The Influence of Sintering Temperature on the Microstructure of Coal-Ash Based Geopolymers

Currently, one of the main challenges of civil engineering and science materials engineers is to develop a sustainable substitute for Ordinary Portland Cement. While the most promising solution is provided by the geopolymerisation technology, most of the studied geopolymers are based on natural raw materials (kaolin). The metakaolin is mainly preferred because of its rapid rate of dissolution in the activator solution, easy control of the Si/Al ratio, and white color. However, its high cost prevents it from being widely used in geopolymer composites or other materials that can become an industrial alternative for Ordinary Portland Cement. Several studies have shown that geopolymers with good performance can also be obtained from secondary raw materials (industrial wastes such as coal ash or slag). This explains why countries with rapidly developing economies are so interested in this technology. These countries have significant amounts of industrial waste and lack a well-developed recycling infrastructure. Therefore, the use of these by-products for geopolymers manufacturing could solve a waste problem while simultaneously lowering virgin raw material consumption. This study evaluates the effect of replacing different amounts of coal ash with sand on the microstructure of sintered geopolymers. Accordingly, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis were involved to highlight the morphological particularities of room-cured and sintered geopolymers.