Uso de cenizas volantes y fosfoyesos en la síntesis de clínkeres belíticos de sulfoaluminatos

Fly ash and phosphogypsum were used as Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) by-products for the synthesis of belite-sulfoaluminate clinkers. The influence of raw mixture composition and firing temperature was investigated. Clinkers and cements were examined by X-ray powder diffraction and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The compressive strength of the cements was determined after 28 days. Clinker phases identified included ye’elimite, ß-phase of belite, ternesite and gehlenite, while the main hydration product of the cement pastes was ettringite. The results showed that belite-sulfoaluminate cements can be fabricated with a compressive strength of 45.9 N/mm2 by firing the raw mixture (70 wt.% marl, 10 wt.% bauxite and 20 wt.% phosphogypsum) at a temperature of 1320°C/1h.En este estudio se han utilizado cenizas volantes y fosfoyeso como Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) para la síntesis de clínkeres belíticos de sulfoaluminatos. Se ha investigado la influencia de la composición de la materia prima y de las diferentes temperaturas de cocción. Los clínkeres y cementos se examinaron mediante difracción de rayos X y microscopía electrónica de barrido equipada con espectroscopía de energía dispersiva de rayos X. Los valores de compresión de los cementos se determinaron a la edad de 28 días. Las fases constituyentes de los clínkeres se identificaron como ye’elimita, fase-ß de la belita, ternesita y gehlenita, mientras que el principal producto de hidratación de la pasta de cemento se identificó como ettringita. Los resultados muestran que los cementos belíticos de sulfoaluminatos pueden ser fabricados con una resistencia a compresión de 45.9 N/mm2 mediante una cocción de la materia prima (70 % en peso de marga, 10 % de bauxita y 20 % de fosfoyeso) a una temperatura de 1320°C/1

RILEM TC 247-DTA round robin test: carbonation and chloride penetration testing of alkali-activated concretes

Many standardised durability testing methods have been developed for Portland cement-based concretes, but require validation to determine whether they are also applicable to alkali-activated materials. To address this question, RILEM TC 247-DTA ‘Durability Testing of Alkali-Activated Materials’ carried out round robin testing of carbonation and chloride penetration test methods, applied to five different alkali-activated concretes based on fly ash, blast furnace slag or metakaolin. The methods appeared overall to demonstrate an intrinsic precision comparable to their precision when applied to conventional concretes. The ranking of test outcomes for pairs of concretes of similar binder chemistry was satisfactory, but rankings were not always reliable when comparing alkali-activated concretes based on different precursors. Accelerated carbonation testing gave similar results for fly ash-based and blast furnace slag-based alkali-activated concretes, whereas natural carbonation testing did not. Carbonation of concrete specimens was observed to have occurred already during curing, which has implications for extrapolation of carbonation testing results to longer service life periods. Accelerated chloride penetration testing according to NT BUILD 443 ranked the tested concretes consistently, while this was not the case for the rapid chloride migration test. Both of these chloride penetration testing methods exhibited comparatively low precision when applied to blast furnace slag-based concretes which are more resistant to chloride ingress than the other materials tested

RILEM TC 247-DTA round robin test: sulfate resistance, alkali-silica reaction and freeze–thaw resistance of alkali-activated concretes

The RILEM technical committee TC 247-DTA ‘Durability Testing of Alkali-Activated Materials’ conducted a round robin testing programme to determine the validity of various durability testing methods, originally developed for Portland cement based-concretes, for the assessment of the durability of alkali-activated concretes. The outcomes of the round robin tests evaluating sulfate resistance, alkali-silica reaction (ASR) and freeze–thaw resistance are presented in this contribution. Five different alkali-activated concretes, based on ground granulated blast furnace slag, fly ash, or metakaolin were investigated. The extent of sulfate damage to concretes based on slag or fly ash seems to be limited when exposed to an Na2SO4 solution. The mixture based on metakaolin showed an excessive, very early expansion, followed by a dimensionally stable period, which cannot be explained at present. In the slag-based concretes, MgSO4 caused more expansion and visual damage than Na2SO4; however, the expansion limits defined in the respective standards were not exceeded. Both the ASTM C1293 and RILEM AAR-3.1 test methods for the determination of ASR expansion appear to give essentially reliable identification of expansion caused by highly reactive aggregates. Alkali-activated materials in combination with an unreactive or potentially expansive aggregate were in no case seen to cause larger expansions; only the aggregates of known very high reactivity were seen to be problematic. The results of freeze–thaw testing (with/without deicing salts) of alkali-activated concretes suggest an important influence of the curing conditions and experimental conditions on the test outcomes, which need to be understood before the tests can be reliably applied and interpreted

RILEM TC 247-DTA round robin test: mix design and reproducibility of compressive strength of alkali-activated concretes

The aim of RILEM TC 247-DTA ‘Durability Testing of Alkali-Activated Materials’ is to identify and validate methodologies for testing the durability of alkali-activated concretes. To underpin the durability testing work of this committee, five alkali-activated concrete mixes were developed based on blast furnace slag, fly ash, and flash-calcined metakaolin. The concretes were designed with different intended performance levels, aiming to assess the capability of test methods to discriminate between concretes on this basis. A total of fifteen laboratories worldwide participated in this round robin test programme, where all concretes were produced with the same mix designs, from single-source aluminosilicate precursors and locally available aggregates. This paper reports the mix designs tested, and the compressive strength results obtained, including critical insight into reasons for the observed variability in strength within and between laboratories

Up-Cycling Waste Glass to Minimal Water Adsorption/Absorption Lightweight Aggregate by Rapid Low Temperature Sintering: Optimization by Dual Process-Mixture Response Surface Methodology

Mixed color waste glass extracted from municipal solid waste is either not recycled, in which case it is an environmental and financial liability, or it is used in relatively low value applications such as normal weight aggregate. Here, we report on converting it into a novel glass-ceramic lightweight aggregate (LWA), potentially suitable for high added value applications in structural concrete (upcycling). The artificial LWA particles were formed by rapidly sintering (<10 min) waste glass powder with clay mixes using sodium silicate as binder and borate salt as flux. Composition and processing were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) modeling, and specifically (i) a combined process-mixture dual RSM, and (ii) multiobjective optimization functions. The optimization considered raw materials and energy costs. Mineralogical and physical transformations occur during sintering and a cellular vesicular glass-ceramic composite microstructure is formed, with strong correlations existing between bloating/shrinkage during sintering, density and water adsorption/absorption. The diametrical expansion could be effectively modeled via the RSM and controlled to meet a wide range of specifications; here we optimized for LWA structural concrete. The optimally designed LWA is sintered in comparatively low temperatures (825-835 °C), thus potentially saving costs and lowering emissions; it had exceptionally low water adsorption/absorption (6.1-7.2% w/wd; optimization target: 1.5-7.5% w/wd); while remaining substantially lightweight (density: 1.24-1.28 g.cm-3; target: 0.9-1.3 g.cm-3). This is a considerable advancement for designing effective environmentally friendly lightweight concrete constructions, and boosting resource efficiency of waste glass flows

Alkali activation of metallurgical slags: Reactivity, chemical behavior, and environmental assessment

Alkali-activated materials (AAMs) represent a promising alternative to conventional building materials and ceramics. Being produced in large amounts as aluminosilicate-rich secondary products, such as slags, they can be utilized for the formulation of AAMs. Slags are partially crystalline metallurgical residues produced during the high temperature separation of metallic and non-metallic materials in the steelmaking processes. In the present study, the electric arc furnace carbon or stainless steel slag (EAF) and secondary metallurgical slag such as ladle furnace basic slag (LS) were used as precursors in an alkali-activation process. EAF slag, with its amorphous fraction of about 56%, presented higher contents of soluble Si and Al species with respect to ladle slag R (35%). However, both are suitable to produce AAM. The leaching behavior shows that all the release values are below the regulation limit. All the bivalent ions (Ba, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) are well immobilized in a geopolymeric matrix, while amphoteric elements, such as As and Cr, show a slight increase of release with respect to the corresponding slag in alkaline and aqueous environments. In particular, for Sb and As of AAM, release still remains below the regulation limits, while Mo presents an increase of leaching values that slightly exceeds the limit for landfill non-dangerous waste

Production and characterization of lightweight aggregates from municipal solid waste incineration fly-ash through single- and double-step pelletization process

The performance of a cold-bonding pelletization process was investigated for lightweight aggregates (LWAs) production from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly-ash (FA), by including multiple waste materials in the aggregate mixture. Before pelletization, FA was pre-treated by washing with water, which led to a reduction of chloride (66.79%) and sulphate (25.30%) content. This was further confirmed by XRF and XRD analyses, which showed a reduction of chloride elements and the content of chlorine crystalline phases. The pelletization process was carried out using both single-and double-step methods. For single-step pelletization, all the mixtures contained 80% FA, combined with various compositions of cement (5, 10, and 15%) and granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) (5, 10, and 15%). For the double-step pelletization 30% of cement and 70% of marble sludge (MS) were added to each of the previous mixtures. The apparent density of all the aggregates varied between 1.60 and 1.87 g cm-3, suggesting their suitability to be classified as LWAs. Aggregates produced from double-step pelletization showed improved characteristics, with water absorption capacity and open porosity generally lower compared to the corresponding aggregates from the single-step pelletization. The best values of compressive (crushing) strength (almost 11 MPa) were observed for double-step pelletization aggregates with initial cement: GBFS mixture of 15%:5%. Results from leaching tests showed an overall significant release of chloride and sulphate. Nevertheless, leaching from double-step pelletization aggregates was reduced by 1.73-4.02 times for chloride and 1.58-5.67 times for sulphate, further suggesting that better performances are achievable through the addition of an aggregate second layer