Utilization of weathered phosphogypsum as set retarder in Portland cement

In this study, usability of weathered phosphogypsum (PG) from residue areas as set retarder in Portland cement was investigated. The effects on the setting and mechanical properties of PG added in ratios 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 12.5 wt.% to Portland cements were studied and compared with a Portland cement containing natural gypsum (NG). It was found that PG can be used in place of NG for Portland cement according to Turkish standards. The highest 28-day compressive strength was found in the sample with 3 wt.% PG.     

Utilization of borogypsum as set retarder in Portland cement production

Boron ores are used in the production of various boron compounds such as boric acid, borax and boron oxide. Boric acid is produced by reacting colemanite(2CaO·3B₂O₃·5H₂O) with sulphuric acid and a large quantity of borogypsum is formed during this production. This waste causes various environmental problems when discharged directly to the environment. Portland cement is the most important material in the building industry. This material is produced by adding about 3-5% gypsum (CaSO₄·2H₂O) to clinker as a set retarder. The aim of this study was to stabilize borogypsum, and to produce cements by adding borogypsum instead of natural gypsum to clinker. Concrete using cement produced with borogypsum was tested to find the mechanical properties and the test values were compared with those of concrete from cement with natural gypsum. Compressive strength of concrete from cement produced with borogypsum was found to be higher than that of natural gypsum. Also, the setting time of cement with borogypsum was longer than that of the Portland cement.     

Replacement of raw mix in cement production by municipal solid waste incineration ash

The feasibility of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) ash utilized as the replacement of raw mix in cement production is investigated. Result shows that sieving, self-grinding, and magnet separation processes are necessary to remove the debris, salt, and metallic contents that existed in the MSWI ash. By using the pretreated MSWI ashes, the produced cement specimens were in compliance with the unconfined compression strength (UCS) standard in Taiwan at small replacement percentage (<5%). When ash replacement percentage is large (more than 10%), the strength development of specimens would be hindered due to the deficient formation of the calcium silicate. Calculation on lime saturation factor (LSF) also shows a descending trend in consequence of the increase in replacement percentage. Thus, compositional effect should be taken into consideration for promoting the calcium silicate formation at the case of large ash replacement. In this research, adjustment of chemical composition was achieved by adding 183 g calcium oxide per kilogram of cement raw mixture with 15% ash replacement. After adjustment, the produced cement could develop seven- and fivefold increase on UCS compared with those without calcium oxide supplement at 3 and 7 days of curing, respectively. Results concluded that the MSWI ash was suitable in reuse for cement production under a well-conditioned situation.     

The effect of waste oil-cracking catalyst on the compressive strength of cement pastes and mortars

Epcat, one of the spent fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts from oil-cracking refineries, shows pozzolanic activity. In this study, pastes and mortars with Epcat were prepared and cured, and their compressive strengths after 3, 7 and 28 curing days were measured. The water/binder (W/B) ratios were 0.2, 0.25 and 0.3, and the replacement levels of cement by Epcat were 0, 5, 10 and 15 wt.%. Proper amount of superplasticizer was added into each mix to ensure similar workability.The results indicate that the presence of Epcat would increase the compressive strength of mortars substantially, but increase the compressive strength of the related pastes only slightly. Epcat mortars with W/B=0.25 show more strength-enhancing effect than those with W/B=0.3, and this effect increases with the catalyst content. Therefore, the mix (W/B=0.25) incorporated 15% Epcat exhibits the greatest compressive strength (92.3 MPa). For mortars with W/B=0.2, the strength-enhancing effect occurs only for those containing 5% catalyst; this effect becomes unclear when mixes containing 10% Epcat or more because high dosage of superplasticizer was added in obtaining proper workability and that affects the strength development. The improvement in the mechanical properties of mortars is attributed to the increase in the hydrated cement paste itself and, more importantly, improved bonds between the cement paste and aggregate.     

Characterization and evaluation of fly-ash from co-combustion of lignite and wood pellets for use as cement admixture

Conventional coal fly-ash (CFA) and two coal-biomass fly-ashes (CBFAs) were obtained at a thermoelectric power station (Atikokan, Ontario) from combustion of undiluted lignite coal and co-combustion of lignite coal with up to 66% wood pellets (on a thermal basis). Fly-ashes were characterized and analyzed for use as cement admixtures. Co-combustion did not markedly change the fly-ash composition, owing to an extremely low ash content of wood pellets compared to lignite coal; toxic metals and minor elements were within ranges reported for other coal fly-ashes. All fly-ashes had losses on ignition (LOI) <1 wt% and therefore complied with ASTM LOI regulations for use in concrete. All fly-ashes contained major amorphous phases, along with quartz and periclase. Partial substitution of cement with fly-ash (up to 40 wt%) had a moderate effect on the entrained air content of mortars (up to 2.5%), but this difference vanished upon addition of air entraining agent (0.6 mL/kg of cementitious material). Substituted mortars exceeded 75% of the strength of ash-free mortar after 28 days of curing (therefore meeting ASTM requirements for strength development), and by 90 days, met or surpassed 100% of the strength of ash-free mortar. Amending mortar with 20 wt% CFA or CBFA had no effect on its durability following repeated freeze-thaw cycles when air content was kept constant. Also, no micromineralogical differences were observed between hydrated CFA- and CBFA-amended mortars, with fly-ash particles reacting with Ca ions originating from dissolution of cement clinker or calcium hydroxide.     

Characterization of the Tunisian blast-furnace slag and its application in the formulation of a cement

The Tunisian blast-furnace slag has been characterized by several physicochemical methods to evaluate its hydraulic reactivity. It has been noted that nearly all the slag is glassy, so its use as a replacement of cement is possible.This result has been confirmed by different physical tests applied to blended cements as specific surface, normal consistency, setting time, stability to expansion and the minislump.Finally, a slag cement composition has been formulated and optimized using a mixture design. The optimized formula giving the maximum of compressive strength at 7 and 28 days was 61% clinker, 35% slag, 3% gypsum, and 1% limestone.     

The utilization of beet molasses as a retarding and water-reducing admixture for concrete

Molasses, a by-product of sugar industry, increases the fluidity of fresh concrete, and also delays the hardening time of cement paste. In this study, the molasses were determined from three different sugar production factories. A normal water-reducing admixture, based on lignosulphonate, has been used in the control mixture. Setting times of cement pastes prepared with molasses at three different dosages (0.20, 0.40, and 0.70 wt.% of cement content) were determined and it was found that molasses addition causes considerable increase in both initial and final setting times. Workability tests, as well as bleeding tests, were carried out on fresh concretes prepared with three molasses and also with lignosulphonate-based admixture. Flexural and compressive strengths were determined on hardened concretes at both early ages (1, 3, and 7 days), and moderate and later ages (28, 90, 180, 365, and 900 days). The permeability and durability properties of concretes have been investigated by using sorptivity, drying shrinkage, freezing-thawing, wetting and drying, carbonation, and sulfate attack tests. The strength of concretes with molasses showed slight increase at all ages, except early age, with respect to the control mix and no adverse effect has been experienced on the durability properties over a long period of time (900 days).     

An investigation on the use of tincal ore waste, fly ash, and coal bottom ash as Portland cement replacement materials

The possibility of using tincal ore waste (TW), coal bottom ash (BA), and fly ash (FA) as partial replacement in concrete was examined through a number of tests. The properties examined include setting time, compressive strength, mortar expansion, water consistency of mortar, and microstructure. The results showed that compressive strength of all specimens containing 1 wt.% of TW was higher than that of the control at the 28th day of curing. At 90 days, the contribution to strength by BA+TW and FA+TW was higher than in the concrete-prepared equivalent TW beyond 3 wt.% of Portland cement (PC) replacement. With the replacement of 3-5 wt.% of PC by TW, the compressive strength of the concrete decreased compared to control concrete. However, the values obtained are within the limit of Turkish Standards (TS). Adding BA or FA with TW improved the performance relative to TW replacement only. Increasing replacement of TW gives rise to a higher setting time. As a result, TW, BA, and FA samples may be used as cementitious materials.     

The pozzolanic activity of a calcined waste FCC catalyst and its effect on the compressive strength of cementitious materials

Equilibrium catalyst (Ecat), one of the spent fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts from oil companies, shows pozzolanic activity. In this study, the effects on the pozzolanic activity of calcination of Ecat and on the compressive strength of the resulting cementitious materials were examined. The pozzolanic activity of this mineral additive was indicated from DSC measurements. The results show that the pozzolanic activity of Ecat increases with calcined temperature initially, reaches a maximum, and then decreases afterwards. Ecat calcined at about 650 °C becomes the most active. Mortars with 10% calcined catalyst at 3-28 curing days exhibit strength 8-18% greater than that with the untreated. Concrete with a 10% calcined Ecat at 3-28 curing days exhibits strength 7-11% greater than that with the untreated. If the calcined catalyst is further ground, its pozzolanic activity is enhanced, and the compressive strength of the resulting mortars or concrete becomes higher.     

An improved basis for characterizing the suitability of fly ash as a cement replacement agent

Fly ash is a critical material for partial replacement of ordinary portland cement (OPC) in the binder fraction of a concrete mixture. However, significant compositional variability currently limits fly ash use. For example, the performance of OPC‐fly ash blends cannot be estimated a priori using current characterization standards (eg, ASTM C618). In this study, fly ashes spanning a wide compositional range are characterized in terms of glassy and crystalline phases using a combination of X‐ray fluorescence (XRF), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy with X‐ray energy‐dispersive spectroscopy (SEM‐EDS) techniques. The compositional data are distilled to a unitless parameter, the network ratio (N_r), which represents the network behavior of atoms that form alkali/alkaline earth‐aluminosilicate glasses that make up fly ashes. N_r is correlated with known composition‐dependent features, including the glass transition temperature and amorphous XRD peak (“hump”) position. Analysis of heat release data and compressive strengths are used to evaluate the impact of fly ash compositions on reaction kinetics and on the engineering properties of cement‐fly ash blends. It is shown that fly ashes hosting glasses with a high network ratio (ie, having a less stable glass structure) are more reactive than others.