Study of the Pozzolanic Reactivity of Sugar Cane Straw Ashes (SCSA) Burned under Controlled Conditions.

The aims of this work were to evaluate the reactivity of sugarcane straw ashes (SCSA) burned under controlled conditions and to analyze their reactivity in blended cement and hydrated lime pastes by thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and calorimetry. Four different ashes were produced, and burned at 600 °C, 700 °C, 800 °C and 900 °C (SCSA600, SCSA700, SCSA800 and SCSA900, respectively). These ashes were characterized by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, particle size distribution by laser diffraction and specific area surfaces to assess their potential interest in the partial replacement of inorganic binders (Portland cement (OPC) and hydrated lime). The hydrated lime pastes were subjected to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and TG. The blended cement pastes were analyzed by TG and calorimetry, compressive strength testing and mercury intrusion porosimetry. High lime fixation percentages were observed in the hydrated lime and OPC pastes and were higher than 75% and 50% for the ashes burned at 600 °C and 700 °C, respectively. Calorimetry showed a delay in the heat release of SCSA600 and SCSA700 compared to the control paste. These pastes also had higher compressive strength and a smaller total pore volume. The results indicate the positive response of preparing sugar cane ashes under controlled conditions (mainly for straw calcined within the 600-700 °C range) for their use as pozzolanic addition by partially replacing inorganic binders.

Clay Ceramic Waste as Pozzolan Constituent in Cement for Structural Concrete.

Ceramic-based wastes generated from different industrial activities have increasingly been reused as construction material incorporated into concrete. In general, these wastes just replace common concrete aggregates such as sand and gravel. In the present work, waste from clay brick industries composted of kaolinite minerals were for the first time evaluated for their potential to be reused as the pozzolan constituent of a cement for structural concrete. Initial standard testes revealed that the clay ceramic waste (CCW) displays high pozzolanicity. Concrete was then produced with 10 and 20 wt.% of CCW mixed with ordinary Portland cement (OPC) as its pozzolan constituent. Compression strength of these concretes and of pure OPC as a control sample were determined in standard tests after 14 and 28 days of curing. In addition, the corresponding density, water absorption, capillarity and percentage of voids were measured together with the evaluation of microstructural indices by scanning electron microscopy. The initial tests confirmed that the CCW is indeed an effective pozzolanic potential due to a chemical effect by reacting with CH to generate C-S-H. Moreover, the technological results proved that CCW might effectively replace the pozzolan cement constituent for structural concrete.

Facile fabrication of hybrid titanium(IV) isopropoxide/pozzolan nanosheets (TnS-Pz) of high photocatalytic activity: characterization and application for Cr(VI) reduction in an aqueous solution.

This paper presents the synthesis of a hybrid material through the use of natural pozzolan and titanium(IV) isopropoxide using the sol-gel method and its application in the photocatalytic hexavalent chromium reduction. The characterization data indicated a mesoporous material possessing a surface area of 271.7 m2 g-1. The morphology studies (SEM and TEM) showed nanosheet hybrid structures. The analysis of DRUV, FTIR, XRD, and Mössbauer spectroscopy provides a different electronic structure of the synthetized material when compared with the originals, proving the hybridization process between pozzolan and titanium(IV) isopropoxide. The photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) using the hybrid material showed a better performance than conventional photocatalysts (precursor and TiO2-P25). Operational conditions such as chromium initial concentration (0.02-0.20 mM), solution pH (3-6), and type of scavenger (citric or tartaric acid) were evaluated in order to determine the best experimental conditions for the Cr(VI) photoreduction. At their optimum (catalyst load of 15 mg L-1, tartaric acid as scavenger, [scavenger]0/[Cr(VI)]0 M ratio = 3:1, pH 3, and 25 °C), the total photoreduction of 0.20 mM Cr(VI) was achieved in 180 min. The novel hybrid materials synthesized from pozzolan and titanium(IV) isopropoxide showed to be a potential catalyst for the Cr(VI) reduction in aqueous solution. Graphical abstract.

Complex Characterization and Behavior of Waste Fired Brick Powder-Portland Cement System.

Two waste fired brick powders coming from brick factories located in Argentine and Czech Republic were examined as alternative mineral admixtures for the production of blended cements. In pastes composition, local Portland cements (Argentine and Czech) were substituted with 8-40%, by mass, with powdered ceramic waste. For the ceramic waste-Portland cement system, workability, the heat released, pozzolanity, specific density, compressive strength, hydrated phases, porosity, and pore size distribution were tested. The relevance of the dilution effect, filler effect, and pozzolanic activity was analyzed to describe the general behavior of the pozzolan/cement system. The properties and performance of cement blends made with finely ground brick powder depended on the composition of ceramic waste and its reactivity, the plain cement used, and the replacement level. Results showed that the initial mini-slump was not affected by a low ceramic waste replacement (8% and 16%), and then it was decreased with an increase in the ceramic waste content. Brick powder behaved as a filler at early ages, but when the hydration proceeded, its pozzolanic activity consumed partially the calcium hydroxide and promoted the formation of hydrated calcium aluminates depending on the age and present carbonates. Finally, blended cements with fired brick powder had low compressive strength at early ages but comparable strength-class at later age.

Synthesis of grafted natural pozzolan with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane: preparation, characterization, and application for removal of Brilliant Green 1 and Reactive Black 5 from aqueous solutions.

Natural pozzolan is an amorphous silicate-based material of volcanic origin. In this work, the natural pozzolan was modified by using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) as a grafting agent. This material was characterized by pHpzc, N2 adsorption/desorption curves, FTIR, TGA/DTG, DRUV, SEM, and elementary analysis. The functionalized materials were used for the removal of Reactive Black 5 (RB-5) and Brilliant Green 1 (BG-1) dyes from aqueous solutions using batch-contact adsorption. The characterization of modified pozzolan by FTIR, TGA/DTG, BET, and DRUV-vis revealed the effectiveness of grafting of amine functional group on pozzolan structure. The kinetic adsorption data were better fitted with general order for both dyes while for equilibrium models were better fitted by the Liu isotherm model. The maximum sorption capacities Q max (at 50 °C) obtained with the modified pozzolan were 350.6 and 300.9 mg g-1 for BG-1 and RB-5, at pH 9.0 and 2.0, respectively. The thermodynamic parameters show that the removal of dyes was spontaneous and endothermic. The modified material was also tested for the treatment of simulated dye house effluents showing very high efficiency.

Comparison of Fe-Al-modified natural materials by an electrochemical method and chemical precipitation for the adsorption of F- and As(V).

The adsorption of fluoride and arsenic ions by modified natural materials may have an impact on the removal of F- and As(V) from waters. In this work, a zeolitic material and pozzolan (commonly known as pumicite) were modified with aluminium an iron by an electrochemical method and chemical precipitation, respectively. The adsorbents were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with energy X-ray disperse spectroscopy analysis and the point of zero charge (pHzpc). F- and As(V) adsorption properties of both materials were investigated. Adsorption kinetic data were best fitted to pseudo-second-order model and equilibrium data to the Langmuir isotherm model. The highest F- and As(V) sorption capacities were obtained for modified zeolitic (0.866 mg/g) and pozzolan (3.35 mg/g) materials, respectively, with initial F- or As(V) concentrations of 10 mg/L. It was found that the unmodified materials did not show either adsorption of F- ions or As(V), which indicated that Al and Fe in the adsorbents are responsible for the adsorption of these ions. In general, both modified materials show similar capacities for the adsorption of F- and As(V).

Assessment of the Pozzolanic Activity of a Spent Catalyst by Conductivity Measurement of Aqueous Suspensions with Calcium Hydroxide.

The pozzolanic activity of the spent catalyst produced by fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) has been studied by various methods in recent years. However, no quick and easy method has been reported for this activity based on the associated studies. In this work, the pozzolanic activity of a spent catalyst was investigated by measuring its electrical conductivity in aqueous suspensions of pozzolan/calcium hydroxide. The behavior of the FCC catalyst residue was compared to that of reactive and inert materials of similar chemical compositions. Further, the influence of temperature on the suspension was studied, and also, a new method was proposed in which the pozzolan/calcium hydroxide ratio was varied (with the initial presence of solid Ca(OH)2 in the system). It was concluded that the method is effective, fast and simple for evaluating the high reactivity of the catalyst. Therefore, this method is an alternative for the evaluation of the reactivity of pozzolanic materials.

Cinza residual da queima de biomassa do capim elefante (Pennisetum purpureum) como material pozolânico substituto do cimento Portland / Residual ash from biomass of elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) as pozzolanic material for partial substitution of Portland cement

O objetivo do presente estudo foi contribuir para a viabilização do uso da cinza de capim elefante em escala laboratorial como uma pozolana ativa em substituição parcial do cimento Portland, através da obtenção e tratamento da cinza e seu estudo em pastas. O trabalho foi desenvolvido em três etapas. Na etapa 1, denominada /"Obtenção da cinza/", foi realizado o estudo das estruturas do capim elefante, que foi separado em folhas, (colmo + bainha) e planta inteira e para análise da cinza de cada parte. Observa-se na cinza que há um teor elevado principalmente, de sílica e potássio, sendo que o teor de sílica é maior na folha, enquanto o de potássio é maior no (colmo + bainha). Na etapa 2, denominada /"Tratamento da cinza/", foram realizados diferentes tratamentos químicos e térmicos no material, com o intuito de diminuir os teores dos íons alcalinos, e, com isso, aumentar a proporção de SiO2 na cinza final. Foram realizados três tratamentos, sendo T1 tratamento no capim elefante antes da queima, com solução ácida, T2 tratamento na cinza de capim elefante com água quente e T3 tratamento também na cinza com solução ácida. Pode-se observar que houve um aumento no teor de sílica nas cinzas após os tratamentos. E por fim, na etapa 3, denominada /"Estudo das pastas/", procurou-se aplicar a cinza com tratamento T3, através da caracterização das pastas. Foram produzidas cinco pastas diferentes, C (somente cimento), CC (cimento - cinza), CS (cimento - sílica ativa), CHC (hidróxido de cálcio - cinza) e CHS (hidróxido de cálcio - sílica ativa). Foram feitos estudos de caracterização dos materiais, como também ensaios para a avaliação das pastas, dentre eles, resistência à compressão e ensaios para análise da hidratação do cimento. A cinza apresentou ser um material reativo. E, para sua aplicação em pasta, pode-se notar que a resistência à compressão da pasta com 20% de cinza não diferiu significativamente da pasta produzida somente com cimento. Pela avaliação de difração de raios X (DRX), observou-se a diminuição dos picos das fases ferrita, aluminato tricálcico, belita e alita, o que é indicativo do processo da reação. Adicionalmente, pela análise de termogravimetria, constatou-se o consumo de portlandita, com o passar do tempo e a formação dos géis de CSH. Com base nos resultados obtidos nas três etapas descritas neste trabalho, pode-se concluir que a substituição parcial do cimento Portland pela cinza de capim elefante como material pozolânico é tecnicamente possível e viável.

The aim of this study was to contribute to the use of elephant grass ashes, obtained from laboratory scale, as an active pozzolan in partial replacement of Portland cement, by the production and treatment of these ashes and their evaluation study into pastes. The work was developed in three steps. The step 1, entitled: /"Getting Ash/", was carried out to study the structures of elephant grass, which was separated into leaves, (stem + sheath) and the whole plant, and the ashes of each part were analyzed. It is observed that the ash has high content of silica and potassium, whereas the silica content is higher in the leaf part, while potassium is highest in the (stem + sheath) region. In step 2, entitled /"Treatment of the ash/" there were carried out different thermal and chemical treatments on the material, to reduce the concentration of alkali ions and thereby increase the proportion of SiO2 in the ash. Three treatments were carried out: T1, treatment in the elephant grass before burning, with acid solution; T2, treatment in the elephant grass ash with hot water and; T3, treatment also in the ash with acid solution. It can be observed an increase in the silica content in the ashes after of the treatments. Finally, the step 3 activities, entitled /"Study of pastes/", attempted to apply the ash with T3 treatment, by the characterization of the pastes. Five different pastes were produced, C (cement only), CC (cement - ash), CS (cement - silica fume), CHC (calcium hydroxide - ash) and CHS (calcium hydroxide - silica fume). There were made studies for the characterization of the materials, as well as, the tests for the evaluation of the pastes, such as compressive strength tests and the analyses to measure the hydration of the cement. The ash under consideration showed to be a reactive material. For its application in the paste, it can be noted that the compressive strength of the paste with 20% of the ash did not differ significantly the paste produced with only cement. For the evaluation of X-ray diffraction (XRD), it was observed a decrease of the peaks of the ferrite phases, tricalcium aluminate, alite and belite, which is indicative of the reaction process. In the thermogravimetric analysis, it was observed the consumption of portlandite, in the course of time, and the formation of the CSH. Based on the results obtained in the three steps described in this work, it can be concluded that the partial replacement of Portland cement by elephant grass ash as pozzolanic material is technically possible and viable.