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Effect of sediment incorporation on the reactivity of alkali-activated GGBFS systems

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Abstract

During the last few years, the valorization of marine sediment has been marked by the incorporation of this material in cementitious matrices. Some studies have depicted, more particularly, the use of the sediment in alkaline activation of Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS) for Civil Engineering applications. The objective of this work is to understand the effect of clear sediment incorporation on the reactivity of GGBFS alkali-activation. Two alkaline activators are used, a sodium hydroxide solution (NaOH) and a mixture of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate solution (NaOH + silicate). The influence of sediment incorporation on the reactivity of Alkali-Activated GGBFS (AAS) is determined through X-ray Diffraction XRD, thermogravimetry TG and Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) analyses. Results show that the presence of sediment does not modify the structure of the hydration products formed, neither the proportion of Aluminum atoms incorporated into hydrate chains. The substitution of slag by sediment causes a delay in the initiation of alkaline activation particularly in the short term, but this effect diminishes at 28 days.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the supply of GGBFS from Ecocem, and their financial support through this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Materials and Processes, Institut Mines-Télécom, IMT Lille Douai, 59000, Lille, France

    Reine Karam & David Bulteel

  2. Junia, ULR 4515 - LGCgE – Laboratoire de Génie Civil et géoEnvironnement, Institut Mines-Télécom, Univ. Lille, Univ. Artois, F-59000, Lille, France

    Reine Karam & David Bulteel

  3. GERS-LGIE, IFSTTAR, Univ Gustave Eiffel, 44344, Bouguenais, France

    Reine Karam & Dimitri Deneele

  4. CNRS, Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel, Université de Nantes, IMN, 44000, Nantes, France

    Reine Karam, Michael Paris & Dimitri Deneele

  5. ECOCEM Materials, 4 place Louis Armand, 75012, Paris, France

    Thomas Wattez

  6. LMDC, INSA, UPS, Génie Civil, Université de Toulouse, 135 Avenue de Rangueil, 31077, Toulouse Cedex 04, France

    Martin Cyr

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  1. Reine Karam
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Karam, R., Paris, M., Deneele, D. et al. Effect of sediment incorporation on the reactivity of alkali-activated GGBFS systems. Mater Struct 54, 118 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-021-01720-y

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