Advancing the Sustainability of Geopolymer Technology through the Development of Rice Husk Ash Based Solid Activators
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Solid Activators Synthesis
- The shortest treatment time was required for both treatment types to produce a dry product. More precisely, the temperature and time ranges were chosen to allow for the complete solubilization of the NH reagent and the dehydration of the reactants’ pulp.
- The household microwave oven’s technical features limited the microwave power to certain values (120, 460 and 700 W).
- The value range of SiO2/Na2O molar ratio was chosen taking into account the practice used so far in geopolymerization in relation to alkali silicate. In particular, SiO2/Na2O molar ratios with an upper limit value equal to 2 were applied, since alkali silicates prepared with higher values exhibit very low solubility in water and pH [31].
2.2. Geopolymer Synthesis
2.3. Characterization Techniques
3. Results
3.1. XRD Analysis
3.2. FTIR Analysis
3.3. Microstructural Analysis
3.4. Compressive Strength
4. Conclusions
- A simple synthesis procedure for the preparation of RHA-based solid activators was developed. This procedure involves the mixing of RHA and NH with water to form a pulp and then the treatment of the pulp by either conventional or microwave heating at mild conditions. Indeed, solid activators were successfully prepared by thermal or microwave processing after treatment at 150 °C for 1 h or 460 W for 5 min, respectively.
- The alternative method of microwave treatment is 12 times faster than the average time of conventional heat treatment in a laboratory oven and, therefore, more economically and environmentally advantageous.
- The SiO2/Na2O molar ratio proved to be a crucial factor for the successful preparation of RHA based solid activators. The application of SiO2/Na2O molar ratio equal to 1, successfully converts RHA to activators mainly consisting of crystalline Na2SiO3 (~60–76%) that obtain similar water solubility (>97%), microstructure and branched silica network to the commercial sodium silicate product. Higher SiO2/Na2O molar ratios did not succeed to achieve high conversion yields of RHA.
- The other synthesis parameters (temperature, microwave power and time of processing) do not significantly differentiate the activators’ composition. However, they affect the Na2SiO3 crystalline content. In general, conventional thermal processing produces activators of higher crystalline Na2SiO3 contents (59.9–76.1%) in relation to microwave processing (53.9–70.7%).
- The type of processing had a great impact on the microstructure of the produced solid activators. Microwave processing leads to more porous activators that can be more reactive compared to their counterpart obtained through conventional thermal treatment.
- The efficiency of the developed solid activators was tested through the preparation of geopolymer pastes from FA. The results showed that the RHA activators can effectively replace both the conventional activation solution and the commercial solid activators (sodium silicates and disilicates) of the geopolymer technology, since the prepared geopolymer pastes achieve 90 to 100% of their compressive strength values (62 MPa).
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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SiO2 | Al2O3 | Fe2O3 | CaO | MgO | K2O | Na2O | SO3 | TiO2 | P2O5 | MnO | L.O.I. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FA | 40.60 | 20.58 | 3.33 | 11.61 | 1.19 | 0.72 | 0.23 | 0.90 | 0.79 | 0.26 | 0.06 | 16.70 |
RHA | 90.41 | 0.00 | 0.06 | 1.04 | 3.39 | 0.52 | 0.00 | 0.33 | 0.00 | 1.07 | 0.15 | 4.20 |
ID of RSAs | RHA (% w/w) | NH (% w/w) | H2O (% w/w) | SiO2/Na2O Molar Ratio | Treatment Method | Temperature (°C) | Power (watt) | Treatment Duration |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
RHA_1SS_TT_330C_0.5h | 30.4 | 36.6 | 32.9 | 1 | Thermal | 330 | 0.5 h | |
RHA_1SS_TT_330C_1h | 30.4 | 36.6 | 32.9 | 1 | Thermal | 330 | - | 1 h |
RHA_1SS_TT_330C_2h | 30.4 | 36.6 | 32.9 | 1 | Thermal | 330 | - | 2 h |
RHA_1SS_TT_330C_3h | 30.4 | 36.6 | 32.9 | 1 | Thermal | 330 | - | 3 h |
RHA_1SS_TT_150C_1h | 30.4 | 36.6 | 32.9 | 1 | Thermal | 150 | - | 1 h |
RHA_1SS_TT_250C_1h | 30.4 | 36.6 | 32.9 | 1 | Thermal | 250 | - | 1 h |
RHA_1SS_TT_450C_1h | 30.4 | 36.6 | 32.9 | 1 | Thermal | 450 | - | 1 h |
RHA_2SS_TT_330C_1h | 46.6 | 28.1 | 25.3 | 2 | Thermal | 330 | - | 1 h |
RHA_1SS_MT_M_5m | 30.4 | 36.6 | 32.9 | 1 | Microwave | - | 460 | 5 min |
RHA_1SS_MT_M_12m | 30.4 | 36.6 | 32.9 | 1 | Microwave | - | 460 | 12 min |
RHA_1SS_MT_M_20m | 30.4 | 36.6 | 32.9 | 1 | Microwave | - | 460 | 20 min |
RHA_1SS_MT_H_5m | 30.4 | 36.6 | 32.9 | 1 | Microwave | - | 700 | 5 min |
RHA_1SS_MT_H_12m | 30.4 | 36.6 | 32.9 | 1 | Microwave | - | 700 | 12 min |
RHA_2SS_MT_M_5m | 46.6 | 28.1 | 25.3 | 2 | Microwave | - | 460 | 5 min |
MIX ID | FA | Sol | 1SS_COM | 2SS_COM | RSAs | NH | H2O | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1SS | 2SS | |||||||
G2P | 60.4 | 14.8 | - | - | - | - | 9.8 | 14.9 |
G1P_1SS_COM | 61.3 | - | 15.3 | - | - | - | - | 23.4 |
G1P_2SS_COM | 63.1 | - | - | 11.6 | - | - | 5.2 | 20.0 |
G1P_RHA_1SS_TT_150C | 63.4 | - | - | - | 15.8 | - | - | 20.8 |
G1P_RHA_2SS_TT_150C | 57.8 | - | - | - | - | 10.6 | 4.8 | 26.8 |
G1P_RHA_1SS_MT_M | 63.9 | - | - | - | 16.0 | - | - | 20.1 |
G1P_RHA_2SS_MT_M | 58.0 | - | - | - | - | 10.7 | 4.8 | 26.5 |
Sample ID | Na2SiO3 (%) | Amorphous (%) | Solubility (%) * |
---|---|---|---|
Commercial | |||
1SS_COM | 50.9 | 49.1 | 99.1 |
2SS_COM | - | 100.0 | 99.2 |
Thermally Treated | |||
RHA_1SS_TT_330C_0.5h | 59.9 | 40.1 | 98.3 |
RHA_1SS_TT_330C_1h | 76.1 | 23.9 | 97.1 |
RHA_1SS_TT_330C_2h | 67.3 | 32.7 | 97.9 |
RHA_1SS_TT_330C_3h | 66.9 | 33.1 | 98.5 |
RHA_1SS_TT_150C_1h | 66.8 | 33.2 | 98.3 |
RHA_1SS_TT_250C_1h | 68.9 | 31.1 | 98.2 |
RHA_1SS_TT_450C_1h | 75.5 | 24.5 | 96.5 |
RHA_2SS_TT_330C_1h | - | 100.0 | 10.1 |
Microwave-treated | |||
RHA_1SS_MT_M_5m | 56.8 | 43.2 | 95.9 |
RHA_1SS_MT_H_5m | 58.0 | 42.0 | 99.2 |
RHA_1SS_MT_M_12m | 57.1 | 42.9 | 99.6 |
RHA_1SS_MT_H_12m | 70.7 | 29.3 | 98.7 |
RHA_1SS_MT_M_20m | 53.9 | 46.1 | 98.7 |
RHA_2SS_MT_M_5m | - | 100.0 | 15.2 |
RHA | - | 100.0 | 6.5 |
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Panitsa, O.A.; Kioupis, D.; Kakali, G. Advancing the Sustainability of Geopolymer Technology through the Development of Rice Husk Ash Based Solid Activators. Sustainability 2024, 16, 7243. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16177243
Panitsa OA, Kioupis D, Kakali G. Advancing the Sustainability of Geopolymer Technology through the Development of Rice Husk Ash Based Solid Activators. Sustainability. 2024; 16(17):7243. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16177243
Chicago/Turabian StylePanitsa, Olga Andriana, Dimitrios Kioupis, and Glikeria Kakali. 2024. "Advancing the Sustainability of Geopolymer Technology through the Development of Rice Husk Ash Based Solid Activators" Sustainability 16, no. 17: 7243. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16177243