1. Commercialisation of Geopolymer Concrete
as part of FP7 SUS-CON Project:
Sustainable, Innovative and Energy-Efficient Concrete,
based on the Integration of All-Waste Materials

2. Contents:
• Geopolymer Team at Queen’s University Belfast.
• Historical background – sustainable construction materials.
• FP7 SUS-CON - Sustainable, Innovative and Energy-
Efficient Concrete, based on the Integration of All-Waste
Materials.
• New binders from waste streams - WP3 work on pfa and
ggbs based geopolymer concrete.
• Possible sources of raw materials for “synthesizing”
geopolymer concrete – a step towards commercialisation.
• Conclusions.

3. Queen’s University Belfast
Geopolymer Team (1 of 2)
Prof. M Soutsos Prof. M Basheer Prof. D Cleland Prof. W Sha
Dr. S Nanukuttan Dr. A Boyle Dr. E Cunningham Dr. M Russell
University of Liverpool

4. Queen’s University Belfast
Geopolymer Team (2 of 2)
S. Haji A. Hadjierakleous Q. Ma L. McCluskey
University of Liverpool
T. McGrath A. McIntosh A. Rafeet
banah UK Ltd
http://blogs.qub.ac.uk/geopolymer/

5. Historical Background:
Sustainable Construction Products
Developing Precast Concrete Products made with Recycled
Construction and Demolition Waste (C&DW):
• Phase I : Concrete Building Blocks
• Phase II: Concrete Paving Blocks and Flags
Funded by:
The Onyx (Veolia) Environmental Trust &
Flintshire Community Trust (AD Waste Ltd)
5th March 2003

6. Historical Background:
Sustainable Construction Products
North West Construction Knowledge Hub
Construction Sustainability Centre:
(a) Recycled demolition aggregate in precast building
and paving blocks and concrete flags,
(b) Reactive glass powder concrete flags of superior strength,
(c) Cementless “geopolymer” concrete products.

7. Historical Background:
Ultra High Performance Fibre Reinforced
Cementless Precast Concrete Products
Applied Research Grant Support
• The claims culture in the UK costs local authorities £500m each year
from trip, slip and fall accidents arising from cracked pavements.
• The superior performance of UHPFRC flags indicates that pavements
are unlikely to crack even if they are overloaded by unplanned
vehicle loading.

8. FP7 SUS-CON Project:
Sustainable, Innovative and Energy-Efficient Concrete,
based on the Integration of All-Waste Materials
• The construction industry is one of the largest
consumers raw materials and the built environment
consumes a lot of energy and contributes significantly to
greenhouse gas emissions.
• Concrete producers need new, eco-friendly and cost-
effective materials and binders for thermally efficient
building components – energy efficient buildings.
• Waste management is an increasingly complex and
challenging task for both local authorities and waste
recycling companies.

9. FP7 SUS-CON Project:
Sustainable, Innovative and Energy-Efficient Concrete,
based on the Integration of All-Waste Materials
Develop novel technologies to integrate wastes for the
production of lightweight concrete and thus achieve an
all-waste and energy-efficient concrete.

10. FP7 SUS-CON Project:
Sustainable, Innovative and Energy-Efficient Concrete,
based on the Integration of All-Waste Materials
• Main concrete components (binder and aggregates)
• Combine them for an all-waste concrete on the basis of
a new mix design model
• Applications:
 structural and non structural
 cast-in-situ and pre-cast
• Focus on waste materials that are cost-effective, readily
available across EU and also a social problem (low-
value, big quantities)

11. Work Packages in FP7 SUS-CON:
INDUSTRIAL UPTAKE
MATERIAL RESEARCH
WP1. GEOCLUSTERING - Mapping availability of waste
WP8. Certification, guidelines and decision support tool
streams and normative framework across EU-27
WP9. Training, dissemination and exploitation
WP7. LCA/LCC/HSE assessment
WP2. WASTE MATERIALS - New lightweight aggregates
WP10. Project management and coordination
from solid waste
WP3. WASTE MATERIALS - New binding systems from
waste alkaline solutions/streams and ashes
WP4. WASTE MATERIALS - Mix design and testing of all
waste concrete with benchmarking
WP5. PRODUCTION UPSCALE - Process design and
modelling
WP6. PRODUCTION UPSCALE - Demonstration
INDUSTRIAL
IMPLEMENTATION

12. Complementarity of Partners:
Waste recycling and processing
Centro Riciclo
Nano-additives and
Aggregates from waste Binders from waste surface treatments
Cetma (polymers) QUB BASF
TBTC (geo-polymers) S&B Centi
Concrete design and process LCA/LCC/HSE/Certification
TNO
TRE
FhG
TUV Italia
NTUA
Industrial end-users
Magnetti (pre-cast)
Iston (ready-mixed)
Iridex (builders)
Acciona

13. FP7 SUS-CON – Project Information
OTHER
4%
Total cost: 7.200.000 € Manag.
5%
EU funding: 4.500.000 €
Cost per activity type:
Demo.
23%
Start date: 01/01/2012
Duration: 4 years Research
68%

14. Work Package #3
New Binders - What’s Wrong with Cement?
Around 10 billion tonnes of concrete is used every year
– more than any other industrial material!
Ceramics (mostly concrete)
Natural (mostly timber)
Metals (mostly steel)
Polymers
UK production (2009) – 8 million tonnes of cement
5-8% of man-made CO2 – more than aviation
Data from Ashby, Materials and the Environment (2009) and ONS

15. Work Package #3
New Binders from Waste Streams:
Suitability of waste ash and alkali solutions for
geopolymer concrete:
1. Obtain samples from all available sources of reactive
aluminosilicate wastes and activators.
2. Assess their chemical and physical properties.
3. Obtain samples of all available sources of waste alkali
streams and assess their chemical and physical
properties.
4. Determine the reactivity potential of the above materials
for form cementless concrete.

16. Pulverised Fuel Ash based Geopolymer
Variables: M+ dosage (%) & Alkali Modulus (AM)
• Alkali dosage (M+ dosage) is the mass ratio of alkali metal
oxides (Na₂O + K2O) in the activating solution to PFA.
• Alkali modulus (AM) is the mass ratio of alkali metal oxides to
silica plus aluminate in the activating solution.
• Fixed parameters in the mix designs were:
– Water/solids ratio 0.37. Total water includes added water
and that already present in the pre-mixed alkaline
solutions (e.g Na-silicate). Total solids include PFA and
mass of alkali solids, including those dissolved in pre-
mixed solutions. Mass of sand is not included in mass of
the solids here.
– Sand/Binder ratio: 2.75:1

17. PFA-BASED ALKALI ACTIVATED BINDERS
Investigated mortars using:
• 100% PFA
• Na-based alkali solutions
• NaOH
• Na-silicate
Variables include:
• Alkali modulus
• silica content of activator
Na2O
AlkaliModulus =
SiO2
• Alkali dosage Typical mix proportions
• concentration of combined activators
kg/m3
Na2O
AlkaliDosage = PFA 500
PFA
• Pre-curing stand times Sand 1375
• Curing temperature Sodium silicate solution 196
Sodium hydroxide 48
Water 110

18. Effect of Alkali Dosage on the
Compressive Strength - (Curing at 700C)

19. Effect of Alkali Modulus on the
Compressive Strength - (Curing at 700C)

20. Compressive Strength as affected by alkali
dosage and modulus - (Curing at 700C)

21. Compressive Strength as affected by alkali
dosage and modulus - (Curing at 700C)

22. Compressive Strength versus Age for
Thirteen PFA sources from the UK

23. Quantitative XRF results for
Thirteen PFA sources from the UK

24. Ash Characterization
- Mineralogical Composition by XRD -

25. Ash Characterization
- Particle Size by Laser Diffraction Granulometry -
2.5
2.0
1.5
volume-%
1.0 Malvern Mastersizer 2000,
Manufacturing Engineering
0.5
0.0
0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000
Particle size, microns

26. Ash Characterization
- Particle Size by Laser Diffraction Granulometry -
100
Rocktron
80
alpha and delta
Average particle size, microns
materials
60
40
20
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Sample

27. Flow Table Test Results

28. “Advanced” Microstructural Techniques for the
Identification of Reaction Products
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)

29. “Advanced” Microstructural Techniques for the
Identification of Reaction Products
Chemical mapping of PFA-sodium silicate geopolymer

30. “Advanced” Microstructural Techniques for the
Identification of Reaction Products
Secondary electron imaging & EDS

31. “Advanced” Microstructural Techniques for the
Identification of Reaction Products
Secondary electron images of PFA-based mortars

32. “Advanced” Microstructural Techniques for the
Identification of Reaction Products
Sodium silicate crystals in mortar with low alkali modulus

33. Effect of PFA/GGBS ratio on the strength
Alkali dosage of 7.5%

34. 100% GGBS cured at 200C
Si (green), Ca (blue), and Al (red)

35. Class C PFA from Greece
Si (green), Ca (blue), and Al (red)

36. Commercialisation of
Geopolymer Concrete?
Cost of Alkali Activated Binders:
Assuming commercial alkalis are used, concrete based on
alkali-activated binders is estimated to cost around 20-25%
more than cement-based concrete.
Possible Solutions:
1. Produce products that will meet higher specifications or
last longer than existing ones.
2. Low carbon footprint - Green taxes or carbon credits.
3. Find cheaper sources of alkalis - sodium silicate is the
most expensive component!

37. Cheaper Sources of Raw Materials for
Geopolymer Concrete?
Possible sources:
1. Incinerated paper pulp sludge.
2. Air pollution control residues (APC).
3. Basic oxygen slag (BOS).
4. TRAAS
5. MIKROVER
6. Incinerated sewage sludge ash
7. Bauxite residues (Red mud)
8. Alumina

38. Hungary's toxic aftermath
-
An aerial photo shows the ruptured wall of the
alumina plant reservoir.

39. The sludge, which contains a mix of metal oxides,
is now making its way towards the Danube,
Europe's second-longest river.

40. Develop an Understanding of the
Reaction Mechanism

41. CONCLUSIONS
• An optimum alkali composition was identified for alkali
activation of PFA giving 70 N/mm2 compressive strength.
• Addition of GGBS enables the production of cement-free
concrete at ambient temperatures.
• There is some evidence that that there is interaction
between the two reactions occurring in alkali-activated
binders containing PFA and GGBS.
• We need to develop a better understanding of the
reaction mechanism so we can use materials from waste
streams to synthesize geopolymer - commercialisation is
likely if a reduction in the cost of producing it is achieved.

42. And finally......
Thank you for your attention.
Are there any questions?