Preparation of Ceramsite Using Dehydrated Silt Soil and Its Performance on Compressive Strength of Ceramsite Concrete Block

Abstract

Using dehydrated silt soil as a raw material to produce ceramsite for ceramsite concrete blocks is a promising approach from both environmental and economic aspects. In this paper, flocculant polyacrylamide (PAM) was investigated to dehydrate the silt, and the optimal dosage of PAM was found to be 0.8 mol/L. The dehydrated silt was then fired to obtain ceramsite, which was subsequently used to prepare ceramsite autoclaved concrete blocks (CACB). The compressive strength of the blocks was tested and compared with that of ordinary autoclaved concrete blocks (ACB) and Nano-CaCO3 autoclaved concrete blocks (NACB). The results showed that the addition of ceramsite or Nano-CaCO3 can improve the compressive strength, with an increase of 44.4% and 55.6% at 7 d, respectively, compared with the autoclaved concrete block.