Light weight water resistant aggregate and method of making the same

Claim 1

A METHOD FOR PRODUCING A LIGHT WEIGHT WATER-RESISTANT AGGREGATE, WHICH COMPRISES PROVIDING A BED OF HEAT EXPANDED LIGHT WEIGHT AGGREGATE PARTICLES HAVING A TEMPERATURE OF FROM ABOUT 300* TO ABOUT 2100*F., AND APPLYING TO SAID BED WHILE THE PARTICLES THEREIN ARE WITHIN SAID TEMPERATURE RANGE AN AQUEOUS DISPERSION OF A NORMALLY SOLID WATER-RESISTANT MATERIAL THAT IS THERMOPLASTIC AND FLOWABLE AT TEMPERATURES WITHIN SAID TEMPERATURE RANGE, SAID DISPERSION BEING APPLIED IN A LIQUID STATE SUFFICIENTLY DILUTE AND IN SUFFICIENT PROPORTIONS THAT THE WATER CONTAINED THEREIN IS VOLATILIZED BY THE SENSIBLE HEAT OF SAID PARTICLES TO EFFECT A STREAM DISPERSION OF SAID WATER-RESISTANT MATERIAL THROUGHOUT SAID BED AND EACH PARTICLE THEREIN IS COATED WITH A CONTINUOUS UNIFORMLY THIN FILM OF SAID WATER-RESISTANT MATERIAL OF A THICKNESS LESS THAN ABOUT 10 MICRONS TO PRODUCE NON-COALESCING PARTICLES HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCED CAPILLARY WATER UPTAKE CAPACITY.

Claim 2

A METHOD FOR PRODUCING A LIGHT WEIGHT WATER-RESISTANT AGGREGATE, WHICH COMPRISES PROVIDING A BED OF HEAT EXPANDED LIGHT WEIGHT AGGREGATE PARTICLES HAVING A TEMPERATURE OF FROM ABOUT 300* TO ABOUT 2100*F., AND APPLYING TO SAID BED WHILE THE PARTICLES THEREIN ARE WITHIN SAID TEMPERATURE RANGE AN AQUEOUS DISPERSION OF A NORMALLY SOLID WATER-RESISTANT MATERIAL THAT IS THERMOPLASTIC AND FLOWABLE AT TEMPERATURES WITHIN SAID TEMPERATURE RANGE, SAID DISPERSION BEING APPLIED IN A LIQUID STATE SUFFICIENTLY DILUTE AND IN SUFFICIENT PROPORTIONS THAT THE WATER CONTAINED THEREIN IS VOLATILIZED BY THE SENSIBLE HEAT OF SAID PARTICLES TO EFFECT A STREAM DISPERSION OF SAID WATER-RESISTANT MATERIAL THROUGHOUT SAID BED AND EACH PARTICLE THEREIN IS COATED WITH A CONTINUOUS UNIFORMLY THIN FILM OF SAID WATER-RESISTANT MATERIAL OF A THICKNESS LESS THAN ABOUT 10 MICRONS TO PRODUCE NON-COALESCING PARTICLES HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCED CAPILLARY WATER UPTAKE CAPACITY.