Recycling of concrete waste to produce ready-mix alkali activated cement

Abstract

The goal of this study is to produce an environmentally, and user friendly ready-mix alkali activated cement (RM-AAC) by thermal activation of concrete waste (CW) in the presence of sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Two major compositional factors, which play an important role in the performance of RM-AAC, i.e. temperature and NaOH percentage, were investigated. The CW showed high stability under thermal treatment up to 1200 °C; meanwhile it can be converted to distorted structure with high amorphicity in the presence of appropriate NaOH content. RM-AAC powder can react with water, forming hardened material with an acceptable compressive strength. Due to the white color of RM-AAC powder, it can be beneficially used in prestige construction projects and decorative works.