Technical

In many cases the detergents are responsible for the loss of shine and some deterioration in the surface of the stones. This is the result of formation of salts inside the small pores which are in the stones.

The abundance of chemical compounds which permit that every detergent cleans more or cleans better, is responsible for dirtying from inside the pores of the stones with salts that when dissolved in water, enter easily but remain there when the water evaporates, because the salts do not evaporate.

Paul Daniel, paulantdaniel@arrakis.es

Dr Nicola Careddu, ncareddu@unica.it

Facades of natural stone show remarkable energetic advantages in comparison with glass facades. This is the result of an extensive study that compares facades of natural stone and glass.

Antonio Molina, Centro Tecnológico del Mármol, Murcia (Spain)

Since a long time we have been hearing about the marking EC, a measure that will now soon be obligatory for some products of stone from 1 October this year. Perhaps there are some professionals who do not know what exactly it consists of and in what way it will affect them. What is the marking EC? Why is it important? These are the questions addressed in the following article.

Asher Shadmon

The chances are that the request "tiles or slabs with stylolites" from your supplier, will draw a blank stare at best, even if he has supplied the slabs to you for who-knows-how-long. A benign nod to your request still does not mean that he is spending much thought on stylolites. Why should we?

Introduction

Floors and paving are presently the major application of stone materials being marketed constituting over 35%. In the last few decades igneous rocks, like the granite varieties and quartzitic stones have been considered, for quality and cost saving, maintenance and "durability", the most expedient materials for the purpose. The extensive colour ranges monopolized by the non-igneous rocks have now been supplemented by globalization of imports from new sources.

A. Ferrero (1,2), V. Monteserín (2), J.M. Baltuille (2), P. Gumiel (3) y F. Bellido (4)

1: Instituto Geológico y Minero de España 2.- Oficina de Proyectos de Santiago de Compostela, Área de Rocas y Minerales Industriales 3.- Área de Metalogenia y Geoquímica 4.- Área de Estudios Geológicos

Richard Watzler

Stone lives through its haptic. Customers not only want to see a stone, but also touch it – important to know when it comes to marketing finishes.

S. Siegesmund, D. Nikolayeb, S. Mosch, A. Hoffmann

Gesa Todt

For quite a long time fibre reinforced natural stone has been offered for kitchen tops, elevator covering or noble bathrooms. However, the latest developments of the Munich company TechnoCarbon expand these ranges of application and will grant natural stone new importance as an environmentally-friendly construction material.