Fast-setting, fibrous, portland cement-based building material

Abstract

A fast-setting, fibrous, Portland Cement-based building material is made by soaking wood chips in water to provide substantially saturated wood chips, combining the saturated wood chips with a slurry of Portland cement to provide a wood chip/cement slurry, mixing a slurry of monomagnesium phosphate (“MOP”) with the wood chip/cement slurry to provide a quick-setting MOP/wood chip/cement composition, and compressing the quick-setting MOP/wood chip/cement composition to make the fast-setting, fibrous, Portland Cement-based building material. The inventive composition combines the best properties of cement and wood, yet uses recycled materials to make an environmentally-friendly building material.

1 . A method for making a cementitious material, said method comprising:
 (a) combining absorbent fibers with water to provide substantially saturated fibers;   (b) combining said substantially saturated fibers with an aqueous slurry of Portland cement to provide a fiber/cement slurry;   (c) providing an aqueous mixture of monomagnesium phosphate (MOP) and water, wherein the ratio of MOP to water is about 2:1   (d) combining the fiber/Portland cement slurry with said aqueous mixture of monomagnesium phosphate and water and allowing the fiber/cement/MOP mixture to begin reacting; and   (e) compressing the fiber/cement/MOP mixture before it finishes “setting” to provide a fibrous, Portland cement-based building material.   
   
   
       2 . A fast-setting, fibrous, Portland cement-based building material comprising substantially saturated absorbent fibers dispersed throughout a mixture comprising an aqueous slurry of Portland cement and an aqueous solution of monomagnesium phosphate. 
   
   
       3 . A fibrous, Portland cement-based building material comprising absorbent fibers fixed in a set matrix of Portland cement and monomagnesium phosphate.