Assessment of Clayey Freshwater Sediments as Suitable Precursors for Alkaline Activation
One of the biggest challenges in the construction industry in recent times is the mitigation of the environmental impact of this sector, the reduction in dependence on primary raw materials, and the reduction in CO<sub>2</sub> production while maintaining functional properties. Alkaline...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Polymers |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/16/2/175 |
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| author | Jan Fořt Ayodele Afolayan Martin Mildner Petr Hotěk Martin Keppert Robert Černý |
| author_facet | Jan Fořt Ayodele Afolayan Martin Mildner Petr Hotěk Martin Keppert Robert Černý |
| author_sort | Jan Fořt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | One of the biggest challenges in the construction industry in recent times is the mitigation of the environmental impact of this sector, the reduction in dependence on primary raw materials, and the reduction in CO<sub>2</sub> production while maintaining functional properties. Alkaline activation of a number of waste products represents a promising way to achieve the above-mentioned goals, but the availability of a number of waste products changes over time, especially in Europe. While freshwater sediments were in the past widely utilized as an agricultural fertilizer, recent precautions have significantly decreased such application, and thus new destinations must be delivered. To explore the potential of freshwater sediments, select samples from various locations were subjected to detailed characterization to verify the applicability of the material for alkali activation. As recognized, the selected sediments contain a substantial volume of desired mineralogical compounds that can serve, after 900 °C curing, as suitable precursors. Such samples have consequently activated the mixture of alkaline activators to obtain dense structures and were subjected to detailed investigation aimed at understanding the mechanical parameters. The obtained mechanical results ranging between 14.9 MPa and 36.8 MPa reveal the engineering potential of sediments for valorization through alkali activation and outline new research challenges in this area. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:37:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f5b90fba4e644a56a63614c86bf298f0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:37:57Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymers |
| spelling | doaj.art-f5b90fba4e644a56a63614c86bf298f02024-01-26T18:12:43ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602024-01-0116217510.3390/polym16020175Assessment of Clayey Freshwater Sediments as Suitable Precursors for Alkaline ActivationJan Fořt0Ayodele Afolayan1Martin Mildner2Petr Hotěk3Martin Keppert4Robert Černý5Department of Materials Engineering and Chemistry, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Takurova 7, 166 29 Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Materials Engineering and Chemistry, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Takurova 7, 166 29 Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Materials Engineering and Chemistry, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Takurova 7, 166 29 Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Materials Engineering and Chemistry, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Takurova 7, 166 29 Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Materials Engineering and Chemistry, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Takurova 7, 166 29 Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Materials Engineering and Chemistry, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Takurova 7, 166 29 Prague, Czech RepublicOne of the biggest challenges in the construction industry in recent times is the mitigation of the environmental impact of this sector, the reduction in dependence on primary raw materials, and the reduction in CO<sub>2</sub> production while maintaining functional properties. Alkaline activation of a number of waste products represents a promising way to achieve the above-mentioned goals, but the availability of a number of waste products changes over time, especially in Europe. While freshwater sediments were in the past widely utilized as an agricultural fertilizer, recent precautions have significantly decreased such application, and thus new destinations must be delivered. To explore the potential of freshwater sediments, select samples from various locations were subjected to detailed characterization to verify the applicability of the material for alkali activation. As recognized, the selected sediments contain a substantial volume of desired mineralogical compounds that can serve, after 900 °C curing, as suitable precursors. Such samples have consequently activated the mixture of alkaline activators to obtain dense structures and were subjected to detailed investigation aimed at understanding the mechanical parameters. The obtained mechanical results ranging between 14.9 MPa and 36.8 MPa reveal the engineering potential of sediments for valorization through alkali activation and outline new research challenges in this area.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/16/2/175alkali-activated materialfreshwater sedimentporosityparticle sizemechanical strength |
| spellingShingle | Jan Fořt Ayodele Afolayan Martin Mildner Petr Hotěk Martin Keppert Robert Černý Assessment of Clayey Freshwater Sediments as Suitable Precursors for Alkaline Activation Polymers alkali-activated material freshwater sediment porosity particle size mechanical strength |
| title | Assessment of Clayey Freshwater Sediments as Suitable Precursors for Alkaline Activation |
| title_full | Assessment of Clayey Freshwater Sediments as Suitable Precursors for Alkaline Activation |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of Clayey Freshwater Sediments as Suitable Precursors for Alkaline Activation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of Clayey Freshwater Sediments as Suitable Precursors for Alkaline Activation |
| title_short | Assessment of Clayey Freshwater Sediments as Suitable Precursors for Alkaline Activation |
| title_sort | assessment of clayey freshwater sediments as suitable precursors for alkaline activation |
| topic | alkali-activated material freshwater sediment porosity particle size mechanical strength |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/16/2/175 |
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