Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the viability of sugarcane bagasse ash as a sustainable supplementary cementitious material and its association with improving the fertilizing properties of vinasse, used as a leaching agent. Thus, a bagasse ash with low quartz contamination was divided into three parts: one kept in natura, one submitted to citric acid leaching and the third to vinasse leaching. After production, which was concluded with re-calcination and ultrafine grinding, the three ashes were characterized according to their chemical and mineralogical composition, particle size, porosity, density, and pozzolanic activity. Paste hydration with 20 wt% cement replacement by each ash was assessed in isothermal calorimetry and chemical shrinkage tests. The elemental and oxide composition of vinasse before and after leaching was also obtained. The results showed that vinasse leaching promoted an increase in specific surface area and pozzolanic activity of ash, comparable to that observed for citric-acid leaching procedure. Tests with pastes containing vinasse-leached ash confirmed the improvement in cement hydration. In addition, after leaching, vinasse exhibited a decline in heavy metal concentration, increased pH (neutralization) and macronutrient concentration. Thus, vinasse leaching improved the pozzolanic characteristics of ash, making vinasse a more environmentally friendly fertilizer.
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