Geopolymer Institute

Who should attend

This intensive training course is designed to professionals in the extractive mineral industry as well as for professionals involved in International Research Laboratories and R&D managerial positions for Sustainable Development who would profit from a thorough presentation and discussion on the basic knowledge about geopolymers and the development of geopolymer cements and related building products based on the by-products of industrial and mining activities or Coal-Power-Plants: fly ashes.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to
- Describe the fundamental principles and concepts allowing the use of mineral by-products and tailings fly ashes in low-energy and low-CO2 geopolymer cements manufacture.
- Outline the identification and the study of the various fly ash raw materials for geopolymeric precursors with selected instrumental methods.
- Identify the best geopolymeric suitable fly ashes, industrial and process cost factors.

First day : Geopolymer Cements, definitions

08:45 Registration

09:00-10:45 Mineral geopolymer concept
- The book Geopolymer Chemistry and Applications
- Polymeric character, terminology, geopolymeric micelle, molecular weight

10:45-11:00 Coffee break

11:00-13:00 Macromolecular structure of natural silicates and aluminosilicates
- Sheet silicates: kaolinite, phillipsite, illite, micas
- Framework silicates: SiO2, feldspars, anorthite, kalsilite,
- Blast-furnace slag : melilite, gehlinite, akermanite, merwinite
- Fly ashes constituents: mullite, glass,

14:15-16:15 Laboratory demonstration
- DAVYA cements, Fly ash cements, room-temperature setting

16:15-16-30 Coffee break

16:30-17:30 Rock-based cements in Antiquity
Roman Cement: pozzolan, harena fosicia, carbunculus, for public buildings and harbors

Second day : MK-750 / slag geopolymer cement chemistry

09:00-10:45 Chemistry of soluble silicates, poly(siloxonates)
- Manufacture of soluble silicates (watergass)
- Macromolecular structures

10:45-11:00 Coffee break

11:00-13:00 Manufacture, chemical, mineral composition of slag
- Iron blast furnace slag glass content
- Chemical reactivity of gehlenite / akermanite

14:15-16:15 MK-750 / slag-based geopolymer
- Chemistry mechanism, alkalination, MAS-NMR spectroscopy
- Ca-based geopolymer matrix : anorthite, tobermorite (CSH), kalsilite, albite, orthoclase

16:15-16-30 Coffee break

16:30-17:30 Rock-based geopolymer
- Alkalination and dissolution of rock forming minerals
- Poly(sialate-multisiloxo) matrix (Na,K,Ca)

Third day : Fly ash geopolymer cement chemistry

09:00-09:45 Different types of fly ashes
- Composition, morphology

09:45-10-45 Alkalination, alkali-activated fly ash (corrosive system)
- Dissolution, production of zeolites

10:45-11:00 Coffee break

11:00-12:00 Geopolymerization in high alkaline milieu (corrosive system)
- With poly(siloxonate) addition, soluble silicate
12:00-13:00 Geopolymerization in low alkaline milieu (1) (user friendly system)
- Slag / fly ash-based geopolymer cement

14:15-16:15 Geopolymerization in low alkaline milieu (2) (user friendly system)
- Chemical mechanism, NMR-spectroscopy

16:15-16-30 Coffee break

16:30-17:30 The GEOASH European Project (2004-2007)
- Geopolymerization of 15 European fly ashes
- Comparison between high alkaline and low alkaline systems

Fourth day : Properties, applications, economics of slag / rock / fly ash geopolymer cements

09:00-10:00 Greenhouse CO2 mitigation with geopolymer cement
- Examples of low CO2 mitigation with geopolymer cements
- Carbon tax implication

10:00-10:45: Need for dry mix geopolymer cement
- manufacture of powdered silicates, replacement of (Na,K) soluble silicates
- mass production with synthetic lavas

10:45-11:00 Coffee break

11:00-13:00 Raw-materials
- MK-750,( kaolinitic clays), blast furnace slag, rock-forming minerals
- mine tailings, shales,
- coal-waste tailings,
- fly ashes evolution with high efficient power plants

14:15: General Discussion