A synopsis about perlite as building material - A best practice guide for Civil Engineer

Perlite is a common name for amorphous volcanic silicate/alumina rock which can be expanded when rapidly heated at 900-1200 °C. Utilization occasions of perlite have made the product adjustable to abundant applications in construction, petrochemical industries, industrial, chemical and horticultural. In construction, expanded perlite (EP) can be used as a part of cement or aggregate in traditional cementitious materials or as a source material for geopolymers. EP in construction deals good thermal and sound insulation, good fire resistance and low density. Subsequently perlite seems to be a very important material. In this paper, the author reviews the effect of EP which used as a part of building material on fresh properties and hardened properties of traditional cementitious materials, geopolymers as well as other binders. Furthermore, different additives which used to improve some properties of EP matrices have been reviewed.