Re – activation of recycled fly ash – based geopolymer binder to enhance mechanical properties
This research delved into employment of thermal activation as a technique of enhancing the reactivity of recycled binders produced from parent hardened geopolymer systems. The production process involved crushing hardened fly ash – based geopolymer pastes and concretes, followed by milling the resul...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Case Studies in Construction Materials |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221450952500765X |
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| Summary: | This research delved into employment of thermal activation as a technique of enhancing the reactivity of recycled binders produced from parent hardened geopolymer systems. The production process involved crushing hardened fly ash – based geopolymer pastes and concretes, followed by milling the resulting powder to produce non – calcined or raw recycled binders, that were in turn exposed to various high temperatures of 250° to 550 °C, then used to prepare geopolymer paste mixtures at activator to binder ratio of 0.5. The alkali activator used was a combined solution mixture of sodium silicate and 12 M sodium hydroxide. The recycled binders produced were characterised using particle size /shape analysis, Brunauer – Emmett – Teller surface area measurements and thermogravimetry, prior to microanalyses. The synthesized paste mixtures were evaluated to determine their setting times and compressive strength values, followed by analytical studies done using X – Ray Diffraction, Fourier – Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy. Results showed that setting times of the raw or calcined recycled binder – based geopolymer mixtures were a drastic 70–90 % shorter than those of the control fly ash – based paste. It was found that calcination substantially enhanced geopolymeric reactivity of recycled binders, increasing the strengths of their mixtures by 36–54 %. Interestingly, mixtures that were synthesized using the paste – derived recycled binder calcined at the optimal 400 °C temperature, exhibited strength development that was similar or comparable to that of the control fly ash – based geopolymer paste. |
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| ISSN: | 2214-5095 |