Synthesis and Characteristics of Inorganic Polymer Materials Geopolymerized from Ash of Brickyard

Abstract

Inorganic polymer materials known as geopolymer-based materials are always interesting topics for researchers. Geopolymer is environmentally friendly material which has been potential applications for many different fields such as technical materials, building materials, insolation or refractories, and others. This study used ash of brickyard (AB) as a raw material for geopolymerization process to develop novel materials with high porosity. AB is industrial waste of the brick factories that need to be managed to reduce their negative impact to the environment. AB contains high alumino-silicate resources were mixed with sodium hydroxide solution for 10 minutes to obtain the geopolymer pastes. Sodium hydroxide solution was used as an alkaline activator to form geopolymer paste. The geopolymer paste was filled into 5-cm cube molds according to ASTM C109/C109M 99, and then cured at room temperature for 28 days. These products were then tested for compressive strength, volumetric weight, and water absorption. Results indicated that the material can be considered lightweight with a compressive strength at 28 days that are in the range of 8.1 to 15.4 MPa, volumetric weight around 600kg/m3 and water absorption is under 210.65 kg/m3. The properties of geopolymer products were also determined by analytical techniques that included mineral composition by X Ray Diffraction (XRD) and microstructure by scanning electron microscope (SEM).