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Cited by 67Concrete and Cement Materials ResearchGeotechnical Engineering and Soil StabilizationBuilding materials and conservation

Chemical Stability and Leaching Behavior of One-Part Geopolymer from Soil and Coal Fly Ash Mixtures

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Tigue, April Anne S., Malenab, Roy Alvin J., Dungca, Jonathan R., Yu, Derrick Ethelbhert C., Promentilla, Michael Angelo B.·2018·Minerals
DOI 10.3390/min8090411
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Abstract

Aluminosilicate minerals have become an important resource for an emerging sustainable material for construction known as geopolymer. Geopolymer, an alkali-activated material, is becoming an attractive alternative to Portland cement because of its lower carbon footprint and embodied energy. However, the synthesis process requires typically a two-part system for alkali activation wherein the solid geopolymer precursor is mixed with aqueous alkali solutions. These alkali activators are corrosive and may be difficult to handle in the field-scale application. In this study, a one-part geopolymer in which coal fly ash was mixed with solid alkali activators such as sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate to form a powdery cementitious binder was developed. This binder mixed with soil only requires water to form the soil-fly ash (SO-CFA) geopolymer cement, which can be used as stabilized soil for backfill/foundation. This geopolymer product was then evaluated for chemical stability by immersing the material with 5% by weight of sulfuric acid solution for 28 days. Indication suggests that the geopolymer exhibited high resistance against acid attack with an observed increase of unconfined compressive strength even when the immersion time in acidic solution was increased to 56 days. The mineralogical phase, microstructure, and morphology of the material were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), respectively. Results not only confirmed the formation of gypsum due to acid attack but also indicated the dissolution of anorthite and albite that may have caused the microstructure to be composed of sodium aluminosilicate hydrate (N–A–S–H) and calcium (alumino) silicate hydrate (C(–A)–S–H) with poly(ferro-sialate-siloxo) and poly(ferro-sialate-disiloxo) networks. A column leaching test with deionized water was also performed on the soil-fly ash geopolymer to study the leachability of metals in the material. Results showed that arsenic exhibits higher mobility in the geopolymer as compared to that of cadmium, chromium, and lead.

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Crossref · 10.3390/min8090411

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  • Addition of fly ash is one method to stabilize soil because fly ash is a pozzolan that can bind to minerals in soil and make the soil stable.

    “The addition of fly ash is one of the methods to stabilize soil because fly ash is a pozzolan, in which it can bind to minerals in soil and make the soil stable”

    From Potential of Soil Stabilization Using Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS) and Fly Ash via Geopolymerization Method: A Review (2022) · cites this paper as [71]

    The Abstract and Introduction describe a soil stabilizer made with fly ash, supporting the general point that fly ash can be used in soil stabilization. But the studied binder also requires solid alkali activators, and the paper does not explain stabilization as fly ash acting as a pozzolan that binds to soil minerals. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Addition of fly ash reduces swell shrinkage of soil and improves soil strength.

    “so as to reduce the swell shrinkage of the soil and improve soil strength [41,42,44,46,54,69,70,71,72,73].”

    From Potential of Soil Stabilization Using Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS) and Fly Ash via Geopolymerization Method: A Review (2022) · cites this paper as [71]

    The Conclusions report compressive strength for a soil–fly ash geopolymer cement, with strength increasing after acid exposure. They do not report reduced soil swell–shrinkage or compare soil with and without fly ash to show that adding fly ash improved its strength. (LLM, conf=0.78)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Using NaOH solution in geopolymer synthesis causes low strength development if the molarity used is too high or too low.

    “The obstacle of using NaOH solution in the geopolymer synthesis is the low strength development if the molarity used is too high or too low [71,72,74,80,92,94].”

    From Potential of Soil Stabilization Using Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS) and Fly Ash via Geopolymerization Method: A Review (2022) · cites this paper as [71]

    The Introduction (page unavailable) contrasts corrosive alkali solutions with the solid activators used in this one-part geopolymer. Our copy discusses compressive strength, but searches for NaOH molarity, solution concentration, and strength found no comparison of high and low molarities or their effects on strength development. (LLM, conf=0.76)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cites

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Tigue, A. A. S., Malenab, R. A. J., Dungca, J. R., Yu, D. E. C., & Promentilla, M. A. B.
Affiliations
De La Salle University (PH)
Corresponding author
Promentilla, Michael Angelo B.
ORCID
Venue
Minerals
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2018-09-18
Volume
8
Issue
9
Pages
411
ISSN
2075-163X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/min8090411
OpenAlex
W2891352125
Cited by
67
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1
FWCI
4.72
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Minerals (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • De La Salle University
  • Commission on Higher Education
  • University Research Coordination Office, De La Salle University
  • Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Civil and Structural Engineering › Concrete and Cement Materials Research
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Civil and Structural Engineering › Geotechnical Engineering and Soil Stabilization
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Earth-Surface Processes › Building materials and conservation
Keywords
one-part geopolymer, coal fly ash, soil stabilization, alkali activation, sodium hydroxide, sodium silicate, acid attack resistance, sulfuric acid leaching, metal leachability, arsenic mobility, sodium aluminosilicate hydrate, C-A-S-H, gypsum formation

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