Understanding the Role of Metakaolin towards Mitigating the Shrinkage Behavior of Alkali-Activated Slag

This research investigates the mechanism of metakaolin for mitigating the autogenous and drying shrinkages of alkali-activated slag with regard to the activator parameters, including concentration and modulus. The results indicate that the incorporation of metakaolin can decrease the initial viscosity and setting time. Increasing activator concentration can promote the reaction process and shorten the setting time. An increase in the metakaolin content induces a decrease in compressive strength due to reduced formation of reaction products. However, increasing activator dosage and modulus can improve the compressive strength of alkali-activated slag containing 30% metakaolin. The inclusion of metakaolin can mitigate the autogenous and drying shrinkage of alkali-activated slag by coarsening the pore structure. On the other hand, increases in activator concentration and modulus result in an increase in magnitude of the autogenous and drying shrinkage of alkali-activated slag containing metakaolin. The influence of the activator modulus on the shrinkage behavior of alkali-activated slag-metakaolin binary system should be further investigated.

Pumice as Precursor in Geopolymer Paste and Mortar

Natural rocks of magmatic origin are alternative precursors in alkali-activated materials and provide opportunities in the search for more environmentally friendly binders compared to portland cement. The pumice is one of these rocks and its amorphous structure and chemical composition make it one of the candidates as a precursor in producing geopolymer binder when finely ground. Since the majority of the pumice reserves are located in Turkey increases its potential utilization in this area, even more. This paper evaluates the physical, mechanical, and microstructural properties of geopolymer pastes and mortars manufactured with pumice powder (PP) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (BFS) with the activating agents sodium hydroxide (NaOH), potassium hydroxide (KOH), and sodium silicate (SS) solution. The experimental results showed that the compressive strength of the geopolymer pastes was mainly affected by the activator concentration and the PP ratio, rather than the activator type, for single activator mixes. However, the incorporation of SS changed this trend as the KOH and SS combination resulted in higher compressive strength compared to the NaOH and SS. The gradual increase of the PP ratio in the mix design decreased the density and thermal conductivity, on the other hand, increased the water absorption values of the geopolymer mortars. However, the physical properties were insignificantly changed in geopolymer mortars incorporating 60, 70, and 80% of PP in the binder.

Activated Carbon Producing from Young Coconut Coir and Shells to Meet Activated Carbon Needs in Water Purification Process

Young Coconut products have many benefits for society as for drinks and medicine, and it produces young Coconut shells and coir waste. The contents of cellulose and carbon elements are interesting to be utilized to be activated carbon. This research aimed to know the activator concentration of hydroxide potassium chemical and heating physical with microwave electrical power to produce activated carbon products. This research was conducted in laboratory experiments with chemical and physical activation methods, measuring proximate and iodine product numbers. The result showed that activated carbon from young Coconuts shells and coir with activation process used chemical activation and produced activated carbon products that met SNI standard number 06-3730-1995. Iodine number of activated carbons was in the range of 1776.60 mg/g – 2220.75 mg/g, iodine number as more than 23.5% of SNI Standard.

Pengaruh Konsentrasi Aktivator Asam Fosfat (H3PO4) pada Pembuatan Karbon Aktif dari Sabut Kelapa terhadap Adsorpsi Logam Kromium

Chromium is one of the hazardous heavy metal contained in the industrial wastewater. It can be reduced by various methods, such as adsorption. The purpose of this study was initialized an activated carbon from coconut fiber by various phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄) activator concentration (0,1M; 0,5M; 1M; 1,5M; 2M) and variation of contact time (30; 60; 90; 120; 150; 180 minutes) to obtain optimum adsorption capacity of chromium. Analysis of the activated coconut fiber carbon by SAA obtained a surface area of 53,39 m²/g. The potassium chromate (K₂CrO₄) solution was adsorbed by the adsorbent and then analyzed by a UV-VIS Spectrophotometer to measure the chromium content. This study proved that chromium adsorption by activated coconut fiber carbon was increased by the time until reaching optimum condition. Enhancement of adsorption capacity was directly proportional as the more concentrated phosphoric acid activator. Maximum adsorption capacity obtained was 3,464 mg/g and the optimum condition was at contact time of 150 minutes with the phosphoric acid activator concentration of 2M.

Electrochemical Synthesis of Crystalline Niobium Oxide

Features of creation of porous nanostructured oxides of transition materials on an example of niobium are considered. It has been experimentally shown that variation in anodizing modes makes it possible to obtain non-porous and porous amorphous anodic oxide films (AOF) and films of the crystalline type. It is determined that the process of AOF formation on niobium, as well as its structure and properties depend on such parameters as the type of electrolyte, anodizing voltage, activator concentration, the duration of the process. It is confirmed that the presence of an activator in the electrolyte is a necessary and decisive factor in the process of forming a nanostructured anode oxide layer. To obtain a nanostructured surface of niobium oxide, a necessary condition is the introduction of fluoride into the electrolyte, but also an important task is to determine the type of compound with which F– ions are introduced into the electrolyte. It has been experimentally determined that the optimal solution for the rapid growth of porous crystalline oxide is a solution consisting of a background electrolyte in the form of 1M H2SO4 with the addition of a fluoride ion activator in the form of 0.5M NaF. The increase in the activator accelerates the formation of the crystal structure on the surface of niobium. It is shown that higher voltage and longer anodizing time leads to an increase in the size of microcones and their number on the surface of niobium. Optimal for the formation of porous crystalline oxide is a voltage of 60 V in the electrolyte 1M H2SO4 + 0.5M NaF for 2 hours.

Influence of the Activator Concentration and Solid/Liquid Ratio on the Strength and Shrinkage Characteristics of Alkali-Activated Slag Geopolymer Pastes

Geopolymers have distinct advantages such as having energy-saving properties, being an environmentally protective material, and having high mechanical strength and durability. However, the shrinkage of the geopolymer materials is one of the major problems to affect its practical application. In this study, blast furnace slag-based geopolymer pastes were prepared using sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide as activators to investigate the effect of the activator concentration and solid/liquid ratio on strength and shrinkage properties. For a better understanding of the reaction mechanism and microstructure of the geopolymer pastes, a multitechnique approach including scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectra was carried out. The results showed that the geopolymers compressive strength increased significantly as the activator concentration increased. The increase in activator concentration first increased the flexural strength and then decreased and reached the maximum when the activator concentration was 40%. A higher activator concentration, as well as a lower solid/liquid ratio, generally led to serious geopolymers drying shrinkage. These findings are expected to be ascribed from the changes in the content of the alkali-activated product (i.e., hydrate calcium aluminosilicate), which depends on the activator concentration. The increase in C-A-S-H gel (hydrate calcium aluminosilicate) compacts paste densifiers but causes shrinkage fracture concerns. These results provide an appropriate proportion for alkali-activated slag geopolymer pastes with better mechanical strength and antidry-shrinkage cracking properties, which are beneficial for the further applications of geopolymer materials.

Nanosilica-Based Loss Circulation Composition to Cure Moderate to Severe Losses

The loss circulation composition comprising a combination of a nanoparticle-based dispersion and a chemical activator has been designed to treat moderate to severe losses. The nanomaterial used is an environmentally friendly nanosilica-based dispersion. The composition is designed to give delayed gelling of the nanoparticle-based dispersion. A major advantage of this technology is its ability to place the composition into the target loss circulation zone before the nanoparticle-based dispersion gels up. Premature gelling of the nanoparticle-based dispersion would avoid premature setting of the treatment fluid before it reaches the target zone. The newly developed system can be used effectively up to 300 °F. In this paper, experiments have been performed with three different types of nanoparticles differing in their surface charges and particle sizes. Two negatively charged nanoparticle-based dispersions with a particle size of 5 nm and 17 nm, respectively, and one positively charged nanoparticle-based dispersion with a particle size greater than 17 nm have been evaluated as loss circulation materials. Two different types of chemical activators, one organic and the other inorganic, have been used in this study, and their effect on the gelling time has been evaluated. The gelling time experiments have been done at four different temperatures viz. 150 °F, 200 °F, 250 °F, and 300 °F. The effect of activator concentration and different shear rates on the gelling time of the three nanoparticle-based dispersions has been studied. Permeability plugging tests have been performed using 2 mm slotted disks to evaluate the effectiveness in controlling moderate to severe losses.

Studi Pengaruh Variasi Konsentrasi Asam Posfat (H3PO4) dan Waktu Perendaman Karbon terhadap Karakteristik Karbon Aktif dari Kulit Durian

Durian shell is one of the agricultural wastes has the potency to valuable product therefore this study aims to utilize durian shells in activated carbon production and examine effect of variations phosphoric acid (H3PO4) concentration and carbon soaking time to characteristics of activated carbon. Durian shell pyrolyzed at 400oC for 2 hours, milled using ball mill, sifted with a 100 mesh sieve, and carbon is activated with soaking using phosphoric acid (H3PO4) with various concentrations of 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70% (v/v) and soaking time of 3 hours, 6 hours, 9 hours, 12 hours, and 15 hours. Effect of variation concentration and soaking time shows the characterization of activated carbon are fluctuating. Activated carbon with the highest iodine number of 1,080,1728 mg/g obtains at activator concentration 30% (v/v) for 9 hours. Results of the SEM-EDX analysis of activated carbon show that mesoporous group, BET analysis shows ​​44,372 m2/g of surface area.