This paper presents the results of a study of the effect of spent catalytic cracking catalyst derived from polish oil refinery used as a partial replacement of cement (in the amount of 20, 40, 60 and 80% of cement mass) in the binder on the mechanical strength of cement mortars, prepared without and with superplasticizer. It was shown that the replacement of 20% of cement, by mass, with spent catalyst increased the compressive strength of mortars without and with superplasticizer dosage by 16.7% and 24.4%, respectively, and did not deteriorate the flexural strength of samples prepared with superplasticizer. With the increasing amount of spent catalyst (above 40% by weight of cement), a decrease in the strength of mortars was observed. This indicates that spent catalyst from catalytic cracking might be a promising material as a binder replacement in cementitious composites when used in smaller amounts (less than 40%).
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