Evaluation of the Pozzolanic Activity of Uncontrolled-Combusted Sewage Sludge Ash
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 33, Issue 6
Abstract
Waste management is a crucial issue facing modern society. The generation of sewage sludge is increasing annually due to the urbanization and improvement of sanitation systems of cities. The construction sector has emerged as a solution for the elimination of waste due to the enormous volume of materials that this sector can absorb. This paper evaluates the pozzolanic activity of sewage sludge ash (USSA) obtained following an uncontrolled-combustion process, a simple and economic procedure. Compressive strength of Portland cement/USSA mortars with 5%–25% by weight USSA were evaluated. Calcium hydroxide/USSA and Portland cement/USSA pastes were chemically and physically characterized through thermogravimetric/differential-thermogravimetric (TG/DTG), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. The increase in the replacement of Portland cement by USSA is associated with an increase in the compressive strength of mortars. These values for USSA containing mortars cured for 90 days were in the range of , higher than the one reached by the reference mortar. According to the microstructural analysis, the increment on the compressive strength can be attributed to the formation of hydrated products (C─ S─ H, C─ A─ S─ H, and C─ A─ H) by the pozzolanic reaction of USSA.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This research was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (Capes)—Finance Code 001, and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) (Processo Nos. 309015/2015-4 and 478057/2013-0). Thanks go to the Scanning Electron Microscopy Service of FEIS/UNESP, Serviço Municipal Autônomo de Água e Esgoto (SEMAE) from the São José do Rio Preto city (São Paulo, Brazil).
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Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 33 • Issue 6 • June 2021
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© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Apr 17, 2020
Accepted: Nov 20, 2020
Published online: Mar 31, 2021
Published in print: Jun 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Aug 31, 2021
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