The site occupancy of Mg in the brownmillerite structure and its effect on hydration properties: an X-ray/neutron diffraction and EXAFS study

Study on Preparation of Low Heat High Belite Clinker from Waste Mortar and Its Modification

In order to realize low energy consumption in cement and the recycling of solid waste, the phase composition and structure of waste mortar used to prepare a high belite cement clinker, instead of some other raw materials, have here been investigated, and the belite was activated by doping with SO₃. The results show that a good high belite cement clinker can be obtained using waste mortar, limestone, coal gangue, iron powder, or iron correction raw materials combined at 1350 °C for half an hour. The addition of SO₃ greatly increased the strength of the clinker in the early phase, and overall, the ratio of calcium to silicon in belite became higher, and more Al₂O₃ entered the belite; however, the generation of C₃S was inhibited somewhat, and the content of C₄AF also increased. This study offers guidance for the application of waste mortar and the activation of belite, which offers huge environmental and economic benefits.

Cement Render and Mortar and Their Damages Due to Salt Crystallization in the Holy Trinity Church, Dominicans Monastery in Cracow, Poland

The investigations focused on the façade of the 17th-century Myszkowskis chapel at the 13th-century Church of the Holy Trinity in Cracow, Poland. Most of the chapel’s façade is made of rusticated limestone blocks, but its lower part is covered with cement render, and the basement consists of irregular pieces of limestone and sandstone, bound and partly replaced with cement mortar. The façade exhibited clearly visible damages: gray soiling of the surface, cracks, scaling, and efflorescence. The study presents characteristics of the cement render and mortar used for stone repair and/or substitution, as well as efflorescence from the lower part of the Myszkowskis chapel façade. The materials were analyzed with optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS), Raman microspectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry (XRPD), and mercury intrusion porosimetry. The analyses demonstrated that the render covering some of the decayed limestone blocks was prepared using Portland cement (residual clinker grains represent alite and belite) as a binding agent, mixed with crushed stone as an aggregate. The cement mortar consisted of rounded quartz grains, rock fragments, and feldspars in very fine-grained masses of calcite and gypsum, also containing relics of cement clinker (alite, belite, ferrite, and aluminate). All these components point out the use of the ordinary Portland cement. Analyses of the efflorescence allowed us to distinguish several secondary salts, among others, thenardite, aphthitalite, and darapskite. The appearance of these phases is related to the composition and physicochemical properties of the building materials, atmospheric alteration agents, air pollution, and some other anthropogenic factors.

Production and properties of ferrite-rich CSAB cement from metallurgical industry residues

Blast furnace slag from the steel industry is commercially utilized as a cement replacement material without major processing requirements; however, there are many unutilized steel production slags which differ considerably from the blast furnace slag in chemical and physical properties. In this study, calcium sulfoaluminate belite (CSAB) cement clinkers were produced using generally unutilized metallurgical industry residues: AOD (Argon Oxygen Decarburisation) slag from stainless steel production, Fe slag from zinc production, and fayalitic slag from nickel production. CSAB clinker with a target composition of ye'elimite-belite-ferrite was produced by firing raw materials at 1300 °C. The phase composition of the produced clinkers was identified using quantitative XRD analyses, and the chemical composition of the clinker phases produced was established using FESEM-EDS and mechanical properties were tested through compressive strength test. It is demonstrated that these metallurgical residues can be used successfully as alternative raw materials for the production of CSAB cement that can be used for special applications. In addition, it is shown that the available quantities of these side-streams are enough for significant replacement of virgin raw materials used in cement production.

Leaching mechanisms of Cr(VI) from chromite ore processing residue

Batch leaching tests, qualitative and quantitative x-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) analyses, and geochemical modeling were used to investigate the leaching mechanisms of Cr(VI) from chromite ore processing residue (COPR) samples obtained from an urban area in Hudson County, New Jersey. The pH of the leaching solutions was adjusted to cover a wide range between 1 and 12.5. The concentration levels for total chromium (Cr) and Cr(VI) in the leaching solutions were virtually identical for pH values >5. For pH values <5, the concentration of total Cr exceeded that of Cr(VI) with the difference between the two attributed to Cr(III). Geochemical modeling results indicated that the solubility of Cr(VI) is controlled by Cr(VI)-hydrocalumite and Cr(VI)-ettringite at pH >10.5 and by adsorption at pH <8. However, experimental results suggested that Cr(VI) solubility is controlled partially by Cr(VI)-hydrocalumite at pH >10.5 and by hydrotalcites at pH >8 in addition to adsorption of anionic chromate species onto inherently present metal oxides and hydroxides at pH <8. As pH decreased to <10, most of the Cr(VI) bearing minerals become unstable and their dissolution contributes to the increase in Cr(VI) concentration in the leachate solution. At low pH ( <1.5), Cr(III) solid phases and the oxides responsible for Cr(VI) adsorption dissolve and release Cr(III) and Cr(VI) into solution.