‘Mineral waste raw material for new, future-proof building materials’

As a result of population growth, more and more mineral waste is being created worldwide. With alkali activated materials technology (Alkali Activated Materials, AAM) it is possible to produce circular concrete construction materials with the mineral waste.

In thermal industrial processes such as steel production and energy generation, mineral waste and by-products such as slag and/or ashes are released. Nowadays, more and more research is being done on these mineral streams, which are often called ‘cement-like replacement materials’.  These materials are already used in traditional Portland cement concrete as a partial replacement of primary cement or of a primary filler. Due to its global availability combined with its relatively stable, potential pozzolanic or hydraulic properties, different types of slag and shafts are of great importance for the development of alkali activated binders with which sustainable and environmentally friendly AAM concrete products can be made. Instead of using traditional Portland cement, these “waste” minerals can be reused as 100 percent mineral binder.

This is evident from the PhD research ‘Performance of admixture and secondary minerals in alkali activated concrete;  sustaining a concrete future,’ by Dr. MSc. Arno Keulen at Eindhoven University of Technology, who obtained his PhD for the research earlier this year.

An extensive article on mineral waste as an important basic raw material for new, future-proof building materials, in Innovative Materials number 6 2018.