Abstract
The environmental impact of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) can be decreased by using alternative precursors, such as non-ferrous metallurgy slags (NFMS), which can be alkali-activated to form an inorganic polymer binder (IP). However, an IP demands the use of a high molarity alkali-solution, which is expensive, has a relative high environmental footprint and limits the use of superplasticizers. In order to tackle these challenges, hybrid binders are proposed, which consist mainly of NFMS, a minor amount of OPC and are activated with a low molarity NaOH solution, in which the superplasticizers can be used effectively. A self-compacting hybrid paste with high early-age strength was developed step-by-step by investigating the effect of different amounts of raw materials on the reactivity, identified by semi-adiabatic calorimetry, and strength development. The obtained optimal hybrid binder formulation was (in wt%) 70 NFMS, 10 ground granulated blast furnace slag, 10 OPC, 8 limestone, 0.9 NaOH, 0.8 plasticizer and 0.3 bassanite; for a water-powder ratio of 0.19, the compressive strength was 20, 41 and 61 MPa at 1, 7 and 28 days, respectively. This study demonstrated that a hybrid binder can be produced from mainly NFMS, which can increase their valorisation potential.
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The authors would like to thank Tobias Hertel for its support and scientific contribution to this research. GB would like to acknowledge the Center for Resource, Recovery and Recycling (CR3) for contributing in the funding of this research (https://wp.wpi.edu/cr3/).
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Arnout, L., Beersaerts, G., Liard, M. et al. Valorising Slags from Non-ferrous Metallurgy into Hybrid Cementitious Binders: Mix Design and Performance. Waste Biomass Valor 12, 4679–4694 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-020-01322-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-020-01322-9