Analysis of Air Voids Evolution in Cement Pastes Admixed with Non-ionic Cellulose Ethers

Four cellulose ethers（CEs） were compared for their effects on the pore structure of cement paste using mercury intrusion porosimetry. The experimental results show that the total pore volume and porosity of cement pastes containing the four cellulose ethers are significantly higher than that of the pure cement pastes and the total pore volume and porosity of cement pastes containing HEC（hydroxyethyl cellulose ether） or low viscosity cellulose ethers are low in four CEs. By changing the surface tension and viscosity of liquid phase and the strengthening of liquid film between air voids in cement pastes, CEs affect the formation, diameter evolution and upward movement of air voids and the pore structure of hardening cement paste. For the four CEs, the pore volume of cement pastes containing HEC or low viscosity cellulose ethers is higher with the diameter of 30-70 nm while lower with the diameter larger than 70 nm. CEs affect the pore structure of cement paste mainly through their effects on the evolvement of the small air voids into bigger ones when the pore diameter is below 70 nm and their effects on the entrainment and stabilization of air voids when the pore diameter is above 70 nm.

Influence of Cellulose Ethers on Hydration Products of Portland Cement

Cellulose ethers are widely used to mortar formulations,and it is significant to understand the interaction between cellulose ethers and cement pastes.FT-IR spectra,thermal analysis and SEM are used to investigate hydration products in the cement pastes modified by HEMC and HPMC in this article.The results show that the hydration products in modified cement pastes were finally identical with those in the unmodified cement paste,but the major hydration products,such as CH（calcium hydroxide）,ettringite and C-S-H,appeared later in the modified cement pastes than in the unmodified cement paste.The cellulose ethers decrease the outer products and increase inner products of C-S-H gels.Compared to unmodified cement pastes,no new products are found in the modified cement pastes in the present experiment.The HEMC and HPMC investigation shows almost the same influence on the hydration products of Portland cement.

Early Stage Hydration Mechanism of Cellulose Ether Modified Thin Layer Cement Pastes

The early stage hydration mechanism of cellulose ether modified thin layer cement pastes was studied, using brick as the matrix. Samples of 6 h, 24 h, and 3 d and 7 d hydration time were analyzed to study the hydration law on the surface of high water-absorbing matrix. Hydration products were qualitatively and semi-quantitatively analyzed using XRD, TG-DSC-DTG, FTIR and SEM. The experimental results show that there is no enough water for 2 mm thick cement pastes to hydrate, because of rapid water absorption of matrix. Trace amounts of Ca （OH）2 was detected after three days hydration. With the prolongation of hydration time, the category and concentration of hydration products do not change. Compared with 2 mm thick cement pastes, 6 mm thick cement pastes and 10 mm thick cement pastes have lower dehydration rate and water loss. The humidity field of the cement paste show different changes within the same time. 6 mm thick cement paste and 10 mm thick cement pastes have longer time and more water to hydrate. Ca（OH）2 and ettringite were detected after 6 hours hydration and the concentrations of hydration products increased from 24 hours to 7 days.

Hydration Heat Effect of Cement Pastes Modified with Hydroxypropyl Methyl Cellulose Ether and Expanded Perlite

Hydration heat effect of cement pastes and mechanism of hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose ether （HPMC） and expanded perlite in cement pastes were studied by means of hydration exothermic rate, hydration heat amount, FTIR and TG-DTG. The results show that HPMC can significantly delay the hydration induction period and acceleration period of cement pastes. As mixing amount increased, hydration induction period of cement pastes enlarged and accelerated period gradually went back. At the same time, the amount of hydration heat gradually decreased. Expanded perlite had worse delay effects and less change of hydration heat amount of cement pastes than HPMC. HPMC changed the structure of C-S-H during cement hydration. The more amount of HPMC, the more obvious effect. However, EXP had little influence on the structure of C-S-H. At the same age, the content of Ca （OH）2 in cement pastes gradually decreased as the mixing amount increase of HPMC and expanded perlite, and had better delay effect than that single-doped with HPMC or expanded perlite when HPMC and expanded nerlite were both dooed in cement pastes.

Thermal Behavior and Thermal Safety of Nitrate Glycerol Ether Cellulose

The thermal behavior, nonisothermal decomposition reaction kinetics and specific heat capacity of nitrate glycerol ether cellulose（NGEC） were determined by thermogravimetric analysis（TGA）, differential scanning calori- metry（DSC） and microcalorimetry. The apparent activity energy（Ea）, reaction mechanism function, quadratic equa- tion of specific heat capacity（Cp） with temperature were obtained. The kinetic parameters of the decomposition reac- tion are Ea=170.2 kJ/mol and lg（A/s^-l）=16.3. The kinetic equation isf（α）=（4/3）（1-α）[-ln（1-α）]^1/4. The specific heat capacity equation is Cp=1.285-6.276×10^-3T＋1.581×10^-5T^2（283 K〈T〈353 K）. With these parameters, the thermal safety properties of NGEC were studied, such as the self-accelerating decomposition temperature（TSADT）, critical temperature of thermal explosion（Tb） and adiabatic time-to-explosion（tTlad）. The results of the thermal safety evalua- tion of NGEC are： TSADV=459.6 K, Tb=492.8 K, tTlad=0.8 S.

Preparation of Carboxymethylcellulose from Waste Paper

We aimed at producing sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) from waste paper cellulose.For this etherification,the raw material was waste paper,the cellulose was initially alkalized with NaOH,the etherifying agent was sodium chloroacetate,and the reaction medium was water or ethanol.The method provided by us,i e,a method for preparing CMC from waste paper,was environment-friendly,could be easily implemented,and could be conveniently applied to make waste paper efficiently used with high profit,and to expand the range of usable raw materials for CMC production.We successfully synthesized CMC and prepared CMC plastic membrane.This practice changes waste into valuables,which is beneficial to our living environment.For preparation of CMC,one of the crucial factors is appropriate pretreatment of the cellulose from waste paper.The pretreatment was done with a self-built hydrolysis method.We experimentally examined the effects of the mass ratios of reactants,reaction temperature,time,and reaction environment of homogeneous or heterogeneous on CMC yield.The innovative points of this research could be stated as follows:the reaction activity of cellulose was improved by pre-hydrolysis;synthesizing CMC with cellulose from waste paper changes waste into valuables is beneficial to our living environment;and a freezing treatment for the cellulose-alkali mixture was innovatively added.The effects were exhibited by a desired final conversion efficiency.