Alkali-Activated Mortars for Sustainable Building Solutions: Effect of Binder Composition on Technical Performance
There is a growing interest in the construction sector in the use of sustainable binders as an alternative to ordinary Portland cement, the production of which is highly impacting on the environment, due to high carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption. Alkali-activated binders, especially th...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2018-02-01
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| Series: | Environments |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/5/3/35 |
| _version_ | 1798006686124867584 |
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| author | Agnese Attanasio Livio Pascali Vito Tarantino Wanda Arena Alessandro Largo |
| author_facet | Agnese Attanasio Livio Pascali Vito Tarantino Wanda Arena Alessandro Largo |
| author_sort | Agnese Attanasio |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There is a growing interest in the construction sector in the use of sustainable binders as an alternative to ordinary Portland cement, the production of which is highly impacting on the environment, due to high carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption. Alkali-activated binders, especially those resulting from low-cost industrial by-products, such as coal fly ash or metallurgical slag, represent a sustainable option for cement replacement, though their use is more challenging, due to some technological issues related to workability or curing conditions. This paper presents sustainable alkali-activated mortars cured in room conditions and based on metakaolin, fly ash, and furnace slag (both by-products resulting from local sources) and relevant blends, aiming at their real scale application in the building sector. The effect of binder composition—gradually adjusted taking into consideration technical and environmental aspects (use of industrial by-products in place of natural materials in the view of resources saving)—on the performance (workability, compressive strength) of different mortar formulations, is discussed in detail. Some guidelines for the design of cement-free binders are given, taking into consideration the effect of each investigated alumino-silicate component. The technical feasibility to produce the mortars with standard procedures and equipment, the curing in room conditions, the promising results achieved in terms of workability and mechanical performance (from 20.0 MPa up to 52.0 MPa), confirm the potential of such materials for practical applications (masonry mortars of class M20 and Md). The cement-free binders resulting from this study can be used as reference for the development of mortars and concrete formulations for sustainable building materials production. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T12:58:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-865fb23c07a14a34bdbe5fab3072b6a7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3298 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T12:58:21Z |
| publishDate | 2018-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environments |
| spelling | doaj.art-865fb23c07a14a34bdbe5fab3072b6a72022-12-22T04:23:00ZengMDPI AGEnvironments2076-32982018-02-01533510.3390/environments5030035environments5030035Alkali-Activated Mortars for Sustainable Building Solutions: Effect of Binder Composition on Technical PerformanceAgnese Attanasio0Livio Pascali1Vito Tarantino2Wanda Arena3Alessandro Largo4Diagnostic and Civil Engineering Area, Materials and Structures Engineering Department, CETMA—Technologies Design and Materials European Research Centre, 72100 Brindisi, ItalyCivil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering Department, University of Bologna, 40136 Bologna, ItalyDiagnostic and Civil Engineering Area, Materials and Structures Engineering Department, CETMA—Technologies Design and Materials European Research Centre, 72100 Brindisi, ItalyDiagnostic and Civil Engineering Area, Materials and Structures Engineering Department, CETMA—Technologies Design and Materials European Research Centre, 72100 Brindisi, ItalyDiagnostic and Civil Engineering Area, Materials and Structures Engineering Department, CETMA—Technologies Design and Materials European Research Centre, 72100 Brindisi, ItalyThere is a growing interest in the construction sector in the use of sustainable binders as an alternative to ordinary Portland cement, the production of which is highly impacting on the environment, due to high carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption. Alkali-activated binders, especially those resulting from low-cost industrial by-products, such as coal fly ash or metallurgical slag, represent a sustainable option for cement replacement, though their use is more challenging, due to some technological issues related to workability or curing conditions. This paper presents sustainable alkali-activated mortars cured in room conditions and based on metakaolin, fly ash, and furnace slag (both by-products resulting from local sources) and relevant blends, aiming at their real scale application in the building sector. The effect of binder composition—gradually adjusted taking into consideration technical and environmental aspects (use of industrial by-products in place of natural materials in the view of resources saving)—on the performance (workability, compressive strength) of different mortar formulations, is discussed in detail. Some guidelines for the design of cement-free binders are given, taking into consideration the effect of each investigated alumino-silicate component. The technical feasibility to produce the mortars with standard procedures and equipment, the curing in room conditions, the promising results achieved in terms of workability and mechanical performance (from 20.0 MPa up to 52.0 MPa), confirm the potential of such materials for practical applications (masonry mortars of class M20 and Md). The cement-free binders resulting from this study can be used as reference for the development of mortars and concrete formulations for sustainable building materials production.http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/5/3/35alkali-activated binderscement-free mortarsenvironmentresource efficiencysecondary raw materials |
| spellingShingle | Agnese Attanasio Livio Pascali Vito Tarantino Wanda Arena Alessandro Largo Alkali-Activated Mortars for Sustainable Building Solutions: Effect of Binder Composition on Technical Performance Environments alkali-activated binders cement-free mortars environment resource efficiency secondary raw materials |
| title | Alkali-Activated Mortars for Sustainable Building Solutions: Effect of Binder Composition on Technical Performance |
| title_full | Alkali-Activated Mortars for Sustainable Building Solutions: Effect of Binder Composition on Technical Performance |
| title_fullStr | Alkali-Activated Mortars for Sustainable Building Solutions: Effect of Binder Composition on Technical Performance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Alkali-Activated Mortars for Sustainable Building Solutions: Effect of Binder Composition on Technical Performance |
| title_short | Alkali-Activated Mortars for Sustainable Building Solutions: Effect of Binder Composition on Technical Performance |
| title_sort | alkali activated mortars for sustainable building solutions effect of binder composition on technical performance |
| topic | alkali-activated binders cement-free mortars environment resource efficiency secondary raw materials |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/5/3/35 |
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