Cleaner geopolymer prepared by co-activation of gasification coal fly ash and steel slag: durability properties and economic assessment

doi:10.1007/s11783-023-1750-9

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2023, Vol. 17

Issue (12) : 150 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-023-1750-9

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Cleaner geopolymer prepared by co-activation of gasification coal fly ash and steel slag: durability properties and economic assessment

Xian Zhou^1,², Xia Chen¹, Ziling Peng¹(

), Yongmen Zhou², Yan Li², Wang Jian², Zeyu Fan¹, Yuchi Chen³(

)

¹. Key Laboratory of Geotechnical Mechanics and Engineering of Ministry of Water Resources, Changjiang River Scientific Research Institute, Wuhan 430010, China
². Jiangxi Research Center on Hydraulic Structures, Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Water Sciences, Nanchang 330029, China
³. Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

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Abstract

● Better packing density and higher early strength of SS-rich geopolymer.

● C-S-H and portlandite as the main hydration phase in SS-rich geopolymer.

● Increased Si/Al of geopolymer gel and better long-term performance of SFA-rich geopolymer.

● Low cost of SFA-SS geopolymers concrete.

Geopolymer is a material with high early strength. However, the insufficient durability properties, such as long-term strength, acid-base resistance, freeze–thaw resistance, leaching toxicity, thermal stability, sulfate resistance and carbonation resistance, restrain its practical application. Herein, a long-term stable geopolymer composite with high final strength (ASK1) was synthesized from shell coal gasification fly ash (SFA) and steel slag (SS). Additionally, a geopolymer composite with high early strength (ASK2) was also synthesized for comparison. The results showed that ASK1 exhibited better performance on freezing-thawing resistance, carbonization resistance and heavy metals stabilization compared to the ASK2 at long-term curing. Raising the curing temperature could accelerate the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) development at initial curing ages of 3 to 7 d. Both ASK1 and ASK2 exhibited excellent acid-base and sulfate corrosion resistance. An increase for UCS was seen under KOH solution and MgSO₄ solution corrosion for ASK1. All leaching concentrations of heavy metals out of the two geopolymers were below the standard threshold, even after 50 freezing-thawing cycles. Both ASK1 and ASK2 geopolymer concrete exhibited higher sustainability and economic efficiency than Portland cement concrete. The result of this study not only provides a suitable way for the utilization of industrial solid waste in civil and environmental engineering, but also opens a new approach to improve the long-term stabilities of the geopolymers.

Keywords Geopolymer Shell coal gasification fly ash Steel slag Heavy metal Solidification/stabilization Durability

Corresponding Author(s): Ziling Peng,Yuchi Chen

Issue Date: 24 July 2023

Cite this article:

Xian Zhou,Xia Chen,Ziling Peng, et al. Cleaner geopolymer prepared by co-activation of gasification coal fly ash and steel slag: durability properties and economic assessment[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2023, 17(12): 150.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-023-1750-9
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2023/V17/I12/150

Tab.1 Chemical composition of raw materials (%)

Fig.1 (a) UCS, (b) FS and (c) Flexural compression ratio of ASK1 and ASK2.

Fig.2 (a) Particle size distributions of raw materials and (b) the target curve and the cumulative distributions of the dry mixtures.

Fig.3 The acid-base corrosion resistance of ASK1 and ASK2.

Fig.4 (a) UCS loss and (b) FS loss of ASK1 and ASK2 at different freezing and thawing cycles.

Fig.5 Leaching concentrations of the heavy metals at different freezing and thawing cycles.

Fig.6 UCS variation of ASK1 and ASK2 influenced by curing temperature.

Fig.7 UCS variation of ASK1 and ASK2 influenced by sulfate.

Fig.8 TG-DTG of ASK1 and ASK2 at the curing age of 60 d.

Fig.9 XRD patterns of ASK1 and ASK2 at diverse curing ages.

Fig.10 Microstructures of blended raw materials and geopolymers at diverse curing ages.

Scheme1 Mechanism of geopolymerization and hydration.

Fig.11 Contribution of materials, operating, and labor in total cost.

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