Vaults, lids and trenches using recycled polystyrene
AssigneeOldcastle Infrastructure, Inc.
InventorCharles Leblanc
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods, compositions, and apparatuses are provided herein that utilize polystyrene from recycled products to make a high strength composite concrete that can be used for subgrade utility vaults, utility trenches, etc. Polystyrene is a widely-used plastic that can be collected and then densified at particular parameters including temperature to transform the polystyrene to a usable form. Then, the densified polystyrene is combined with other resin materials and dry materials to form a high-strength concrete material. The amount of densified polystyrene that is combined with the other materials is critical to control shrinkage and expansion of the concrete material during manufacturing.
Claims20
A method of manufacturing high-strength concrete with recycled polystyrene, comprising:
- collecting polystyrene from recycled products;
- densifying said polystyrene at an elevated temperature between 140° C. to 160° C. to melt said polystyrene and to increase a density of said polystyrene;
- mixing said densified polystyrene with a monomer material and at least one other resin material to form a resin component, wherein said densified polystyrene is present in said resin component in an amount of between 3% to 7% by weight, wherein said monomer material is present in said resin component in an amount of between 40% to 50% by weight, and wherein said at least one other resin material is a silane material that is present in said resin component in an amount of between 40% to 55% by weight;
- and
- mixing said resin component with a dry component to form a high-strength concrete, wherein said dry component comprises an aggregate material and a sand material, and said aggregate material is between 60% to 80% of a weight of said dry component.
A method of manufacturing a high-strength concrete product with recycled polystyrene, comprising:
- densifying recycled polystyrene at an elevated temperature between 140° C. and 160° C. to melt said polystyrene and to increase a density of said polystyrene;
- mixing said densified polystyrene, a monomer material, and at least one other resin material in a hopper to form a resin component, wherein said densified polystyrene is present in said resin component in an amount of between 3% to 7% by weight, wherein said monomer material is present in said resin component in an amount of between 40% to 50% by weight, and wherein said at least one other resin material is a silane material that is present in said resin component in an amount of between 40% to 55% by weight;
- mixing an aggregate material and a sand material to form a dry component, wherein a weight of said aggregate material is between 60% to 80% of a weight of said dry component;
- mixing said resin component and said dry component in a turbine mixer to form a concrete material;
- and
- pressing said concrete material in a mold to produce said high-strength concrete product.
A high-strength concrete structure made in part from recycled products, comprising:
- a resin component having a densified polystyrene, a monomer material, and at least one other resin material, wherein said densified polystyrene is present in said resin component in an amount of between 3% to 7% by weight, wherein said monomer material is present in said resin component in an amount of between 40% to 50% by weight, and wherein said at least one other resin material is a silane material that is present in said resin component in an amount of between 40% to 55% by weight;
- and
- a dry component having an aggregate material and a sand material, wherein a weight of said aggregate material is between 60% to 80% of a weight of said dry component, and wherein said resin component and said dry component are combined to form a concrete material used to produce said high-strength concrete structure.
A high-strength concrete structure made in part from recycled products, comprising:
- a resin component having a densified polystyrene, a monomer material, a catalyst material, and at least one other resin material, wherein said densified polystyrene is present in said resin component in an amount of between 3% to 7% by weight, wherein said monomer material is present in said resin component in an amount of between 40% to 50% by weight, and wherein said at least one other resin material is present in said resin component in an amount of between 40% to 55% by weight;
- and
- a dry component having an aggregate material and a sand material, wherein said resin component and said dry component are combined to form a concrete material used to produce said high-strength concrete structure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.