Alkali-activated materials produced using high-calcium, high-carbon biomass ash

Eucalyptus ash (EA) was used in this study as a high calcium ash (HCA) precursor for alkali-activated binders. The EA used also has high carbon unburned (High loss on ignition). This type of ash is one of the waste products from biomass-fuelled thermoelectric plants, and annually thousands of tons are discarded as a by-product of the energy generation process in Brasil, but it is rich in unburnt carbon which means that it is challenging to use in cementitious systems. Eucalyptus is a biomass that removes CO2 from the atmosphere by photosynthesis and part of this carbon content remains in the ashes, generating CO2 capture when EA is incorporated in the production of alkali-activated binders. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the properties of the material obtained by the alkali-activation of the high-calcium high-carbon biomass ash to generate a cementitious binder, with different pastes proportions of EA and silica fume (SF), activated by sodium hydroxide. With the different pastes, mortars were produced using standardized sand. The results obtained from the pastes and mortars were satisfactory in several aspects. The mechanical results of the alkali-activated mortars were comparable those of Portland cement mortars. Mortars degraded methylene blue more efficiently in illuminated conditions, even after high adsorption for 24 h in the dark. The content of leached ions in the remaining solutions met potability standards.