 6, wherein the PCM has a flexural strength of about 1 MPa to about 5 MPa.

10. The PCM of claim 6, wherein the PCM has a density of about 1.5 g / cm3to about 2.5 g / cm3.

11. A method of forming a composition, comprising: mixing a PC, sand, and cementitious materials to form a dry mixture; mixing the dry mixture with water to form a wet mixture; and curing the wet mixture to form a pyrolysis char mixture (PCM).

12. The method of claim 11, wherein curing the mixture is performed at about 20°C to about 30°C and relative humidity of -40%.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising mixing an additive with the PC, sand, and cementitious material to form the dry mixture.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising mixing an additive with the dry mixture and water to form the wet mixture.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the dry mixture is about 3.75% to about 15% PC, about 50% to about 80% sand, and about 10% to about 30% cementitious material.

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