Physico-Mechanical Properties and Characterization of Alkali-Activated Solid Waste Based Cementitious Materials

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Processes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 January 2023) | Viewed by 6881

Special Issue Editors

School of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Interests: alkali activated materials; durability; solid waste utilization; numerical modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, 2628CN Delft, The Netherlands
Interests: concrete modelling; materials behavior; alternative binders and wastes to resources
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266520, China
Interests: high performance concrete and durability; new cementitious binders; utilization of solid waste in concrete

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Concrete is a popular and efficient building material. However, being used widely all over the world, its environmental impact is significant, including 8% of the carbon dioxide emissions and over 20% of earth’s natural resources excavated for use as construction minerals. In this context, the alkali activation technology has been increasingly used for producing a clinker-free cementitious material, since it is able to significantly reduce the carbon dioxide footprint and efficiently improve the sustainability of concrete production. Recently, besides producing a cementitious material, the alkali-activation technology has also been used to tackle issues associated with disposal of large volumes of soild waste from building demolition and mine tailsing, etc. by using these waste as primary or supplementary precursors. In such way, a win-win outcome can be yielded.

This Special Issue on “Physico-Mechanical Properties and Characterization of Alkali-Activated Solid Waste Based Cementitious Materials” seeks high-quality works focusing on the latest advances and research treads regarding alkali activation technology towards solid waste utilization. Topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Alkali activated newly emerging precursors from solid waste and characterization;
  • Alkali activated blends of solid waste and traditional precursors (slag, fly ash, and metakaolin) and performance application;
  • Novel alkali activator sources and production;
  • Physico-mechanical properties, application and modelling of alkali-activated solid waste based materials. 

Dr. Yibing Zuo
Dr. Guang Ye
Prof. Dr. Xiaomei Wan
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • physico-mechanical properties
  • characterization
  • alkali activation
  • solid waste utilization
  • composite cementitious materials

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 15692 KiB  
Article
A Study on the Application of Recycled Concrete Powder in an Alkali-Activated Cementitious System
by Xiaomei Wan, Hui Li, Xueping Che, Peizhen Xu, Changjiang Li and Qi Yu
Processes 2023, 11(1), 203; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11010203 - 8 Jan 2023
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2229
Abstract
In this paper, recycled concrete powder (RCP) was used as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) in an alkali-activation system. The contents of RCP in the cementitious materials were 0%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 40%, respectively. The fluidity, rheological properties and mechanical properties were [...] Read more.
In this paper, recycled concrete powder (RCP) was used as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) in an alkali-activation system. The contents of RCP in the cementitious materials were 0%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 40%, respectively. The fluidity, rheological properties and mechanical properties were tested, while the effects of RCP on the hydration properties of the alkali-activated system were studied by XRD, SEM-EDS, thermogravimetric analysis and the heat of hydration. The results show that the addition of RCP improves the fluidity of alkali-activated slag cementitious materials and changes the rheological index of paste. The change is greatest when the RCP content is 30%, which is 8.5% higher than that without RCP. With the increase in RCP content, the compressive strength of alkali-activated slag cementitious materials first increases and then decreases. The optimum compressive strength was attained with an RCP of 10%. The addition of RCP has little effect on the types of alkali-activated hydration products, but increases the quantity of hydration products. Further, the inactive particles in RCP combine with hydration products to form a dense microstructure. The addition of RCP reduces the early and total hydration heat of alkali-activated slag cementitious material, and delays the emergence of the second exothermic peak after the first peak. Full article
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12 pages, 1731 KiB  
Article
Identification of the Elemental Composition of Granulated Blast Furnace Slag by FTIR-Spectroscopy and Chemometrics
by Dmitrii A. Metlenkin, Nikolay V. Kiselev, Yuri T. Platov, Bekzod B. Khaidarov, Timur B. Khaidarov, Evgeniy A. Kolesnikov, Denis V. Kuznetsov, Alexander V. Gorokhovsky, Peter O. Offor and Igor N. Burmistrov
Processes 2022, 10(11), 2166; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr10112166 - 22 Oct 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2457
Abstract
Blast furnace slag is a key large-tonnage waste product of metallurgical production, which is considered to be a promising alternative material in construction. In order to determine the scope of potential use of slag as a marketable product, it is necessary to study [...] Read more.
Blast furnace slag is a key large-tonnage waste product of metallurgical production, which is considered to be a promising alternative material in construction. In order to determine the scope of potential use of slag as a marketable product, it is necessary to study its structure and composition, which is determined by means of modern analytical instrumental methods. This paper analyzes the application of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and chemometrics methods to develop calibration models for identifying pelletized slag by elemental composition. In a comparative analysis of FTIR-spectra of slag the characteristic frequencies of absorption bands responsible for the content of calcite, silicates and aluminosilicates in the composition of samples were determined. Multivariate regression methods (principal components regression, partial least squares regression) and data of elemental composition results by EDX method were used to develop calibration models for determining elemental composition of granulated blast furnace slag. Using the developed PLS models with high performance (R2 from 0.91 to 0.96 for different components), the prediction of the elemental composition (Ca, Si, O, Mg) of the test sample was carried out and a low deviation of the prediction in contrast to the EDX reference data was obtained. The use of PLS calibration models for rapid and nondestructive determination of the quantitative content of components of the composition of granulated blast furnace slag has been proposed. Full article
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12 pages, 6543 KiB  
Article
Calcined Coal Gangue Fines as the Substitute for Slag in the Production of Alkali-Activated Cements and Its Mechanism
by Chenxu Liu, Changbai Wang, Jianyang Wu and Mengcheng Gao
Processes 2022, 10(8), 1557; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr10081557 - 8 Aug 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1609
Abstract
Nowadays, upcycling coal gangue into aggregates has become a popular method; nevertheless, the utilization of coal gangue fines (CGFs), a secondary waste generated during the production of coal gangue aggregates, is rarely concerned. This paper attempted to upcycle calcined CGFs at 800 °C [...] Read more.
Nowadays, upcycling coal gangue into aggregates has become a popular method; nevertheless, the utilization of coal gangue fines (CGFs), a secondary waste generated during the production of coal gangue aggregates, is rarely concerned. This paper attempted to upcycle calcined CGFs at 800 °C as the partial substitution of slag to prepare alkali-activated cement (AAC). The variation in macroscopic compressive strength of AAC was studied, and the hydration mechanism of AAC was explored in depth by microstructure. AAC with CGFs shows tremendous advantages in compressive strength and hydration products. In the 10% calcined CGF content, the 3 d, 7 d, and 28 d compressive strengths of AAC displayed pronounced increases of 8%, 25%, and 13%, respectively. The study results showed that CGFs could replace the small amount of slag in AAC while providing a new theoretical guide and technical support for upcycling CGF into helpful material. Full article
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