Valorification of Egyptian volcanic tuff as eco-sustainable blended cementitious materials

Abstract

Rhyolite rocks extend from southern Egypt to northern Egypt in the Eastern Desert, and no effective economic exploitation of them has been discovered so far. The pozzolanic activities of different volcanic tuffs (VT) supplied from the Eastern Desert located in Egypt have been investigated as natural volcanic pozzolan materials to develop new green cementitious materials for achieving sustainability goals in the construction field. Experimentally in this paper, the pozzolanic activities of seven diverse specimens of Egyptian tuffs taken with standardized proportions of 75:25% (Cement: volcanic tuffs) were investigated. Pozzolanic features of such tuffs are examined comparatively via strength activity index (SAI), TGA, DTA, and the Frattini’s test. Chemical composition, petrographic, and XRD analysis were also performed for tuffs samples. The pozzolanic reaction degrees were determined according to the compressive strengths at 7, 28, 60 and 90 days with different replacement ratios (20, 25, 30 and 40%) of tuffs samples. Additionally, the micro-filler effects in mortar and concrete were determined by measuring the heat of hydration in mortar samples and the compressive strength of concrete with different additive ratios for tuffs samples besides, the concrete slump test. The results show that TF6 gives a lower cement heat of hydration value which is less than 270 J/g at 7 days. Also, its performance in concrete is better than silica fume at late strength (28 days) since the concrete index value is 106.2% by compared to the concrete index of silica fume 103.9 and therefore it can be used as an alternative to high price and quality variable silica fume (SF) for producing high-performance green concrete. Due to the good pozzolanic behavior proved by nearly most volcanic tuffs, along with their low cost, this study will be profitable for very auspicious the use of Egyptian volcanic tuffs for developing sustainable and eco‑friendly blended cement.

Geochemical and Experimental Investigations of some Egyptian Volcanic Tuffaceous Rocks as Natural Supplementary Cementitious Materials

“…Pozzolana is a substance that can be used in concrete or mortar either as a distinct ingredient during the mixing process or it can be combined with cement clinker to create blended cement, where a portion of the Portland cement is substituted with it [5]. It is mainly composed of silica and alumina and has the ability to undergo a chemical reaction with calcium hydroxide at ambient temperature, resulting in the formation of relatively stable compounds that possess cement-like characteristics [6]. Calcium hydroxide is derived from the hydration process of cement, which lacks significant binding and durability properties [7,8].…”

End-Of-Use Fly Ash as an Effective Reinforcing Filler in Green Polymer Composites

“…Millions of tons of fly ash are produced around the world every year. However, recent research has highlighted its untapped potential as a reinforcing material in composite materials [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Fly ash consists primarily of amorphous silica, alumina, and iron oxide particles, which can serve as effective reinforcements when combined with epoxy resins.…”