Self-cementing Mechanism of CFBC Coal Ashes at Early Ages

The self-cementing mechanism at early ages of circulating fluidized bed combustion （CFBC） coal ashes was studied by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, infrared （IR） spectroscopy and chemical method. The results indicate that the amorphous phase is predominant in CFBC coal ashes. The polymerization degree of [SiO4] and [AlO6] of CFBC desulphurization coal ashes is lower than that of those without desulphurization. The contents of the components with fast hydration rate of CFBC desulphurization coal ashes are significantly greater than those of the ashes without desulphurization. This work confirms that the amorphous minerals with high chemical activity are the main causes of the self-cementing property of CFBC desulphurization coal ashes at early ages.

Adsorption Mechanism of Polycarboxylate-Based Superplasticizer in CFBC Ash-Portland Cement Paste

Circulating fluidized bed combustion （CFBC） ash exhibits the desirable pozzolanic activity which makes it a potential supplementary cementitious material to replace cement for concrete production. However, the high unburnt carbon content and porous surface structure of CFBC ash may adsorb water reducer and thereby significantly reduce the efficiency of water-reducing agents. The adsorption mechanism of polycarboxylate superplasticizer in CFBC ash-Portland cement paste was investigated by ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer, and the conception of ＂invalid adsorption site＂ of CFBC ash was presented. The results show that the adsorption behavior of polycarboxylate superplasticizer in coal ash-Portland cement paste can be described by Langmuir isothermal adsorption equation. The adsorption capacity of CFBC ash-Portland cement paste is higher than that of pulverized coal combustion （PCC） fly ash-Portland cement paste. Moreover, the adsorption amount of polycarboxylate superplasticizer increases with the ratio of ash-to-cement in the paste. At last, the fluidity of CFBC ash-Portland cement paste is lower than that of the PCC fly ash paste. This work suggests that when CFBC ash is used as concrete admixture, the poor flowability of the cementitious system due to the high adsorption of water and water-reducing agent should be taken into consideration.

Adsorption properties of CFBC ash-cement pastes as compared with PCC fly ash-cement pastes

Circulating fluidized bed combustion （CFBC） ash can be potentially used as supplementary cementitious materials for concrete production due to its desirable pozzolanic activity. The adsorption properties of CFBC ash-cement pastes were studied, and ordinary pulverized coal combustion （PCC） fly ash-cement pastes were used as control. The water-adsorption and superplasticizer （SP）-adsorption properties of the pastes were evaluated by water demand and UV-visible absorption spectroscopy respectively. The results show that CFBC ash-cement system has greater compressive strength as compared with PCC fly ash-cement system at a given curing age, although the water demand of the former is significantly higher than that of the latter. CFBC ash-cement pastes possess higher adsorption ability of aliphatic SP than PCC fly ash-cement pastes and the adsorption amount increases with an increase in ash replacement ratio. CFBC ash- cement pastes exhibit lower workability with higher slump loss. It is concluded that CFBC ash can be potentially used as supplementary cementitious material in concrete production, but the mix design of CFBC ash concrete needs to be appropriately adjusted. It is suggested that CFBC ash is used for the production of the concrete needing low flowability.

Effect of Curing Conditions on the Hydration and Performance of CFBC Ash Cementitious System

Circulating fluidized bed combustion （CFBC） ash can be used as supplementary cementitious material for concrete production for its high pozzolanic activity. We investigated the effect of curing conditions on the hydration and performance of CFBC ash-Portland cement system （30： 70, by mass） including hydration products, paste microstructure, linear expansion ratio, chemically combined water content and compressive strength. The results show that tobermorite rather than ettringite is generated under the condition of autoclaved curing. The expansion and mortar strength of the system cured in water is higher than those cured in air at a given age, and the strength and bulk volume may retract under the condition of air curing. In addition, autoclaved curing facilitates the increase of strength gain at early curing ages （the increase rate lowers down in the following ages） and the improvement of system volume stability. It is suggested that sufficient water is necessary for the curing of CFBC ash cementitious system, and autoclaved curing may be considered where volume stability is a primary concern.

Properties and Mechanism of CFBC Fly Ash-cement based Stabilizers for Lake Sludge

Circulating fluidized bed combustion（CFBC） fly ash was mixed with cement or lime at a different ratio as a stabilizer to stabilize lake sludge.In order to understand the influences of stabilizers on the lake sludge properties,tests unconfined compressive strength,water stability and SEM observation were performed.The experimental results show that with the increase of the curing time,the strength of all the stabilized specimens increase,especially the samples containing cement.The strength of the specimens is decreased with the increasing of the CFBC fly ash/cement ratio,the optimum ratio between CFBC fly ash and cement is 2：3.The water stability of CFBC fly ash-cement based stabilizers is higher than those of cement and lime.Moreover,the lake sludge stabilization mechanism of CFBC fly ash-cement based stabilizers includes gelation and filling of the hydration products,i e,C-S-H gel and the AFt crystal,which act as benders to solidify those particles together and fill in the packing void of the aggregates.

Formulating for Innovative Self-Compacting Concrete with Low Energy Super-Sulfated Cement Used for Sustainability Development

This study proposed a new way to formulate a low energy super-sulfated cement (SSC) which can be used to produce self-compacting concrete (SCC) with high compressive strength and durability in terms of chloride penetration resistance. This innovative SSC, different from the traditional SSC, was purely produced with a ternary mixture of three industrial by-products of ground granulated blast furnace slag, low calcium Class F fly ash and circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC) fly ash and was denoted as SFC-SSC (super-sulfated cement made by mixture of slag, Class F fly ash and CFBC fly ash). Experimental results showed that the combination of a fixed amount of 15 wt.% of CFBC fly ash with various ratios of Class F fly ash to slag could be used to produce the hardened SCCs with high 28-day compressive strengths (41.8 - 65.6 MPa). Addition of Class F fly ash led to the resulting SCCs with lowered price and preferable engineering properties, and thus it was considered as state-of-the-art method to drive such type of concrete towards sustainable construction materials.