Comparison of the Effectiveness of Reducing the Leaching of Formaldehyde from Immobilized Wool in Geopolymer and Cement Mortar

Abstract

Innovative building materials should also be pro-environmental. This article discusses the environmental footprint of geopolymer and cement-based mortars. It describes the methodology for preparing geopolymer and cement mortars using mineral wool waste. The phenol–formaldehyde resin used in mineral wool is a source of phenol and formaldehyde emissions to the environment. The prepared mortar samples were subjected to durability tests to assess the correlation between the amount of mineral wool and the flexural and compressive strength of the samples. The key element of the paper is to test whether immobilisation of mineral wool in the geopolymer will reduce leaching of phenol and formaldehyde into the environment. The results revealed that cements prepared with mineral wool showed higher compressive strength, whereas geopolymer samples had better flexural strength. The study also proved that immobilisation of the wool in the geopolymer reduces phenol and formaldehyde leaching significantly.