Optimal utilisation of granite residue with HYPERCON

Properties and appearance

Most granite is medium to coarse grained and has a homogeneous mineral distribution that makes it relatively uniform in appearance. The crystals in granite are usually between 1 millimetre and several centimetres in size. Granite is also widely used in architecture due to its high durability and resistance to weathering. Its hardness and resistance to pressure, as well as its good workability thanks to its excellent crushing, grinding and polishing properties, contribute to its huge economic significance in the building industry. Granite is commonly used in the road building industry as paving stones, kerbstones, paving slabs and ballast, with ballast also being one of the most important building materials in the rail sector.

In structural engineering and interior design, granite is used as exterior and interior wall cladding, flooring for stairs and general flooring as well as for tabletops and kitchen worktops. In the garden and landscaping sector, it is used as paving stones, patio slabs and for fountains.

Granites range in colour from light to dark grey, with gradations to bluish, red, yellowish and variegated, with the quartz crystals mostly being colourless, whitish or grey, and yellowish or bluish shimmering quartz being found less frequently. Feldspar occurs as an opaque reddish, yellowish, white or very rarely blue mineral. The small, black-shining biotite mica and the bright silver-shining muscovite mica are flexible flakes that make granites sparkle in the light.

What is granite made of?

The chemical and mineralogical composition of granite is the same as volcanic rhyolite. Granite varies greatly in structure depending on how it was formed. The solid and relatively coarsely crystalline rock usually has horizontal and vertical fissures, but there are also medium and fine-grained outcrops, although granite with medium-sized grains is most common.

These granular structures are formed by gradual cooling at a depth of over 2,000 metres below the earth’s surface. The formation of granite through the solidification of molten rock deep under the earth’s crust is a process that can take several million years. Granite consists primarily of quartz, feldspar and dark, mafic minerals, often with silicate minerals such as biotite (dark mica) and muscovite (light mica). The majority of the feldspar is potash feldspar and plagioclase. Minor constituents in granite may include zircon, apatite, titanite, magnetite, rutile, ilmenite and other ore minerals.

Why are granite processing residues of interest to HYPERCON?

HYPERCON has been testing the use of filter dust, crushed sand and sludge produced during the processing of primary raw materials for new applications for many years. HYPERCON technology makes it possible to use waste material that is unusable or difficult to use as the main component in high-strength and ultra-high-strength concrete. The material acts as an essential component of the formulation and is thus also decisive for the appearance and texture of the products. HYPERCON applications for waste material from granite processing currently include façades, patio slabs, wall tiles and interior design.

The processing of granite produces waste material that can be used in a number of HYPERCON formulations.

During the production of slabs, chippings and crushed stone, filter dust and grains of sizes that were not previously usable are produced, which can then be used almost entirely in high-quality and energy-efficient applications thanks to the proprietary production process, thus eliminating the need to dispose of the waste in landfill or downcycle usable materials.

Instead, this waste material is used by HYPERCON for upcycling. Granite-based raw materials and formulations can be used to produce thin and robust products with natural colouration. The granite-based raw materials known as HYPERCON ELEMENTS are thus also suitable for use in tile-like products. The HYPERCON COLD CERAMIX process is more efficient and environmentally friendly, as the need for energy-intensive firing is done away with. All of the waste materials produced while processing granite can be used as a base material for high-quality concrete products for indoor and outdoor floor coverings, tile-like wall and floor slabs, as well as for furniture, washbasins and worktops.