Suitability of Brown Coal Fly Ash for Geopolymer Production
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 29, Issue 12
Abstract
The use of low-calcium Class F fly ash both as a replacement material for cement and to produce geopolymers has become established practice. However, much of the fly ash produced globally is either high-calcium Class C or brown coal (BC) fly ash, whose use as a cement replacement or geopolymeric material is very limited. This study reports the results of using BC fly ash from three separate sources to assess the feasibility of geopolymer concrete manufacturing and factors affecting the compressive strength of the geopolymeric material produced. The effects of the chemical composition of the raw fly ash, alkali modulus of the activator, and mineralogical properties of the raw material are reported. The results show that the manufacture of geopolymer mortar from BC fly ash was feasible, with compressive strengths of up to 50 MPa obtained. The key factors in selecting BC fly ash and determining its geopolymer compressive strength were the combined aluminate-silicate content of raw material, reactive amorphous content, and zeta potential. The data also emphasize the need for careful consideration of the modification of the activator modulus when designing a specific geopolymer mix.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank AGL Loy Yang power station, Energy Australia Yallourn power station, and GDF SUEZ Australian Energy Hazelwood power station for providing the brown coal fly ash. The authors also wish to acknowledge the X-ray facility and microscopy facility provided by RMIT University and the scientific and technical assistance.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 29 • Issue 12 • December 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 15, 2016
Accepted: Jun 1, 2017
Published online: Oct 12, 2017
Published in print: Dec 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Mar 12, 2018
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