Polymer-fiber composite building material with bulk and aesthetically functional fillers

A polymer composite building material comprising:

• (a) a resinous matrix;
• (b) about 20-75 wt. % fillers and additives, said fillers including:
• (i) a bulk filler for reducing the amount of a resin needed and for optimizing at least one mechanical property of said building material;
• (ii) a color filler which is not visible to the naked eye as individual particles;
• and
• (iii) a texture filler which is visible to the naked eye as an individual particles;
• said bulk, color and texture fillers being non-toxic, resistant to microbial attack and having a Mohs hardness of less than 5;
• said polymer composite comprising an outer skin portion and an inner core portion, said outer skin portion and said inner core portion containing different filler compositions.

The method of making a polymer composite building material comprising:

• (a) providing a resin and a plurality of fillers and additives;
• said fillers comprising at least one aesthetically functional filler selected from the group consisting of:
• bauxitic clay, muscovite, chlorite, phlogopite-mica, biotite, vermiculite, pyrophyllite, slate dust, Class F or C fly ash, limonite, goethite, cuprite, iron ore, copper ore, aluminum ore, and a combination thereof for providing said building material with a desired aesthetic effect, and at least one bulk filler selected from the group consisting of:
• cenospheres, clay, talc. nano-fillers, or a combination thereof, for reducing the amount of resin needed to make said building material;
• (b) mixing said resin, fillers and additives;
• and
• (c) melt processing said resin, fillers and additives into a shaped article useful in making said building material, said melt processing step (c) comprising co-extrusion, co-injection molding, or a combination thereof.

A method of making a polymer composite building material comprising:

• (a) preparing a first batch of pellets containing a first resin portion and at least one aesthetically functional filler;
• (b) preparing a second batch of pellets comprising a second resin portion, optional additives and at least one bulk filler;
• (c) blending said first and second batch of pellets together;
• and
• (d) melt processing said blended first and second batch of pellets to produce a polymer composite building material.