Perlite: The Most Sustainable Insulation Solution for Buildings

Perlite is one of the most overlooked insulating materials, especially as it offers numerous advantages over other organic and inorganic insulation materials. In an era of growing concern for the impact that building materials and products have on the environment, the choice of which materials to use is increasingly informed by relative performance and sustainability metrics. An extensive review of …

Perlite Filter Aids Explained

By definition, a filter aid is an agent consisting of solid particles that improves filtering efficiency by building up a porous, permeable and rigid lattice structure—the filter cake—that retains solid particles and also helps flow control. The septum, usually screen or cloth, serves principally as a support for the filter cake. The filter aid forms a porous layer on the …

Perlite Grow Bags

For commercial growers considering containerized growing methods, perlite grow bags are self contained, quickly installed, and ready for immediate use. Perlite grow bags are an easy-to-use, scalable, and cost effective solution for sustainable hydroponic crop production. They are very helpful for commercial farmers for scaling production, as perlite grow bags are easy to install and ready to use instantly. Additional …

Perlite Filter Aid: Beer Filtration

As filtration processes go, beer-making is demanding. Strict standards for clarity, flavor, purity, and bottle-to-bottle uniformity require a high-performance filter aid media. The filtration process is an important step to ensuring the quality of beer because it helps stabilize beer, and gives it a polished, clear appearance, while removing elements that might make it unpalatable. Depth filtration is widely applied …

Perlite Concrete Blocks for LNG, LPG and Cryogenic Tank Base Insulation

This guide illustrates the use of expanded perlite to produce Perlite Concrete Blocks (PCBs). The physical characteristics of expanded perlite are ideal for use as a constituent of lightweight insulating concrete for making Perlite Concrete Blocks (PCBs). Perlite Concrete Blocks Perlite Concrete Blocks (PCBs) are engineered, lightweight, thermal insulating, reinforced, and waterproofed concrete blocks useful for, among other things, forming …

Perlite Filter Aid (PFA) for Vacuum & Pressure Filtration

Usage and Operation Principles Explained Filtration is the process of separating a suspended solid such as a precipitate from the liquid in which it is already suspended by straining it through a porous medium that can be penetrated easily by liquid. Industrial filtration methods are classified according to the driving force that is applied. Pressure and vacuum filtration techniques are …

Perlite Filter Aid and the Circular Economy

Closing the loop through spent perlite filter cake reuse Executive Summary The circular economy targets the elimination of waste and the continual use of resources. This realizes mutual benefits to producers, consumers and the planet as a whole. The use of expanded perlite as filter aid is a well-established application that inevitably results in the production of a considerable amount …

Perlite Filter Aid for Recreational Water Filtration

Fully natural and chemically inert, perlite is affordable and highly effective for removing contaminates from pool water. Filtration is one of the most widely applied techniques for the removal of insoluble contaminates from recreational pool water. Fully natural, lightweight and chemically inert, perlite filter aid offers a high performance, yet cost effective, method for the removal of microbes, bacteria, and …

Perlite for Golf Course Greens

Perlite offers a unique combination of outstanding physical properties and low cost relative to other alternatives, due to its manufacturing method and worldwide availability. Golf greens rank among the world’s most highly engineered landscapes. According to the United States Golf Association (USGA), golf greens must provide performance and pristine playing conditions while under almost continual use and with minimal maintenance. …

Perlite, the Safe and Fully Natural Material

A global overview of scientific research on the potential health effect of perlite Executive Summary For more than forty years, the perlite industry has been at the forefront of testing for health effects that may be associated with the production, processing and use of raw and expanded perlite. Initially, much of the industry research effort was sponsored by the Perlite …

Perlite in Sound Insulation Applications

Discover the many sound-blocking and sound-absorbing uses for expanded perlite. When it comes to noise protection in buildings, both sound-absorbing and sound-blocking (or soundproofing) materials come to mind. Each offers unique properties that make them suitable for specific applications. Processes that Govern the Absorption of Sound by Acoustic Materials First, in porous materials, sound energy is transformed into heat by …

Perlite Insulating Concrete Pool Base for In-ground Vinyl Pools

A perlite insulating concrete pool base can substantially reduce heat loss to the ground Perlite ore, when expanded, takes on a low-density cellular structure that makes it an extremely efficient insulation material. For a detailed explanation of perlite expansion, see PDF info sheet: Why Perlite Works. Perlite insulating concrete pool base can substantially reduce heat loss to the ground thus …

Perlite for Lawns and Gardens

Discover the many practical uses of perlite for outdoor gardening While it is a well-known fact that perlite plays an essential role in commercial plant propagation, did you know perlite can also be used to improve the soil, and beautify the landscape around your home? Spending time outdoors with plants and in our gardens can relieve stress, improve physical health …

Perlite in Lightweight Manufactured Stone

Lightweight, incombustible, and compatible with many other materials, expanded perlite others significant advantages when used in the making of masonry veneer products. The physical characteristics of expanded perlite lend themselves to a variety of special purposes—including use as a component of lightweight manufactured stone. For a detailed explanation of perlite expansion, see info sheet: Why Perlite Works. Expanded perlite is …

The Role of Perlite in Hydroponic Culture

Perlite is uniquely suited to hydroponic crop production the world over. With the rapid development of hydroponic crop production, perlite is proving its superiority as a commercial growing medium in one of the world’s most advanced growing technologies. Better Yields & Higher Crop Values Extensive testing over a period of years has documented the value of perlite for high value …

Perlite Solutions for the Green Building Industry

Perlite is a natural fit for green building initiatives and certifications. Green building solutions are increasingly called for to balance the world’s need for more human habitation with limited resources. It is said that buildings in the United States use one-third of the total energy consumed, two-thirds of the electricity, one-eighth of the water, as well as impacting the land. …

Snapdragon Production in Perlite

Utilization of Sensors to Optimize Quality A major regional flower grower “Flowers by Bauers” with many years of experience in growing snapdragons in a hydroponic perlite process, has radically changed both their method of growing flowers and the perlite grade of choice. Their original technique was initially reported to the Perlite Institute in 2010, but increased demand for snapdragons required …

Growing Orchids in Perlite

by Dr. Wally Thomas and Barb Thomas, 1988 Narrative and Data Reprinted with Permission by the Perlite Institute, Inc. Outstanding success growing orchids using a hydroponic perlite reservoir technique. This article summarizes five years of outstanding success in growing orchids at Charles Island Gardens (West Vancouver, Canada) using the perlite reservoir technique with intermediate-size perlite. This method, by which all …

Perlite for Non-Evacuated Cryogenic and Low Temperature Service

The physical character of expanded perlite lends itself to a variety of special purposes –including use in insulating cryogenic and low temperature storage tanks, in shipping containers, cold boxes, test chambers, and in food processing. For a detailed explanation of perlite expansion, see info sheet: “Why Perlite Works” in the information library at www.perlite.org Storage temperatures of -150F (-l00C) and …

Perlite for Use in Well Cements

How perlite improves performance in well cementing applications. Well cementing is the process of introducing a cement mixture, consisting of Portland cement, additives, and water, to the annular space between the well bore and casing, or the space between two successive casing strings. This viscous slurry is forced out through the bottom of the drill casing and the space between …

The Water-Holding Capacity of Perlite

The natural size and unique structure of expanded perlite makes an ideal framework to hold water. Perlite holds water in one of three ways: in between individual grains, in channels leading to the cores of the grains and on the highly irregular surfaces of each particle (Fig. 1). The surface of perlite is made up of the outer convex shells …

Why Perlite Works

Genesis in Fire Rapidly heating perlite ore to temperatures of about 900°C (1,700°F) softens the volcanic glass causing entrapped water molecules in the rock to turn to steam and expand the particles like popcorn. The expanded particles that result are actually clusters of minute, lightweight, insulating, glass bubbles. Broken bubbles and surface openings on the particles provide for water and …

Perlite for Water Quality Management

The physical character of expanded perlite lends itself to a variety of special purposes—including various applications in the broad category of water quality management. For a detailed explanation of perlite expansion see information sheet: Why Perlite Works Storm Water Filtration Due to its high surface area, neutral pH and irregular, porous surface texture, expanded perlite is ideally suited for a variety …

Perlite Loose-Fill Masonry Insulation

Perlite, an inorganic material, is as permanent as the walls it insulates. The physical character of expanded perlite lends itself to a variety of special purposes – including use as loose-fill masonry insulation. For a detailed explanation of perlite expansion, see information sheet: “Why Perlite Works“ PROPERTIES & BENEFITS Insulation: Thermal performance tests have shown significant energy savings when perlite is …