Hydration Mechanism Research Articles

Intramolecular hybrid diamine DMAPA/n-PeOH/H2O biphasic absorbent for CO2 absorption through combining zwitterion and base-catalyzed hydration mechanism

Biphasic solvents can decrease the regeneration energy of CO2 capture. As an intramolecular hybrid diamine, 3-Dimethylaminopropylamine (DMAPA) had a primary amino group and a tertiary amino group, which could absorb CO2 by combining zwitterion and base-catalyzed hydration mechanism. The derived DMAPA/n-PeOH/H2O biphasic absorbent possessed high CO2 absorption capacity (1.46 mol/mol) and large CO2-rich phase loading (6.27 mol/L), which were superior to existing mixed amine systems. At 393.15 K, this system had a large desorption amount of 4.91 mol/L and a fast desorption rate (6.68 E-3 mol/L·s), which were 2.84 and 3.73 times of 30 wt% MEA. The associated total regeneration energy was reduced to 1.36 GJ/t CO2, only 34.1 % of MEA absorbent. The reaction mechanism and origin of phase separation were revealed by NMR analysis and quantum chemistry calculations. In addition, low viscosity and corrosiveness were revealed and conducive for industrial application.

Investigating the grinding characteristics of vanadium-titanium iron ore tailings for sustainable utilization in cementitious material preparation

The study of the cementitious material activity of industrial solid wastes is a key issue in the comprehensive utilization of its green building materials. In this study, mechanical activation was used to prepare cementitious materials from vanadium-titanium iron ore tailings (VTIOT) as the main raw materials, and the effects of grinding time, the key parameter, on the grinding characteristics of VTIOT, the mechanical properties of the VTIOT cementitious material, and the hydration mechanism were investigated by means of surface area analysis, particle size analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), alkali leaching, mechanical testing, hydration heat analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results show that: the grinding time and specific surface area of VTIOT exhibit a linear correlation. Prolonging the grinding time, the fractal dimension of the particles gradually increases. The activity of Si4+ and Al3+ elements increases rapidly, reaching a Si4+ and Al3+ content of 96 mg·L−1 at 90 min of grinding. With a VTIOT mixing amount of 30 %, a mortar paste ratio of 1:3, and a water cement ratio of 0.5, the 50 min ground VTIOT mortar demonstrates 7 d and 28 d compressive strengths of 29 MPa and 38.7 MPa, corresponding to the highest values of the activity index, measured at 71.4 % and 75.2 %, respectively. Under standard curing conditions, the hydration products of cementitious materials at 7 d are ettringite (AFt), calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H), alumina, ferric oxide, monsulfate (AFm), calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2), and calcium silica (CS). In the hydration process of 7 d, the exothermic peak and exothermic amount of the 50 min VTIOT cementitious materials are greater than those observed for other grinding times, but lower than those of pure reference cement.

Preparation and characterization of cementitious materials from dedioxinized and dechlorinated municipal solid waste incineration fly ash and blast furnace slag

To address the resource utilization issue of MSWI fly ash, a method has been proposed to prepare cementitious materials using harmlessly processed MSWI fly ash (HPFA). After washing and thermal treatment, The physicochemical properties of HPFA were characterized using QXRD, ICP, XRF, and GC-MS. Cementitious materials were prepared using HPFA, gypsum and blast furnace slag (BFS) as raw materials, Through XRD, TG, FTIR, TEM, and SEM-EDS methods, the hydration and hardening characteristics were investigated, and the leaching of heavy metals from solidified materials in simulated surface water and landfill environments was evaluated using ICP-MS. The results indicate that the harmless treatment can effectively reduce the chloride content and dioxins in MSWI FA but still contains heavy metals. The addition of HPFA (10%-50%) can enhance the compressive strength of cementitious materials, accelerate the exothermic process of cement hydration, and increase the total heat release of hydration, implying an improvement in the degree of hydration of the system.HPFA could effectively promote the hydration of gypsum and BFS, resulting in the higher formation of ettringite and C-(A)-S-H（C/S=1，Al/Si=0.3）.The formation of C(Mg/Fe)-(A)-S-H suggests that the Fe-Mg solid solution phase in HPFA may have participated in the hydration reaction. The increased stability of highly cross-linked (Q4) silicate tetrahedral structure with time implies that the material may have good durability. The leaching amount of heavy metals met the standards of Class I surface water in GB3838–2002 and GB5085.3–2007 which implies that the material has environmental safety. This study innovatively provides a preparation path for harmless MSWI fly ash and cementitious material ratios, reveals the hydration mechanism of HPFA in cementitious materials, evaluates the solidification ability of heavy metals, and provides important ideas for the resource utilization of MSWI fly ash.

An in-situ study of the interaction mechanism between xanthate and unactivated/Cu-activated sphalerite surfaces at solid–liquid interfaces

The mechanism of surface hydration and xanthate adsorption in the flotation of unactivated/Cu-activated sphalerite is still controversial. Therefore, a study combining in-situ measurement and quantum simulation is employed to investigate the interaction mechanism of ethyl xanthate (EX) and butyl xanthate (BX) on the fully hydrated, unactivated/Cu-activated sphalerite surfaces at solid–liquid interfaces. Density functional based on tight-binding (DFTB+) and molecular dynamics (MD) results suggest that the Cu-activated surface is hydrophobic with the first layer of water being distributed more disorderly on it. This is due to the difficulty of the lone pair electrons of water to interact with Cu. On the unactivated surface, water adsorption is more favorable than xanthates, hence, water molecules are physically adsorbed on it. Whereas the interaction of EX/BX with the hydrated, activated surface is chemisorption. The higher reactivity of Cu+ d orbitals to form π-backbonds with xanthate and the orbital symmetry matching of the Cu dyz orbitals and xanthate pz orbitals contribute to these results. Microcalorimetric results also demonstrate that copper activation enhances the exothermic heat and reaction rate, facilitating the interaction of EX/BX with sphalerite. These are consistent with the flotation and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) results.

Effect of ball milling-Ca(OH)2 coupling activation on the cementitious properties of ferrous extraction tailing of nickel slag: Basic properties, hydration mechanism and heavy metal safety

In order to improve the reactivity of ferrous extraction tailing of nickel slag (FETNS), This paper delves into the influence of ball milling-activator Ca(OH)2 on the cementitious activity of FETNS. Furthermore, it assesses the combined activation's impact on the working performance, mechanical properties, shrinkage properties, early hydration process, hydration products, and heavy metal element leaching of the FETNS-OPC composite cementitious system. The results show that the coupling activation significantly enhanced the reactivity of FETNS and prolonged the acceleration period of the composite cementitious system during the hydration process, thereby promoting the hydration reaction. This not only shortened the setting time of the composite cementitious system, but also significantly improved its early compressive strength. The microscopic test results showed that the coupling activation improved the reaction degree of the composite cementitious system, promoted the formation of more reaction products, and increased the compactness of the internal structure. In addition, the coupling activation also enhanced the degree of polymerization of the composite cementitious system, and these factors together led to an increase in compressive strength. However, it is worth noting that with the increase of FETNS reactivity under the coupling activation, the autogenous shrinkage change rate and drying shrinkage change rate of the composite cementitious system also increased accordingly. Finally, the results of the heavy metal leaching test showed that the coupling activation reduced the leaching value of heavy metal elements in FETNS, ensuring the safety of practical application.

Effect of Diethanol-Isopropanolamine and Typical Supplementary Cementitious Materials on the Hydration Mechanism of BOF Slag Cement Pastes

This study investigated the effects of lithium slag and iron tailings on the hydration mechanism of Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) slag cement paste with the addition of 0.06% diethanol-isopropanolamine (DEIPA). This study examined the fluidity, compressive strength, pore solution pH, and hydration products of BOF slag-based composite cementitious materials. The results showed that DEIPA facilitated the conversion from ettringite (AFt) to monosulphate (AFm) and improved the early compressive strength of the BOF slag–cement mortar. Incorporating lithium slag into the DEIPA-containing BOF slag–cement system promoted AFt formation, increased calcium-silicate-hydrate production, and enhanced the microstructure. BOF slag, lithium slag, and iron tailings exhibit synergistic effects in cement pastes. BOF slag and lithium slag provided the reactive components SiO2 and Al2O3. In the early hydration stages, the iron tailings primarily served as fillers, accelerating the system’s reactions.

Impact of triisopropanolamine on surface composition, crystallographic variation, and thermal behavior of C3A polymorphs

In this study, the impact of triisopropanolamine (TIPA) on both the crystallographic and surface properties of cubic and orthorhombic tricalcium aluminate (C3A) were investigated together with their hydration behavior and strength development. When TIPA was added during the grinding process, the pre-hydration and carbonation of C3A were effectively prevented, and crystal structural changes of C3A were confirmed. It leads to altering the hydration mechanism of C3A phases: in the case of cubic C3A, it promotes the formation of Al-hydrogarnet phases instead of OH-AFm phases even on the first day of curing. Similar hydration behavior was observed with orthorhombic C3A, but the phase transition of OH-AFm phases to Al-hydrogarnet occurs during a specific time period in 1–3 days. The latter was revealed as a very interesting endothermic reaction which can be the only heat absorptive behavior in complex cement hydration as reported so far.

Novel self-setting cements based on tricalcium silicate/(β-tricalcium phosphate/monocalcium phosphate anhydrous)/hydroxypropyl methylcellulose: From hydration mechanism to biological evaluations

Despite the clinical success of tricalcium silicate (TCS)-based materials in endodontics, the inferior handling characteristic, poor anti-washout property and slow setting kinetics hindered their wider applications. To solve these problems, an injectable fast-setting TCS/β-tricalcium phosphate/monocalcium phosphate anhydrous (β-TCP/MCPA) cement was developed for the first time by incorporation of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and β-TCP/MCPA. The physical-chemical characterization (setting time, anti-washout property, injectability, compressive strength, apatite mineralization and sealing property) of TCS/(β-TCP/MCPA) were conducted. Its hydration mechanism was also investigated. Furthermore, the cytocompatibility and osteogenic/odontogenic differentiation of stem cells isolated from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) treated with TCS/β-TCP/MCPA were studied. The results showed that HPMC could provide TCS with good anti-washout ability and injectability but slow hydration process. However, β-TCP/MCPA effectively enhanced anti-washout characteristics and reduced setting time due to faster hydration kinetics. TCS/(β-TCP/MCPA) obtained around 90 % of injection rate and high compressive strength whereas excessive additions of β-TCP/MCPA compromised its injectability and compressive strength. TCS/(β-TCP/MCPA) can induce apatite deposition and form a tight marginal sealing at the dentin-cement interface. Additionally, TCS/(β-TCP/MCPA) showed good biocompatibility and promoted osteo/odontogenic differentiation of SHED. In general, our results indicated that TCS/(β-TCP/MCPA) may be particularly promising as an injectable bioactive cements for endodontic treatment.

Replacing Fly Ash or Silica Fume with Tuff Powder for Concrete Engineering in Plateau Areas: Hydration Mechanism and Feasibility Study

Abundant tuff mineral resources offer a promising solution to the shortage of fly ash (FA) and silica fume (SF) resources as emerging supplementary cementitious materials. However, a lack of clarity on its hydration mechanism has hindered its practical engineering application. In this study, high SiO2-content tuff powder (TP) was examined to assess the mechanical and workability performance of mortar specimens with varying particle sizes of the TP as complete replacements for FA or SF. Microscopic analysis techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential thermal analysis (DTG), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), were employed to elucidate the hydration mechanism of the TP and its feasibility as a substitute for SF or FA. Results indicated that TP primarily functions as nuclei and filler, promoting cement hydration, with smaller particle sizes amplifying the hydration ability and increasing Ca(OH)2 and C-S-H gel content. The specimens with TP (median particle size 7.58 μm) demonstrated 9.2% and 29.9% higher flexural and compressive strengths at 28 days, respectively, compared to the FA specimens of equal mass. However, fluidity decreased by 23.1% accordingly. Due to TP’s smaller specific surface area compared to SF, the TP specimens exhibited higher fluidity but with decreased strength relative to the SF specimens. Overall, TP shows potential as a replacement for FA with additional measures to ensure workability.

Molecular insight into the decomposition mechanism and stability of CO2 hydrate in the symmetric non-flat double-plate porous media system

Unveiling the decomposition mechanism and stability of hydrate in porous media sediments is the fundamental issue related to hydrate-based CO2 capture and sequestration. In this work, Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to study the decomposition mechanism and stability of CO2 hydrate in the porous media of symmetric non-flat double-plate system and explore its mass transfer process. The model of CO2 hydrate in porous media possessing symmetric non-flat double-plate structure was constructed using square quartz (SiO2) as the single crystal material of porous media, illustrating the decomposition mechanism and stability law of CO2 hydrate in such media system. Simulation results indicate that there exists no pretty noteworthy discrepancy between CO2 hydrate in the symmetric non-flat double-plate porous media system and pure CO2 hydrate at the aspect of the decomposition process and sequence. The decomposition process can be divided into two stages: initial cage destruction and CO2 bubble evolution. The decomposition order proceeds in an outside to inside manner generally, with CO2 hydrate decomposition in the middle layer and diagonal region taking priority. Furthermore, the distance between media layers exerts a prominent influence on CO2 hydrate decomposition, which larger distance motivates the decomposition of CO2 hydrate easier. The results also indicated that, compared with pure water system, the stability of CO2 hydrate is greater in the symmetric non-flat double-plate porous media system, with the extreme values of DC reaching 0.64 times only than pure water system. Additionally, CO2 hydrate displayed a stronger stability in the confined space. These findings are beneficial for understanding the decomposition mechanism and stability of CO2 hydrate and provide an interesting insight into geological CO2 sequestration in sediments.

Effects of Steel Slag on the Hydration Process of Solid Waste-Based Cementitious Materials.

Aiming to enhance the comprehensive utilization of steel slag (SS), a solid waste-based binder consisting of SS, granulated blast furnace slag (BFS), and desulfurization gypsum (DG) was designed and prepared. This study investigated the reaction kinetics, phase assemblages, and microstructures of the prepared solid waste-based cementitious materials with various contents of SS through hydration heat, XRD, FT-IR, SEM, TG-DSC, and MIP methods. The synergistic reaction mechanism between SS and the other two wastes (BFS and DG) is revealed. The results show that increasing SS content in the solid waste-based binder raises the pH value of the freshly prepared pastes, advances the main hydration reaction, and shortens the setting time. With the optimal SS content of 20%, the best mechanical properties are achieved, with compressive strengths of 19.2 MPa at 3 d and 58.4 MPa at 28 d, respectively. However, as the SS content continues to increase beyond 20%, the hydration process of the prepared binder is delayed. The synergistic activation effects between SS and BFS with DG enable a large amount of ettringite (AFt) formation, guaranteeing early strength development. As the reaction progresses, more reaction products CSH and Aft are precipitated. They are interlacing and overlapping, jointly refining and densifying the material's microstructure and contributing to the long-term strength gain. This study provides a reference for designing and developing solid waste-based binders and deepens the insightful understanding of the hydration mechanism of the solid waste-based binder.

Gas CO2 foaming and intermixing in portland cement paste to sequester CO2

In this study, concentrated CO2 gas was used to create foamed cement paste, and concentrated CO2 gas was intermixed in fresh cement paste to produce regular cement paste materials that were not foamed. The potential of both methods to form CaCO3 from calcium ions that would form Ca(OH)2 was investigated. After curing the materials for different ages, the Ca(OH)2 and CaCO3 contents were measured using thermogravimetric analysis; the large void size distributions, dynamic modulus, and compressive strength were tested and compared against Control (no gas added), and N2 foamed and N2 intermixed specimens. A 10% increase in dynamic modulus and compressive strength was measured in CO2 foamed specimens compared to N2 foamed specimens. The increase in mechanical properties was the result of both a narrow void diameter distribution and CaCO3 formation in place of Ca(OH)2. The CO2 foamed cement generation method shows the potential to sequester 0.06 ton of CO2 for every ton of cement which is a CO2 emission reduction of 7.0% of the CO2 production associated with cement production. For the CO2 intermixing method, the void content, compressive strength, and dynamic modulus results were consistent between the Control and CO2 intermixed specimens while the N2 intermixed specimens showed a decrease in compressive strength and dynamic modulus. The CO2 intermixing method showed potential to sequester 0.04 ton of CO2 for every ton of cement or a 4.7% CO2 emission reduction of the total CO2 production associated with cement manufacturing. The reported CO2 emissions are not based on life cycle assessment and do not account for emissions associated with CO2 collection, transportation, and intermixing. The present paper does not investigate the mechanisms of hydration under CO2 intermixing.

Influence of the wide range cement content on the properties of cement–treated marine soft soil and bound method of semi–solidified soil

In order to identify the upper and lower boundary cement content for modified marine soft soil (i.e., semi–solidified soils), physical, compaction, and unconfined compressive strength tests of cement–treated soils with a wide range of cement content were carried out to study their variation law of physical–compaction–mechanical properties. The test results show that cement–treated soil can be divided into uselessly treated soil, semi–solidified soil, and solidified soil with the increase of cement content. For uselessly treated soil, the treated soil cannot be compacted even after compaction delay. Cement hydration in semi–solidified soil significantly improved its physical and compaction properties. However, compaction destroyed the skeleton structure of solidified soil, resulting in lower strength than compacted semi–solidified soil. Based on the cement–soil particles–water relationship, soil particles–water transfer mechanism, cement hydration mechanism and the state of soil particles–water before and after treated, the bound method of semi–solidified soils based on cement content and moisture content ratio of untreated soil was established. The test parameters of bound method are simple, easily obtained and have small dispersion, which provides design basis and theoretical support for resource utilization of marine soft soil.

Retardation mechanism of phosphogypsum in phosphogypsum-based excess-sulfate cement

The effect of phosphogypsum (PG) on the hydration and retardation mechanism of phosphogypsum-based excess-sulfate slag cement (PESC) was mainly investigated. Based on the natural characteristics of PG, such as low pH value and the presence of soluble phosphorus impurities, the content of PG passing the 4.75 mm standard sieve was used as a variable to study the retardation mechanism of PG on PESC. It can be inferred from the heat flow and cumulative heat flow that the induction period is significantly prolonged with the content of PG, which is also reflected in the increase of the setting time of PESC. In the early period of hydration, as the content of PG increases, the soluble phosphorus concentration increases, and the pH value decreases. The changes in soluble phosphorus concentration and pH value affect the microstructure and amount of hydrates. Combined with experimental results, it has been demonstrated that the delay in the hydration of PESC by PG content is mainly due to: the excessive dissolution of Ca2+ and SO42- promotes the recrystallization of dihydrate gypsum; the dissolution of soluble phosphorus reduces the pH value in the pore solution and forms precipitates of calcium phosphate and hydroxyapatite; in the initial reaction period, a large amount of ettringite and C-S-H gel precipitate to form a protective film; the decrease in pH value leads to a decrease in carbonization resistance, and CO2 in the air is more likely to attack the PESC paste, react with alkaline substances in PESC, or degrade hydrated C-S-H and ettringite. The above factors all lead to a decrease in exchangeable ions during the hydration, thereby prolonging the setting of PESC.

Optimization of Ratio and Hydration Mechanism of Titanium-Extracted Residual Slag-Based Filling Cementitious Materials

Using metallurgical solid waste Titanium-extracted Residual Slag (TRS) as mine-filling cementitious material is crucial to reduce the filling cost and promote the utilization of solid waste resources. In this paper, taking the strength of the backfill at different curing ages as the response target, the Design-expert mixing design was used to optimize the proportioning experiment of titanium-extracted residual slag, titanium gypsum, silicate cement, and total tailings, to analyze the interactions and influences of the materials on the strength of the backfill, and to analyze the hydration mechanism of the titanium-extracted residual slag-based filling cementitious materials under the optimal proportioning. The results show that: (1) the order of the sensitivity of each component to the strength of backfill is: composite activator > cement > titanium gypsum > titanium-extracted residual slag, and there are different degrees of interaction between them; (2) the optimal ratio of titanium-extracted residual slag-based filling cementitious materials is TRS:titanium gypsum:cement:composite activator = 55:25:17:3; (3) early strength formation of backfill is mainly related to its hydration products ettringite and C-S-H, the rapid nucleation and cross-growth of ettringite in the early stage forms an effective physical filling effect, which is the main reason for the formation of high early strength, and the later strength of backfill benefited from the continuous accumulation of C-S-H encapsulation and bonding, which further densified its internal structure; (4) the use of titanium-extracted residual slag-based filling cementitious materials contributes to safe, green, and economic mining.

Mechanical properties and hydration mechanism of super-sulfated cement prepared with ordinary Portland cement, carbide slag, and sodium silicate

Mechanical properties and hydration mechanism of super-sulfated cement prepared with ordinary Portland cement, carbide slag, and sodium silicate

Development and application of novel microfine cement-based grout

A novel type of effective microfine cement-based grout (EMCG) is designed for the complicated water-rich sand stratum. Superplasticizer (SP), compound excitation modulator (CEM), enhanced stabilizer (ES) and active activator (AA) were selected as optimizers. Through laboratory tests, main properties of EMCG i.e. fluidity performance, viscosity, bleeding rate, setting time, strength and volume stability were studied. Based on XRD mineral and SEM microstructure tests, hydration mechanism and microstructure of EMCG were studied. The results showed that the optimal parameters were 40% microfine fly ash (MFA), 14–18% microfine steel slag (MSS), 20–25% microfine slag (MS), 2–2.5% naphthalene-based SP (N), and 1–1.5% AA, 0.4–2.0% CEM and 6% ES. The 28d compressive strength of EMCG can reach 12.9–32.8 MPa. The 7 d strength can exceed 70% of 28 d strength. Through grouting injectability and reinforcement simulation tests, injectability of EMCG was acquired under different main influence factors i.e. sand particle size distribution, sand compactness, grout type, water-solid ratio (W/S), grouting pressure, etc. Quantitative relationships among enhancement strength or permeability coefficient and main influence factors were established. The microscopic slurry-rock interface reinforcement mechanism was obtained. Finally, based on field tests, the sealing and reinforcement effects of EMCG on water-rich sand stratum were acquired and discussed. Due to high overall performance and excellent engineering applicability of EMCG, it is an efficient and excellent cementitious grout especially for seepage prevention and reinforcement of water-rich sand stratum in geotechnical and underground engineering.

A novel ionic liquid absorbent with polyamidoamine dendrimer as cations for efficient CO2 absorption

To achieve excellent absorptive loading and low viscosity, a novel amino-functionalized ionic liquid [G1.0 PAMAM] [2-MI] combined with water for CO2 capture is proposed in this work. The concentration of [G1.0 PAMAM] [2-MI], absorption temperature, and aeration rate were optimized by using Response Surface Methodology based on Box-Behnken design, and the model predictions were in good agreement with the experimental data. The results illustrated that the absorption loading of 42.71 wt% [G1.0 PAMAM] [2-MI]/H2O was 6.81 mol CO2/mol ILs (38.5°C, 100 mL/min), which was much higher than that of MEA /H2O, and the regeneration efficiency was maintained at 89.5 % after the eighth regeneration cycle. With the combined effect of 2-MI and water, the viscosities of the solution before and after absorption at 40°C were 35.3 and 53.8 mPa·s, respectively, which were significantly lower than those of the majority of ionic liquid absorbents. The reaction mechanism of [G1.0 PAMAM] [2-MI] with CO2 was demonstrated by 13C NMR to be a synergistic combination of a zwitterionic mechanism and a base-catalyzed hydration mechanism to produce carbamate and carbonate/bicarbonate (CO32–/HCO3–).

Improving mechanical properties of hemihydrate phosphogypsum via alkali-activated mineral admixtures

The low strength of hemihydrate phosphogypsum (HPG) limits its wider applications in construction, and the use of alkali-activated mineral admixtures to improve HPG's mechanical properties has enormous environmental benefits. In this paper, slag and fly ash were added to HPG, which was then activated by NaOH. The effects of alkali activation on the mechanical properties of HPG were investigated, and the hydration mechanism of modified and enhanced HPG was investigated by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), and Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LNMR). The results showed that alkali-activated mineral admixtures can improve the compressive strength of HPG up to 40 MPa with the optimal mix ratio: HPG:(GGBS + FA) = 60:40 by weight, where the ratio of GGBS to FA is 4:1 by weight, and NaOH accounts for 1% by mass of the binder. When NaOH was added at 1 wt% of binder, it could effectively activate slag and fly ash to enhance the mechanical properties of HPG. With the increase of the dosage of NaOH, settings of HPG were prolonged and its strength was reduced. The hydration products such as ettringite (AFt) and C–S–H gel generated by NaOH-activated slag and fly ash can effectively fill the pores of HPG paste and thus improve its mechanical properties. When hydrated for 28d, the decrease in strength due to the increase in NaOH dosage can be attributed to the decrease in AFt generated from hydration. The findings of this study pave the theoretical and technical foundations for greater and wider utilization of phosphogypsum for a sustainable future.

Investigation of hydration mechanism of non-explosive expansion material modified with anhydrous calcium chloride

Non-explosive expansion materials (NEEMs) are eco-friendly demolition materials widely used in energy extraction. However, their low hydration efficiency restricts their further application. To address this issue, five NEEM samples with different anhydrous CaCl2 concentrations (0, 0.4, 0.8, 1.2, and 1.6 %) were prepared. The water distribution, mineral composition, and microstructure of the samples during hydration were investigated using NMR, XRD, FTIR, and SEM, respectively, and the enhancement mechanism caused by CaCl2 on NEEM hydration was revealed. Results showed that CaCl2 inhibits the transport of surface water to large pores and cracks; promotes the combination of CaO, C3S and free water; accelerates the transformation of surface water to gel water and capillary water; shortens the dormancy period; and promotes the formation of hydration products. It also accelerates the flocculation of C-S-H gel and the transport of capillary water, thereby significantly improving the NEEM hydration efficiency. The established hydration kinetics model showed that the transport rate of surface water and capillary water to gel water and the NEEM hydration degree increase with increasing CaCl2 content. Compared with the hydration degree of R1 (0 %), that of S4 (1.6 %) increases by 19.63 %. These results provide a theoretical foundation for the field application of NEEMs.