Xuan Hou,Shuhua Ma,Xiaohui Wang,Ruiping Liu,Muhammad Ibrahim
In the study of hydrothermal conversion of fly ash to calcium silicate hydrates (C–S–H), the concentration of Ca and Si in the liquid phase plays a vital role in determining the hydrothermal transformation results. This paper selected a fly ash as a research object, which can leach a high Si concentration into the solution in the hydrothermal process even in a slight alkaline solution, based on a new finding when studying the alkali dissolution kinetics of different fly ashes. To explore the effects of Ca and Si concentrations in the liquid phase on the hydrothermal transformation of fly ash to tobermorite or katoite, Na 2 SiO 3 (Na 2 O·xSiO 2 ·yH 2 O) and CaSO 4 were used to change the concentration of Si and Ca in the liquid in the hydrothermal system. Characterization methods such as XRD, SEM, infrared spectroscopy, and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance indicated that a little more concentration of Si can promote the transformation from fly ash to tobermorite and persuade the conversion of the Si–O tetrahedron in C–S–H from Q 2 to Q 3 and Q 4 . However, too high a liquid Si concentration made the hydrothermal product change to colloidal calcium silicate. On the other hand, a high Ca concentration in the liquid was found to lead to the conversion of the hydrothermal product from tobermorite to katoite. According to the above results, the deep transformation from fly ash to tobermorite under the conditions of a low temperature of 160 °C and no extra alkali addition was achieved by the induction of a small quantity of Na 2 SiO 3 .
Zhiyuan Song,Zainab Bibi,Sidra Chaudhary,Qinxiang Jia,Xiaoyong Li,Yang Sun
A water-soluble ternary copolymer bearing carboxyl, sulfonic, and amide functional groups was synthesized using ammonium persulfate-catalyzed free radical polymerization in water, resulting in high monomer conversion. This copolymer was then complexed with aluminum sulfate, forming an admixture containing Al(SO 4 )(OH)·5H 2 O, which was subsequently combined with silica gel. Characterization revealed that the synthesized copolymer formed a large, thin membrane that covered both the aluminum compounds and the silica gel blocks. The introduction of this complex admixture, combining the copolymer and aluminum sulfate, not only reduced the setting times of the cement paste but also enhanced the mechanical strengths of the mortar compared to using aluminum sulfate alone. The complex admixture led to the formation of katoite, metajennite, and C 3 A (tricalcium aluminate) in the mortar, demonstrating significant linking effects, whereas pure aluminum sulfate could not completely transform C 3 S within 24 h. Further addition of silica gel to the complex admixture further shortened the setting times of the paste, slightly reduced compressive strength, but improved flexural strength compared to the initial complex admixture. The silicon components appeared to fill the micropores and mesopores of the mortar, accelerating cement setting and enhancing flexural strength, while slightly decreasing compressive strength. This study contributed to the development of new cementing accelerators with improved hardening properties.