Fabrication and Characterization of Geopolymers from Japanese Volcanic Ashes
Geopolymers were fabricated from some Japanese volcanic ashes. 30 g of volcanic ash with 200μm in diameter was mixed with 10 ml of sodium hydroxide solution with various concentrations to form slurry which became geopolymer after curing. When 8.5~11.5 mol/L of sodium hydroxide solution was used, the compressive strength of the resultant geopolymers reached to 25-35MPa. However, when the volcanic ash with high silica content was used, the compressive strength of the geopolymer was under 20 MPa. Furthermore, the addition of sodium silicate hydrate into starting slurry which was consisted of volcanic ash and sodium silicate solution had not effected on the compressive strength of geopolymer. In contrast, the compressive strength of the geopolymer decreased to 30 % of compressive strength compared to that of original geopolymer after water immersion for 3 days. However, crushing treatment of the volcanic ash contributed to retain the compressive strength. Actually, when 10μm of volcanic ash was used to fabricate geopolymer, the compressive strength improved to 70% compared to that of original geopolymer.