PERLITE
Perlite
What is Perlite?
The extraction of perlite is carried out in open pit mines located in volcanic areas spread across different regions of the world. The mineral is ground and sieved into different sizes that will later allow it to be transformed and expanded.
The mineral, once processed, is calcined at 1,000 ºC and causes the water molecules inside to evaporate, exploding and expanding. strong> until it reaches 20 times its initial volume. With this process, expanded perlite is obtained.
A white granular material and extremely light, whose new structure gives it notable thermo-acoustic qualities. The countless micro-pores of dry air contained in the new structure make the material behave as a very efficient natural insulator .
Thanks to being a very versatile mineral, it is processed with minimal environmental impact and has great thermal and acoustic insulation power.
Expanded perlite preserves the original qualities of the natural mineral, it is chemically neutral, inert to atmospheric agents and passage. time, non-combustible, non-toxic, insoluble and non-hygroscopic.
Perlite is a mineral of volcanic origin with a high content of water molecules inside its structure.
We have several typologies that respond to different grain sizes of the mineral and different applications that we want to give it.
Agriculture:
- Peat-substrates. It can be mixed with all kinds of organic substrates, providing a differentiated aeration capacity to the whole. Perlite maintains its structure unchanged over time and helps regulate water consumption by acting as a reservoir.
- Hydroponics. Of all the materials used for soilless cultivation, expanded perlite is the most important of all; various studies have shown that outstanding crops are achieved with perlite hydroponic systems.
- Animal nutrition. Perlite acts as a binding agent, anti-caking agent and coagulant. Due to its high adsorption capacity, it is used to support and load a wide variety of nutrients, fatty acids, vitamins and antibiotics used in the preparation of animal feed additives.
Construction:
- Plaster. Perlite is a basic ingredient in the production of new lightened projection plaster mortars.
- Single-layer mortars. This mineral is a basic ingredient in the production of sprayable single-layer finishing mortars.
Industry:
- Cryogenics. It is an excellent insulator for low or very low temperature cryogenic systems. Its use is widespread for insulation of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) tanks, Noble Gases, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Argon tanks, etc. in cryogenic state.
- Mortars and refractory elements. This mineral is used as an ingredient in refractory elements with low-medium working temperatures, up to 850 ºC. and are used to build and/or line ovens, fireplaces, etc., also as gripping material for joining refractory pieces.
- Isolations. Passive fire protection. Manufacture of mortars, plates and various accessories. Ceramic ovens.
- Filtration. One of the most widespread uses is use as a filter agent. The expanded and processed mineral is chemically inert, it does not transmit flavor, color or odor to the filtered liquids. There is a wide catalog of filter beads for different products such as: beer, wine, water, oils, chemicals, etc.
- For textile washing. Perlite replaces pumice stone, preventing premature wear on certain fabrics.
- Fire protection systems in the petrochemical industry with industrial perlite application equipment.
