Commercialisation of geopolymer concrete as part of FP7 SUS-CON project

Commercialisation of Geopolymer Concrete as part of FP7 SUS-CON Project:

Sustainable, Innovative and Energy-Efficient Concrete, based on the Integration of All-Waste Materials

Contents:

• Geopolymer Team at Queen’s University Belfast. • Historical background – sustainable construction materials. • FP7 SUS-CON - Sustainable, Innovative and Energy-

Efficient Concrete, based on the Integration of All-Waste Materials.

• New binders from waste streams - WP3 work on pfa and ggbs based geopolymer concrete.

• Possible sources of raw materials for “synthesizing” geopolymer concrete – a step towards commercialisation.

• Conclusions.

Queen’s University Belfast Geopolymer Team (1 of 2)

Prof. M Soutsos Prof. D Cleland Prof. M Basheer Prof. W Sha

Dr. E Cunningham Dr. S Nanukuttan Dr. A Boyle University of Liverpool

Dr. M Russell

L. McCluskey

A. Rafeet

Q. Ma

A. McIntosh banah UK Ltd

T. McGrath

S. Haji A. Hadjierakleous University of Liverpool

Queen’s University Belfast Geopolymer Team (2 of 2)

http://blogs.qub.ac.uk/geopolymer/

http://blogs.qub.ac.uk/geopolymer/�

Historical Background: Sustainable Construction Products

Developing Precast Concrete Products made with Recycled Construction and Demolition Waste (C&DW): • Phase I : Concrete Building Blocks • Phase II: Concrete Paving Blocks and Flags

Funded by:

The Onyx (Veolia) Environmental Trust & Flintshire Community Trust (AD Waste Ltd)

5th March 2003

North West Construction Knowledge Hub Construction Sustainability Centre:

(a) Recycled demolition aggregate in precast building and paving blocks and concrete flags, (b) Reactive glass powder concrete flags of superior strength, (c) Cementless “geopolymer” concrete products.

Historical Background: Sustainable Construction Products

Applied Research Grant Support

Historical Background: Ultra High Performance Fibre Reinforced Cementless Precast Concrete Products

• The claims culture in the UK costs local authorities £500m each year from trip, slip and fall accidents arising from cracked pavements.

• The superior performance of UHPFRC flags indicates that pavements are unlikely to crack even if they are overloaded by unplanned vehicle loading.

FP7 SUS-CON Project: Sustainable, Innovative and Energy-Efficient Concrete,

based on the Integration of All-Waste Materials

• The construction industry is one of the largest consumers raw materials and the built environment consumes a lot of energy and contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions.

• Concrete producers need new, eco-friendly and cost-effective materials and binders for thermally efficient building components – energy efficient buildings.

• Waste management is an increasingly complex and challenging task for both local authorities and waste recycling companies.

Develop novel technologies to integrate wastes for the production of lightweight concrete and thus achieve an

all-waste and energy-efficient concrete.



• Main concrete components (binder and aggregates) • Combine them for an all-waste concrete on the basis of

a new mix design model • Applications: structural and non structural cast-in-situ and pre-cast

• Focus on waste materials that are cost-effective, readily available across EU and also a social problem (low-value, big quantities)



Work Packages in FP7 SUS-CON:

WP1. GEOCLUSTERING - Mapping availability of waste streams and normative framework across EU-27

WP2. WASTE MATERIALS - New lightweight aggregates from solid waste WP3. WASTE MATERIALS - New binding systems from waste alkaline solutions/streams and ashes

WP6. PRODUCTION UPSCALE - Demonstration

WP4. WASTE MATERIALS - Mix design and testing of all waste concrete with benchmarking

WP7

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WP5. PRODUCTION UPSCALE - Process design and modelling

WP9

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WP1

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MATERIAL RESEARCH

INDUSTRIAL IMPLEMENTATION

INDUSTRIAL UPTAKE

Complementarity of Partners:

Centro Riciclo

Waste recycling and processing

Cetma (polymers) TBTC (geo-polymers)

Aggregates from waste Binders from waste

BASF Centi

Nano-additives and surface treatments

TNO FhG

NTUA

Concrete design and process

Magnetti (pre-cast) Iston Iridex Acciona

Industrial end-users

(ready-mixed)

TRE TUV Italia

LCA/LCC/HSE/Certification

(builders)

QUB S&B

Research 68%

Demo. 23%

Manag. 5%

OTHER 4%

FP7 SUS-CON – Project Information

EU funding: 4.500.000 €

Cost per activity type:

Duration: 4 years

Start date: 01/01/2012

Total cost: 7.200.000 €

Around 10 billion tonnes of concrete is used every year – more than any other industrial material!

UK production (2009) – 8 million tonnes of cement

5-8% of man-made CO2 – more than aviation

Ceramics (mostly concrete) Natural (mostly timber) Metals (mostly steel) Polymers

Data from Ashby, Materials and the Environment (2009) and ONS

Work Package #3 New Binders - What’s Wrong with Cement?

Work Package #3 New Binders from Waste Streams:

Suitability of waste ash and alkali solutions for geopolymer concrete:

1. Obtain samples from all available sources of reactive

aluminosilicate wastes and activators. 2. Assess their chemical and physical properties. 3. Obtain samples of all available sources of waste alkali

streams and assess their chemical and physical properties.

4. Determine the reactivity potential of the above materials for form cementless concrete.

Pulverised Fuel Ash based Geopolymer Variables: M+ dosage (%) & Alkali Modulus (AM)

• Alkali dosage (M+ dosage) is the mass ratio of alkali metal oxides (Na₂O + K2O) in the activating solution to PFA.

• Alkali modulus (AM) is the mass ratio of alkali metal oxides to silica plus aluminate in the activating solution.

• Fixed parameters in the mix designs were: – Water/solids ratio 0.37. Total water includes added water

and that already present in the pre-mixed alkaline solutions (e.g Na-silicate). Total solids include PFA and mass of alkali solids, including those dissolved in pre-mixed solutions. Mass of sand is not included in mass of the solids here.

– Sand/Binder ratio: 2.75:1

PFA-BASED ALKALI ACTIVATED BINDERS Investigated mortars using: • 100% PFA • Na-based alkali solutions

• NaOH • Na-silicate

Variables include: • Alkali modulus

• silica content of activator

• Alkali dosage • concentration of combined activators

• Pre-curing stand times • Curing temperature

PFAONageAlkaliDosa 2=

2

2

SiOONalusAlkaliModu =

kg/m3

PFA 500 Sand 1375 Sodium silicate solution 196 Sodium hydroxide 48 Water 110

Typical mix proportions

Effect of Alkali Dosage on the Compressive Strength - (Curing at 700C)

Effect of Alkali Modulus on the Compressive Strength - (Curing at 700C)

Compressive Strength as affected by alkali dosage and modulus - (Curing at 700C)

Compressive Strength as affected by alkali dosage and modulus - (Curing at 700C)

Compressive Strength versus Age for Thirteen PFA sources from the UK

Quantitative XRF results for Thirteen PFA sources from the UK

Ash Characterization - Mineralogical Composition by XRD -

Particle size, microns

0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000

volu

me-

%

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

Malvern Mastersizer 2000, Manufacturing Engineering

Ash Characterization - Particle Size by Laser Diffraction Granulometry -

Sample

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Ave

rage

par

ticle

siz

e, m

icro

ns

0

20

40

60

80

100

Rocktron alpha and delta materials

Ash Characterization - Particle Size by Laser Diffraction Granulometry -

Flow Table Test Results

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)

“Advanced” Microstructural Techniques for the Identification of Reaction Products

Chemical mapping of PFA-sodium silicate geopolymer


Secondary electron imaging & EDS


Secondary electron images of PFA-based mortars


Sodium silicate crystals in mortar with low alkali modulus


Effect of PFA/GGBS ratio on the strength Alkali dosage of 7.5%

100% GGBS cured at 200C Si (green), Ca (blue), and Al (red)

Class C PFA from Greece Si (green), Ca (blue), and Al (red)

Cost of Alkali Activated Binders: Assuming commercial alkalis are used, concrete based on alkali-activated binders is estimated to cost around 20-25% more than cement-based concrete. Possible Solutions: 1. Produce products that will meet higher specifications or

last longer than existing ones. 2. Low carbon footprint - Green taxes or carbon credits. 3. Find cheaper sources of alkalis - sodium silicate is the

most expensive component!

Commercialisation of Geopolymer Concrete?

Possible sources: 1. Incinerated paper pulp sludge. 2. Air pollution control residues (APC). 3. Basic oxygen slag (BOS). 4. TRAAS 5. MIKROVER 6. Incinerated sewage sludge ash 7. Bauxite residues (Red mud) 8. Alumina

Cheaper Sources of Raw Materials for Geopolymer Concrete?

-

An aerial photo shows the ruptured wall of the alumina plant reservoir.

Hungary's toxic aftermath

The sludge, which contains a mix of metal oxides, is now making its way towards the Danube,

Europe's second-longest river.

Develop an Understanding of the Reaction Mechanism

CONCLUSIONS

• An optimum alkali composition was identified for alkali activation of PFA giving 70 N/mm2 compressive strength.

• Addition of GGBS enables the production of cement-free concrete at ambient temperatures.

• There is some evidence that that there is interaction between the two reactions occurring in alkali-activated binders containing PFA and GGBS.

• We need to develop a better understanding of the reaction mechanism so we can use materials from waste streams to synthesize geopolymer - commercialisation is likely if a reduction in the cost of producing it is achieved.

And finally......

Thank you for your attention.

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Commercialisation of geopolymer concrete as part of FP7 SUS-CON project