PREPARATION AND STUDY OF GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE AS AN

ALTERNATIVE TO CONVENTIONAL CEMENT CONCRETE

Current concerns about global warming due to the buildup of greenhouse gases in our
atmosphere have prompted the cement industry to investigate alternatives to ordinary
Portland Cement (OPC). One ton of carbon dioxide is produced for every ton of OPC
cement. A sustainable alternative to this OPC is low CO2 producing eopolymer cement.
eopolymers produce no CO2 in chemical reactions and less emitted carbon dioxide due
to manufacturing techni!ues. "ence# PC$s have emerged as a promising alternative to
conventional cement concrete in the view of sustainability.
What is Geoplyme Co!"ete #GPC$%
%avidovits (&'(() &''*) proposed that an al+aline li!uid could be used to react with
silicon (,i) and aluminum (Al) in a source material of geological origin or in by-product
materials such as fly ash and rice hus+ ash to produce binders. .ecause the chemical
reaction that ta+es place in this case is a polymeri/ation process# he coined the term
0eopolymer0 to represent these binders. 1he primary difference between eopolymer
concrete and Portland cement concrete is the binder. 2nli+e ordinary Portland3po//olanic
cements# geopolymers do not form calcium- silicate-hydrates (C-,-" gel) for matrix
formation and strength# but have an inorganic polymer of alumino-silicates as the binder
to bind the loose coarse aggregates# fine aggregates# and other un-reacted materials
together. 1his is the fundamental concept of eopolymer Concrete.
Pepaatio! o& Geopolyme Co!"ete
1here are two main constituents of PC# namely the source materials and the al+aline
li!uids. 1he source materials for geopolymer concrete should be rich in silicon (,i) and
aluminium (Al). 1hese could be natural minerals such as +aolinite clays or by-product
materials such as fly ash# silica fume# slag# rice-hus+ ash etc. 1he al+aline li!uid consists
of an al+aline activator solution (AA,) which is a combination of solutions of al+ali
silicates and hydroxides (eg4 ,odium silicates and ,odium hydroxdes)#besides distilled
water. 1he role of AA, is to activate the geopolymeric source materials and conduct the
polymeri/ation.
1he following materials are generally used to produce PCs4
i' 5ly ash (low calcium A,16 class 5)
ii' .,#
iii' 5ine aggregates
i(' Coarse aggregates
(' Al+aline activator solution (AA,) 4 1he most common al+aline li!uid used in
geopolymerisation is a combination of sodium hydroxide (7aO") or potassium
hydroxide (8O") and sodium silicate (7a2,iO9) or potassium silicate.

A))e)ates * Flyash * al+ali!e a"ti(ato #Na sili"ates a!, NaO-$ . GPC
1he sodium silicate solution A:9 with ,iO2-to-7a2O ratio by mass of approximately 2
( i.e.# ,iO2 ; 2'.*<# 7a2O ; &*.=<# and water ; ::.'< by mass)
1he sodium hydroxide with '=-'(< purity# in fla+e or pellet form# is commercially
available. 1he solids must be dissolved in water to ma+e a solution with the re!uired
concentration in the range between ( 6olar and &> 6olar.
%istilled water is used to ma+e these solutions.1he ratio of ,odium silicate to sodium
hydroxide is usually +ept 2.: and several mix proportions can be used in getting the
desired properties. An industrially available super plastici/er water retardant can be used
to increase wor+ability.
1he test samples (cubes of &:?&:?&:cm or &@?&@?&@cm) are steam cured or dry cured
and tested for various properties as per standard procedures and compared to those that of
OPCC.
1his paper deals with the detailed preparation method of eopolymer concretes and
comparison of PC with Ordinary Portland Cement Concrete in terms of 9 day# =day# 2(
days Compressive strength# %urability# Creep and %rying shrin+age# ,ulphate resistance
and ,ulphuric Acid resistance. Aarious mix proportions used in this comparative study are
given and discussed in detail. Bt lists down the maCor advantages and disadvantages of
PCs in comparison with ordinary Portland cement. 1he behavior of geopolymer
concrete under various laboratory tests is explained. 1here is also a brief mention of the
various applications of geopolymer concrete in the modern day construction industry.