• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.205-212
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• 2016

This research investigates the influence of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) composition on the alkali-activated slag cement (AASC). Aluminum oxide ($Al_2O_3$) was added to GGBFS binder between 2% and 16% by weight. The alkaline activators KOH (potassium hydroxide) was used and the water to binder ratio of 0.50. The strength development results indicate that increasing the amount of $Al_2O_3$ enhanced hydration. The 2M KOH + 16% $Al_2O_3$ and 4M KOH + 16% $Al_2O_3$ specimens had the highest strength, with an average of 30.8 MPa and 45.2 MPa, after curing for 28days. The strength at 28days of 2M KOH + 16% $Al_2O_3$ was 46% higher than that of 2M KOH (without $Al_2O_3$). Also, the strength at 28days of 4M KOH + 16% $Al_2O_3$ was 44% higher than that of 4M KOH (without $Al_2O_3$). Increase the $Al_2O_3$ contents of the binder results in the strength development at all curing ages. The incorporation of AASC tended to increases the ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) due to the similar effects of strength, but increasing the amount of $Al_2O_3$ adversely decreases the water absorption and porosity. Higher addition of $Al_2O_3$ in the specimens increases the Al/Ca and Al/Si in the hydrated products. SEM and EDX analyses show that the formation of much denser microstructures with $Al_2O_3$ addition.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.405-412
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• 2008

Six alkali-activated (AA) concrete mixes were tested to explore the significance and limitations of developing an environmental friendly concrete. Ground granulated blast-furnace slag and powder typed sodium silicate were selected as source material and an alkaline activator, respectively. The main parameter investigated was the replacement level of lightweight fine aggregate to the natural sand. Workability and mechanical properties of lightweight AA concrete were measured: the variation of slump with time, the rate of compressive strength development, the splitting tensile strength, the moduli of rupture and elasticity, the stress-strain relationship, the bond resistance and shrinkage strain. Test results showed that the compressive strength of lightweight AA concrete sharply decreased when the replacement level of lightweight fine aggregate exceeded 30%. In particular, the increase in the discontinuous grading of lightweight aggregate resulted in the deterioration of the mechanical properties of concrete tested. The measured properties of lightweight AA concrete were also compared, wherever possible, with the results obtained from the design equations specified in ACI 318-05 or EC 2, depending on the relevance, and the results predicted from the empirical equations proposed by Slate et al. for lightweight ordinary Portland cement concrete. The stress-strain curves of different concrete were compared with predictions obtained from the mathematical model proposed by Tasnimi. The measured mechanical properties of lightweight AA concrete generally showed little agreement with the predictions obtained from these equations.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.593-599
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• 2013

The unrestrained shrinkage strain of alkali-activated (AA) slag concrete was examined and compared with design equations specified in code provisions and empirical equations proposed by Yang et al. The main parameters investigated were the water-to-binder ratio (W/B), unit water content and fine aggregate-to-total aggregate ratio (S/a). Test results revealed that shrinkage strain of AA slag concrete is nearly proportional to the W/B ratio, whereas its time function is independent of the W/B ratio. The shrinkage strain of AA slag concrete increased significantly when the unit water content is above $185kg/m^3$, whereas it is marginally affected by the S/a ratio. The design equation of ACI 209 considerably overestimates the shrinkage behavior of AA slag concrete, whereas CEB-FIP equation tends to underestimate the shrinkage at the age more than 28 days. The empirical equation of Yang et al. is in better agreement with test results, showing that values of mean and standard deviation of error coefficients obtained from each specimen are 016 and 0.07, respectively.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.94-101
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• 2016

This paper presents an investigation into the durability alkali-activated materials(AAM) mortar and paste samples manufactured using fly-ash(FA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag(GGBFS) exposed to a sulfate environment with different GGBFS replace ratios(0, 30, 50 and 100%), sodium silicate modules($Ms[SiO_2/Na_2O]$ 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0) and initial curing temperatures($23^{\circ}C$ and $70^{\circ}C$). The tests involved immersions for a period of 6 months into 10% solutions of sodium sulfate and magnesium sulfate. The evolution of compressive strength, weight, length expansion and microstructural observation such as x-ray diffraction were studied. As a results, as higher GGBFS replace ratio or Ms shown higher compressive strengths on 28 days. In case of immersed in 10% sodium sulfate solution, the samples shows increase in long-term strength. However, for samples immersed in magnesium sulfate solutions, the general observation was that the compressive strength decreased after immersion. The most drastic reduction of compressive strength and expansion of weight and length occurred when GGBFS or Ms ratios were higher. Also, the XRD analysis of samples immersed in magnesium sulfate indicated that expansion of AAM caused by gypsum($CaSO_4{\cdot}2H_2O$); the gypsum increased up to 6 months continuously.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.285-292
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• 2014

Commercial activated-carbon used as the electrode material of an electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC) was posttreated with various acids and alkalis to increase its capacitance. The carbon samples prepared were then heat-treated in order to control the amount of acidic functional groups formed by the acid treatments. Coin-type EDLC cells with two symmetric carbon electrodes were assembled using the prepared carbon materials and an organic electrolyte. The electrochemical performance of the EDLC was measured by galvanostatic charge-discharge, cyclic voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Among the various activated carbons, the carbon electrodes (CSsb800) prepared by the treatments of coconutshell-based carbon activated with NaOH and $H_3BO_5$, and then heat treated at $800^{\circ}C$ under a flow of nitrogen gas, showed relatively good electrochemical performance. Although the specific-surface-area of the carbon-electrode material ($1,096m^2/g$) was less than that of pristine activated-carbon ($1,122m^2/g$), the meso-pore volume increased after the combined chemical and heat treatments. The specific capacitance of the EDLC increased from 59.6 to 74.8 F/g (26%) after those post treatments. The equivalent series resistance of EDLC using CSsb800 as electrode was much lower than that of EDLC using pristine activated carbon. Therefore, CSsb800 exhibited superior electrochemical performance at high scan rates due to its low internal resistance.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.286-293
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• 1998

Two methods were used to enhance the adsorption capacity of activated carbons. One is to impregnate activated carbons with chemical compounds which have a good affinity for $CO_2$. The other is to activate by heat-treating after impregnation with KOH on activated carbons(AC). The chemical compounds impregnated on AC were alkali metal, alkaline earth metal, and transition metal chlorides. The adsorption capacity of $CO_2$ on AC impregnated with these metals was less than that of pure AC. These compounds have not the chemical affinity for $CO_2$ and obstruct the micropore of AC. The experiment of breakthrough for $CO_2$ on AC impregnated with KOH showed the increase of the adsorbed amount of $CO_2$ in influent gases containing water vapor. This means that KOH adsorbes $CO_2$ gas. However, the adsorbents impregnated with KOH had not the reproducibility because of the production of $K_2CO_3$ by the reaction of KOH with $CO_2$. The amount of $CO_2$ adsorbed on the heat-treated AC at $800^{\circ}C$ increased with the amount of impregnation. The adsorption capacity of $CO_2$ was the largest when the ratio of weight of KOH to AC equal to 4. The isosteric heat of adsorption was calculated by the equation of Clausius-Clapeyron form adsorption capacity data of $CO_2$ for the temperature change. In addition, the characteristics of $CO_2$ breakthrough curve were surveyed for the change of flow rate and concentration.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.403-416
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• 2020

This study investigated the effect of alkaline activators - NaOH_aq (NH) (NH: 0-16 M) and Na₂SiO_3aq (NS) (NS/NH: 0-3.5) in the synthesis of silico-manganese fume (SMF) and ground blast furnace slag (BFS) blended alkali-activated mortar (AASB). The use of individual activator was ineffective in producing AASB of sufficient fresh and hardened properties, compared to the synergy of both activators. This may be attributed to incomplete dissolution and condensation of oligomers required for gelation of the binder. An inverse relationship was noted among the fresh properties and the NH concentration or NS/NH ratio. This was influenced by the dissolution and condensation of silicate monomers under polymerization process. The maximum 28-day strength of ~45 MPa, setting time of 60 min and flow of 182 mm was obtained with the use of combined activators (10M-NH and NS/NH=2.5). The combined activators at NS/10M-NH=2.5 constituted SiO₂/Na₂O, H₂O/Na₂O and H₂O/SiO₂ molar ratio of 1.61, 17.33 and 10.77, respectively. This facilitated the formation of C-S-H, C/K-A-S-H and C-Mn-S-H in the framework together with an increase in the crystallinity due to more silicate re-organization within the aluminosilicate chain. On comparison of the high concentrated with mild alkali synthesized product, it revealed that the concentration of OH^- and Si monomers together with alkali metals influenced the dissolution of precursors and embedment of the constituent elements in the polymeric matrix. These factors eventually contributed to the microstructural densification of the mortar prepared with NS/10M-NH=2.5 thereby enhancing the compressive strength.

• Carbon letters
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2016

Lignocellulosic biomass conversion to biofuels such as ethanol and other value-added bio-products including activated carbons has attracted much attention. The development of an efficient, cost-effective, and eco-friendly pretreatment process is a major challenge in lignocellulosic biomass to biofuel conversion. Although several modern pretreatment technologies have been introduced, few promising technologies have been reported. Microwave irradiation or microwave-assisted methods (physical and chemical) for pretreatment (disintegration) of biomass have been gaining popularity over the last few years owing to their high heating efficiency, lower energy requirements, and easy operation. Acid and alkali pretreatments assisted by microwave heating meanwhile have been widely used for different types of lignocellulosic biomass conversion. Additional advantages of microwave-based pretreatments include faster treatment time, selective processing, instantaneous control, and acceleration of the reaction rate. The present review provides insights into the current research and advantages of using microwave-assisted pretreatment technologies for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to fermentable sugars in the process of cellulosic ethanol production.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.299-300
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• 2010

Flow and compressive strength of slag mortars activated by $MgNO_3$ were measured to examine the significance and limitation for the use of Mg-ion as an alkali-activator. The compressive strength of mortars tested was significantly dependent on the addition amount of $MgNO_3$, showing that 30~60% higher strength was developed in water-cured mortars than in air-cured mortars.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2015.05a
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• pp.96-97
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• 2015

In this search, by evaluating the field applicability of soil mixed pavement of Red mud is mixed into the soil mixed pavement field applicability, and tries to present the basic data about the site application of recycling of red mud and low carbon construction material to. As a result, the conventional soil concrete organization standards (SPS-KSCICO-001: 2003) meets the criteria for a bicycle road, making use of red mud, natural color as well as the natural loess is expressed.