Amr S. El-Dieb

Properties of Ceramic Waste Powder-Based Geopolymer Concrete

Geopolymer is an environmentally friendly emerging alternative to ordinary Portland cement concrete as its production requires less energy with lower carbon dioxide emissions. This is due to the implementation of industrial waste materials or by-products as binders replacing Portland cement. Geopolymer concrete is synthesized via the polycondensation reaction with alkali-activating materials rich in aluminosilicate. Several materials were utilized in producing geopolymer concrete such as fly ash, silica fume, metakaolin, and slag. Ceramic waste powder (CWP) produced from the final polishing process of ceramic tiles is produced in significant amounts and is composed mainly of silica and alumina and hence has a potential to be used as a geopolymer concrete ingredient. Therefore, in this study, the CWP’s ability to produce geopolymer concrete is studied, and its compressive strength and durability characteristics were tested. Sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide were used as alkali activators with a pH concentration of 12 M. A curing temperature of 60 °C for 24 h was applied. The 7 and 28 days’ results of the compressive strength, pores percentage, initial rate of water absorption, and bulk electrical resistivity showed the possibility of producing CWP-based geopolymer concrete.