Effect of aluminosilicate powders on the applicability of innovative geopolymer binders for wood-based composites

Abstract

In this research, a new binder class for wood based composites, named geopolymer binder, was developed based on pozzolanic by-products (e.g. fly ash). Additionally, effects of different amounts of silica fume, as a replacement agent with other aluminosilicate components (e.g. fly ash and metakaolin), have been evaluated in the innovative binder. The Automated Bonding Evaluation System technique was used to characterize the bonding shear strength of the developed geopolymer binder. It was shown that the best shear strength for fly ash based binders was obtained by the lowest press temperature and longest pressing time. The addition of silica fume (from 20% up to 100%) significantly influenced the bonding shear strength in all binder types. Due to the chemical and mineralogical compositions, silica fume displays higher pozzolanic activity than metakaolin whereas fly ash shows lower strength in comparison to metakaolin. The silica fume (100%) based binder has also superior shear strength compared to those of conventional UF resin and other geopolymer binders. Bonding shear strength like that for UF resin was achieved by substituting only 20% silica fume in geopolymer binder compositions.