scholarly journals Formulation of Alkali-Activated Slag Binder Destined for Use in Developing Countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (24) ◽  
pp. 9088
Author(s):  
Nabil Bella ◽  
Edwin Gudiel ◽  
Lourdes Soriano ◽  
Alba Font ◽  
María Victoria Borrachero ◽  
...  

Worldwide cement production is around 4.2 billion tons, and the fabrication of one ton of ordinary Portland cement emits around 900 kg of CO2. Blast furnace slag (BFS) is a byproduct used to produce alkali-activated materials (AAM). BFS production was estimated at about 350 million tons in 2018, and the BFS reuse rate in construction materials of developing countries is low. AAM can reduce CO2 emissions in relation to Portland cement materials: Its use in construction would be a golden opportunity for developing countries in forthcoming decades. The present research aims to formulate AAM destined for future applications in developing countries. Two activators were used: NaOH, Na2CO3, and a mixture of both. The results showed that compressive strengths within the 42–56 MPa range after 28 curing days were obtained for the Na2CO3-activated mortars. The characterization analysis confirmed the presence of hydrotalcite, carbonated phases, CSH and CASH. The economic study showed that Na2CO3 was the cheapest activator in terms of the relative cost per ton and MPa of manufactured mortars. Finally, the environmental benefits of mortars based on this reagent were evidenced, and, in terms of kgCO2 emissions per ton and MPa, the mortars with Na2CO3 yielded 50% lower values than with NaOH.

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 2911
Author(s):  
Margarida Gonçalves ◽  
Inês Silveirinha Vilarinho ◽  
Marinélia Capela ◽  
Ana Caetano ◽  
Rui Miguel Novais ◽  
...  

Ordinary Portland Cement is the most widely used binder in the construction sector; however, a very high carbon footprint is associated with its production process. Consequently, more sustainable alternative construction materials are being investigated, namely, one-part alkali activated materials (AAMs). In this work, waste-based one-part AAMs binders were developed using only a blast furnace slag, as the solid precursor, and sodium metasilicate, as the solid activator. For the first time, mortars in which the commercial sand was replaced by two exhausted sands from biomass boilers (CA and CT) were developed. Firstly, the characterization of the slag and sands (aggregates) was performed. After, the AAMs fresh and hardened state properties were evaluated, being the characterization complemented by FTIR and microstructural analysis. The binder and the mortars prepared with commercial sand presented high compressive strength values after 28 days of curing-56 MPa and 79 MPa, respectively. The mortars developed with exhausted sands exhibit outstanding compressive strength values, 86 and 70 MPa for CT and CA, respectively, and the other material’s properties were not affected. Consequently, this work proved that high compressive strength waste-based one-part AAMs mortars can be produced and that it is feasible to use another waste as aggregate in the mortar’s formulations: the exhausted sands from biomass boilers.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1302
Author(s):  
Andrés Játiva ◽  
Evelyn Ruales ◽  
Miren Etxeberria

The construction industry is affected by the constant growth in the populations of urban areas. The demand for cement production has an increasing environmental impact, and there are urgent demands for alternative sustainable solutions. Volcanic ash (VA) is an abundant low-cost material that, because of its chemical composition and amorphous atomic structure, has been considered as a suitable material to replace Portland cement clinker for use as a binder in cement production. In the last decade, there has been interest in using alkali-activated VA material as an alternative material to replace ordinary Portland cement. In this way, a valuable product may be derived from a currently under-utilized material. Additionally, alkali-activated VA-based materials may be suitable for building applications because of their good densification behaviour, mechanical properties and low porosity. This article describes the most relevant findings from researchers around the world on the role of the chemical composition and mineral contents of VA on reactivity during the alkali-activation reaction; the effect of synthesis factors, which include the concentration of the alkaline activator, the solution-to-binder ratio and the curing conditions, on the properties of alkali-activated VA-based materials; and the mechanical performance and durability properties of these materials.


2013 ◽  
Vol 723 ◽  
pp. 580-587
Author(s):  
Wen Huan Zhong ◽  
Tung Hsuan Lu ◽  
Wei Hsing Huang

Electric arc furnace (EAF) reducing slag is the by-product of EAF steel-making. Currently, reducing slag is considered a waste material by the industry in Taiwan. Since the chemical content of reducing slag is similar to blast furnace slag (BFS), it is expected that reducing slag exhibits a similar pozzolanic effect as the BFS. This study used alkaline activator consisting of sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide to improve the activity of reductive slag so as to replace Portland cement as binder in concrete. Some BFS was used to blend with the reducing slag to enhance the binding quality of alkali-activated mixes. The results show that a blend of 50% BFS and 50% reducing slag can be activated successively with alkali. Also, the sulfate resistance of concrete made with alkali-activated EAF reducing slag is found to be better than that of concrete made with portland cement, while the drying shrinkage of alkali-activated EAF reducing slag concrete is greater than that of portland cement concrete.


2016 ◽  
Vol 851 ◽  
pp. 63-68
Author(s):  
Lukáš Kalina ◽  
Vlastimil Bílek Jr. ◽  
Kateřina Komosná ◽  
Radoslav Novotný ◽  
Jakub Tkacz

The study deals with the one of the important feature of alkali activated blast furnace slag which is very rapid initial setting. Therefore, the influence of the retarding agents such as phosphates was tested. It is shown that phosphates decreases the hydration heat evolution and retards the hydration reaction of alkali activated slag effectively. The mechanism of retardation is studied through the microcalorimeter and electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive analyzer (SEM-EDS). The optimal dosage of suitable retarding admixture in the means of mechanical properties has been determined.


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilda Tole ◽  
Magdalena Rajczakowska ◽  
Abeer Humad ◽  
Ankit Kothari ◽  
Andrzej Cwirzen

An efficient solution to increase the sustainability of building materials is to replace Portland cement with alkali-activated materials (AAM). Precursors for those systems are often based on water-cooled ground granulated blast furnace slags (GGBFS). Quenching of blast furnace slag can be done also by air but in that case, the final product is crystalline and with a very low reactivity. The present study aimed to evaluate the cementitious properties of a mechanically activated (MCA) air-cooled blast furnace slag (ACBFS) used as a precursor in sodium silicate alkali-activated systems. The unreactive ACBFS was processed in a planetary ball mill and its cementing performances were compared with an alkali-activated water-cooled GGBFS. Mixes based on mechanically activated ACBFS reached the 7-days compressive strength of 35 MPa and the 28-days compressive strength 45 MPa. The GGBFS-based samples showed generally higher compressive strength values.


2019 ◽  
Vol 803 ◽  
pp. 262-266
Author(s):  
Osama Ahmed Mohamed ◽  
Maadoum M. Mustafa

Alkali activated slag (AAS) offers opportunities to the construction industry as an alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The production of OPC and its use contributes significantly to release of CO2 into the atmosphere while AAS is an industrial by-product that contributes much less to the environmental footprint that needs to be recycled if not landfilled. This paper outlines some of the key properties, merits and demerits of AAS when used as alternative to OPC. Competitive compressive strength of AAS concrete is amongst of the advantages of replacing cement with AAS while high shrinkage and carbonation levels are potential disadvantages.


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