Macromol. Symp. 2017, 373, 1600090 DOI: 10.1002/masy.

201600090 | 1 of 11

Synthesis and Characterization of a Red Mud and

Rice Husk Based Geopolymer for Engineering
Applications
Traor
e S
ekou,*1 Diakit
e Sin
e,2 Traor
e D. Lancin
e,2 Cond
e Bakaridjan3

Summary: Red mud (RM) is the major waste material of the alkaline extraction of
alumina from bauxite. It occupies precious land and threatens the environment. Rice
is composed by approximately 20% of rice husk (RH) creating disposal and pollution
problems. After burning RH, the resulting rice husk ash RHA contains about 90%
silica. Synthesis of geopolymers is an emerging technology for the utilization of
industrial by-products. For the synthesis of a RM/RHA based geopolymer, we used
RM from a local Alumina Plant, RH from a local mill in Guinea and NaOH solutions.
The synthesis consisted of mixing the RHA to RM powders at a pre-designed weight
ratio. The NaOH solution was added with a given concentration. The effect of mix
ratio, alkalinity and curing age on the geopolymer specimen were investigated. X-ray
Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and compression test were
used to study the microstructure of RM, RHA and RHA/RM. The analyses showed that
the final product is mainly composed of amorphous geopolymer binder and that the
compressive strength ranges from 3 to 20 MPa.

Keywords: compressive strength; geopolymer; red mud; rice husk; synthesis

Introduction content and electrical conductivity domi-

nated by sodium (Naþ), and its constituent
The utilization of natural resources such as particles are compacted upon drying
ore deposits, crops and their processing for imparting a high bulk density. By the year
minerals, metal or food and energy pro- 2000, the alumina industry had produced
duction are strongly related to the genera- circa 2 billion tons of bauxite residue and is
tion of huge amounts of solid wastes, which estimated to reach the 4 billion tons at its
cause severe environmental damages. In current production rate by 2015.[2]
response, considerable efforts are being Rice is the second largest produced
conducted to find practical and economical cereal in the world. Its production is
uses for any existing waste. If viable, the geographically concentrated in Asia with
waste should then become a by-product more than 90 percent of world output.
with an associate market value.[1] During milling of paddy about 22% of
Red mud is mineral slurry left behind weight of paddy is received as rice husk
after extracting alumina from bauxitic ores (RH) and 78% of weight is received as rice.
using the Bayer process. Bauxite residues RH contains about 75% of organic volatile
are strongly alkaline, have a high salt matter and 25% of its weight is converted
into rice husk ash (RHA) during firing
1
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of
process. So, 220 kg of husk is produced
Conakry UGANC, Conakry, Guinea from the 1000 kg of paddy and that 220 kg
E-mail: sktraore@gmail.com of husk produce 55 kg of RHA.[3]
2
Department of Civil Engineering, University of The chemical composition of the rice husk
Conakry UGANC, Conakry, Guinea
3
Direction Nationale de l’Assainissement et du Cadre ash varies from RH to RH which may
de Vie, DNACV, Conakry, Guinea be due to geographical and climatic

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2 of 11 | Macromol. Symp. 2017, 373, 1600090

conditions, variety of rice, and the quantity Bayer process. It contains considerable
of fertilizer used.[4] amount of alumina, caustic soda (even with
The present work is aimed at assessing high water content, owing to the presence
RM as raw material combined with RHA of an excessive amount of dissolved sodium
for the synthesis of inorganic polymeric hydroxide used to extract silicates and
compounds for engineering applications. alumina), ferric oxide causing the red color
of the mud, titania and other minor
valuable constituents.[6] It is one of the
Background oldest large-scale industries in the world. It
is characterized by strong alkalinity. Dis-
Red Mud posal becomes a huge problem due to the
Guinea has the world’s largest bauxite presence of high pH, heavy metals and
deposits (about 1/3 of the world’s total) and radioactivity. Therefore, new technologies
is the second leading bauxite producer after utilizing red mud as a raw material for
Australia. Mining accounts for 90% of the manufacturing high added-value products
country’s exports; likewise, bauxite are urgently needed.
accounts for 90% of all mining. Guinea At present, about 6  107t of red mud is
also has the only refinery in West Africa discharged to the environment every year
which converts bauxite into alumina, which all over the world.[7] A mass of RM not only
is then exported elsewhere for smelting. occupies precious land, but also threatens
Plans are underway for a new refinery and the environment because of basifying land
Guinea’s first smelter, giving Guinea the and polluting underground water. So,
potential pieces of a vertically integrated treating and disposal of RM has attracted
aluminum industry. Bauxite mining in much attention. In the Bayer process for
Guinea takes place through three compa- alumina production, 5 tons of bauxite are
nies: Compagnie des Bauxites de Guin
ee washed and treated to produce 2 tons of
(CBG), Alumina Company of Guinea aluminum metal.[8] Red mud could cause
(ACG, formerly Friguia) and Soci
et
e des serious environmental problems: (i) con-
Bauxites de Kindia (SBK). tamination of surface and underground
The process patented by Bayer in 1892 water resources with NaOH and metallic
was a breakthrough in mineral processing oxide-bearing impurities[9]; (ii) direct con-
that enabled alumina to be extracted from tact with fauna and flora; (iii) evaporation
bauxite ore economically on a large scale. that could originate highly alkaline rain-
The question of what to do with bauxite falls[10]; (iv) visual impact on extensive
residue initially arose with the develop- areas. Some accidents, the most recent one
ment of the Bayer process for alumina in Ajka (Hungary) provoked irrecoverable
refining and the recognition that it gener- damages to the environment.[11]
ated a large amount of waste material. In the subsequent 120 years the ap-
Bayer himself noted that an inevitable proach has changed from one of uncon-
consequence of his process was the pro- strained disposal to that of containment in
duction of significant quantities of residue engineered storages, with a wide range of
that he recognized as a possible source of industry practice. Many recent studies and
iron: “The red, iron-containing residue that semi-industrial trials were directed to the
occurs after digestion settles well and, with incorporation of the red mud in construc-
sufficient practice, can be filtered and tion materials; traditional ceramics clinker;
washed. Due its high iron and low alumi- light weight aggregates.[12–14]
num oxide content, it can be, in an
appropriate manner, treated or with other Rice Husk
iron ores be smelted to iron.”[5] RM is the Assessment of Guinea’s food balance sheet
major waste material of the alkaline shows rice as the major food produced in
extraction of alumina from bauxite by the country, accounting for 61% to 69% of

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Macromol. Symp. 2017, 373, 1600090 | 3 of 11
[18]
available cereals. Guinea has implemented K and Ca. This residual ash obtained
several initiatives to improve production from the combustion can contain over 60%
and productivity of rice, the staple food for of silica and some amount of metallic
the local population, with the aim of impurities.
limiting dependence on imports. Accord- Silica has been used in many applica-
ingly, rice production rose significantly tions, including production of nanomate-
from 775,700 tons in 2000/2001 to rial. Tailored materials composed of
1,465,700 tons in 2008/2009. It is notewor- nanoparticles have potential for applica-
thy that the contribution of the rice sector tion in numerous technological fields. In
to gross domestic product (GDP) is general, after burning off organic constit-
continually improving, reaching 5.2% in uents of the RH, RHA consists of highly
2000 and expected to reach 6.2% by 2018. porous particles, leading to a low bulk unit
However, local production still cannot weight and a very high external surface
meet local demand. area.[19] Reactive nature of amorphous
Rice is composed by approximately 20% silica reduces reaction temperature from
of RH produced during dehusking opera- 1000 C to 100 C in sodium silicate.
tion of paddy. It is reported that approxi-
mately 0.23 tons of RH is formed from Engineering Applications Opportunities
every ton of rice produced.[15] The husk is for RM and RHA
considered a by-product in the mills and There are several utilization classes for
creates disposal and pollution problems. bauxite residue and rice husk ash that have
After burning, the organic composition is the potential to create value. Construction
decomposed and rice husk ash (RHA) is and chemical applications are one of the
obtained.[16] It is one of the most intracta- promising fields. Among others, geopoly-
ble agricultural wastes known to man, merization is an emerging technology being
because it’s tough, woody and abrasive developed for the utilization of industrial
nature along with high silica content makes by-products.[20]
its proper disposal very difficult.[17] The
rice plant has high amorphous silica
content because it naturally absorbs from Geopolymerization
the soil and transports silicon in the form of The properties and uses of geopolymers are
silicic acid to its outer surfaces. being explored in many scientific and
industrial branches: modern inorganic
chemistry, physical chemistry, colloid
Rice Husk Ash chemistry, mineralogy, geology, and in all
RHA is an industrial waste produced by types of engineering process technologies.
burning rice husk primarily for the genera- The wide variety of potential applications
tion of electricity, a kind of sustainable includes: fire resistant materials, decorative
biomass energy. The growing environmen- stone artifacts, thermal insulation, low-tech
tal concerns and need for energy from building materials, low energy ceramic
renewable biomass have led to a useful and tiles, refractory items, thermal shock
economical solution: burning rice husk for refractories, bio-technologies (materials
electricity generation with net zero carbon for medicinal applications), foundry indus-
output to the atmosphere. The main try, cements and concretes, composites for
component of the ash is silica (90–95weight infrastructures repair and strengthening,
%), existing predominantly in amorphous high-tech composites for aircraft interior
and partly in crystalline phases (although and automobile, high-tech resin systems,
the temperature and age of burning affect etc. Geopolymer is formed by the polycon-
the ratio of amorphous to crystalline phases densation of silica and alumina precursor
of silica with residual carbon as the major which are reacted with alkali to form the
impurity and other trace elements such as polymer. The key to geopolymer formation

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4 of 11 | Macromol. Symp. 2017, 373, 1600090

Scheme 1.
General mechanism for geopolymer formation.[21]

is the dissolution of silica and alumina in an empirical formula for geopolymer matrix:
alkaline environment, followed by re-
M þ nfðSiO2 Þz  AlO2 gn
precipitation to form an amorphous solid
polymer. The overall reactions are repre- Where Mþ represents an alkali cathion
sented below (Scheme 1).[21] (K , Naþ) for balancing the negative
þ

Geopolymers compounds can be either charge of Al3þ; n represents the degree of

crystalline or amorphous. Crystalline poly polymerization; and z ¼ Si/Al ratio. The
(sialate) and poly (sialate-siloxo) result of developed formula of oligomer units can be
hydrothermal setting conditions, while the represented as Schemes 2 and 3.
hardening at ambient temperature induces Bauxite residue contains a number of
amorphous structure.[22] Geopolymeric aluminum- and silicon-containing minerals
materials can polycondense at low temper- and some soda that could be used for
atures and acquire properties and struc- geopolymer formation. Additional sodium
tures similar to ceramic materials such as hydroxide may be needed to achieve the
resistance against acids and high necessary dissolution (over the tempera-
temperatures. ture range of ambient to 160 C), depending
The geopolymerization mechanism on the initial concentration, dissolution
involves Si and Al dissolution from the time, and other parameters required to
starting materials generates to make avail- optimize the overall process.[24,25] RHA
able polysialate units example sialate contains a huge amount of silicate contrib-
[—Si—O—Al—O], sialate siloxo [—Si— uting to geopolymerization. The chemical
O—Al—O—Si—O] or sialate disiloxo process is an alkali-activation of red mud as
[—Si—O—Al—O—Si—O], depending on the primary source of reactive alumina and
the Si/Al ratio) cross-linked [AlO4]- and rice husk ash as the primary source of
[SiO4] tetrahedral units, with charge bal- reactive silica.
ance ensured by Naþ or Kþ ions. The In the literature, investigations of RHA/
sialate is an abbreviation for silicon-oxo- RM based composite are rare. Pioneer
aluminate. The sialate is an abbreviation study on this type of inorganic polymer was
for silicon-oxo-aluminate. There is also an done by He et al.[30]

Scheme 2.
Types of polysialates.[26]

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Macromol. Symp. 2017, 373, 1600090 | 5 of 11

resulted in the formation of a product

having a paste consistency. Besides this
fixed liquid to solid weight ratio, for further
investigation, NaOH solutions were pre-
pared with concentrations of 2; 2.5; 4; 4.5; 6;
6.5, 8 (M) (Table 1).
Scheme 3. For characterization of the microstruc-
Reaction scheme proposed for geopolymerization.[24] ture and the compressive strength, the
specimens of the geopolymer precursor
paste were molded in 50  50  50 mm3
Materials and Experimental molds and placed in oven at 50 C for 24h
Methods and cured at ambient temperature (28 C).
They were then demolded and subjected to
Material prolonged curing in a laboratory ambient
The RM slurry with a pH 11 was sourced during 43 days. Reproducibility of micro-
from the ACG Alumina Plant in Fria; structure and properties was ensured by
Guinea. It was dried in a laboratory oven at performing two duplicate specimens for
the temperature of 50 C during 72 h and each composition. For the determination of
cooled at ambient temperature; before the impact of a specified synthesis parame-
determination of the chemical and miner- ter, only the selected parameter was
alogical composition. A porcelain mortar changed within each test set, while others
was used to break down the RM aggre- set aside at an unvaried rate. To investigate
gates, and to pulverize it to a powder with the impact of the composition on geo-
fine particles about 250 mm sieves. polymer properties, following parameters
The raw RH was brought from a local were varied during the process as shows
rice mill in Sinko; Prefecture of Beyla; Table 1 below.
Guinea. It was burned at 700 C for 1 hour,
ground for 30 minutes, passed through Characterization
90 mm-mesh and then processed into RHA The mineral composition was determined
in the Laboratory for Material Research; by atomic absorption spectrometry (Ana-
Polytechnic Institute, University of Con- lytik JENA, Vario 6, Germany). Chemical
akry. The alkaline activator used for geo- elemental analyses were performed by an
polymer synthesis was NaOH flakes (purity EDAX energy-dispersive X-ray spectros-
quotient: 99%, Merck; Germany). copy (EDXS) device equipped with the
SEM system. The microstructure of parent
Samples Preparation RHA, RM and the synthetized geopolymer
The synthesis of the presumed geopolymer specimens were characterized by X-ray
RHA/RM consisted of mixing and blend- diffraction (Shimadzu diffractometer,
ing the two dry powders in the following model XD-7A, with radiation Cu-Ka)
designed ratios: RHA to RM weight ratio
0.3; 0.4; 0.5; 0.6 (named, RHA/RM3, RHA/
RM4, RHA/RM5, and RHA/RM6 respec-
Table 1.
tively. The mixing of the blends was carried
Schematic presentation of the synthesis.
out by Heidolph ST-1 Laboratory magnetic
stirrer at two different speeds; 100 rpm for Investigated Specimen Parameters
parameters values
5 min and 200 rpm for 15 min, to insure
their homogeneity. The NaOH solution I. Curing age CD 15; 21; 28; 33; 43
(days)
was prepared by dissolving NaOH flakes in II. RHA/RM weight RH/RM 0.3; 0.4; 0.5; 0.6
deionized water. Then the solution was ratio
added to the RH/RHA powder at a liquid III. Concentration of 2; 2.5; 4; 4.5; 6;
NaOH solution 6.5, 8 (M)
to solid weight ratio of 1.2. The mixing

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6 of 11 | Macromol. Symp. 2017, 373, 1600090

and by scanning electron micrograph

(SEM; Model 2000FX, JEOL Co.). The
compressive strength tests were performed
on the mix specimens in accordance with
ASTM C109 Standard Test Method.
Reported strengths were the average of
three specimens. The specimen with the
Figure 1.
highest value of compressive strength was Element analysis of red mud (wt. %).
characterized with X-ray diffraction. For
SEM analysis of geopolymer, samples were
taken from the specimens that had frac- lixiviating agent. RM itself does not
tured during compression testing. provide the geopolymeric system with
the appropriate soluble Si and Al
(Figure 1).
Results and Discussion The SEM diagram of the RM is shown in
Figure 2. RM has relatively movable and
Characterization of RM; RHA porous microstructure with the presence of
Mineralogical Composition dispersive particles. Moreover, the diagram
The parent RM has a high rate of iron shows unequal formed aggregates compris-
compound in the shape of hematite and ing smaller particles. The aggregates are
goethite (Table 2). The aluminum hydrox- probably hematite particles and needle-
ide (mainly gibbsite and boehmite) from shaped particles of gypsum.
non-recovered or unreacted Al2O3 repre- The morphological features of the RHA
sents about 35%. Mineralogically, iron detected by SEM are presented in Figure 3.
content is found as hematite (Fe2O3) or The micrograph shows a porous and
goethite (FeOOH), while aluminum con- multifaceted particle shape and size. The
tent is found as gibbsite (Al2O3  3H2O), foremost constituents of rice husk comprise
diaspore (Al2O3  H2O), Sodalite (Na4Al3- hydrated silica, cellulose and hemi cellulose
SiO3O12Cl), sodium aluminosilicate- component totaling a 55–60% and lignin
hydrate (Na6(AlSiO4)6  4H2O), cancrinite component of approximately 22%. The
(NaAlSiO4)6CaCO3), rutile and anastase porous and honeycomb morphology seen
(TiO2), katoite (Ca3Al2(SiO4)(OH)8. So- can be credited to the burning out of the
dium originated from caustic soda as organic component in the rice husk during
combustion. The hydrated silica afterward
polymerizes to form a skeletal silica
Table 2.
Mineral constituents in red mud.
Mineral phases in red mud wt%
Hematite, Fe2O3 20.54
Sodalite, Na4Al3SiO3O12Cl 6.08
Cancrinite, 3NaAlSiO4  NaOH 6.45
Sodium Aluminosilicate hydrate, 26.54
3NaAlSiO4  NaOH
Calcite, CaCO3 1.34
Gibbsite, AlO(OH) 1.09
Boeh mite, AlO(OH) 0.62
Diaspore, AlO(OH) 4.64
Goethite, FeO(OH 14.54
Sodium Titanate, Na2Ti6O13 1.06
Rutile, TiO2 2.55
Anatase, TiO2 1.34
Tridymite, SiO2 2.34 Figure 2.
Amorphous 4.42
The SEM micrograph of RM from ACG plant.

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Macromol. Symp. 2017, 373, 1600090 | 7 of 11

After complete burning of the RH, the

resulting ash RHA shows a very high
content of silicon over 90% and a relative
low presence of Al2O3 and Fe2O3. In the
RHA, Na2O amount is insignificant. The
RHA X-ray diagram (Figure 5) indicates
that it is formed by silica in the crystalline
form, resulting from the predominant
presence of cristobalite (2u ¼ 21.9).[26]
Both forms: crystalline and amorphous
silica are governed by the burning temper-
Figure 3.
SEM micrograph of RHA. ature. The presence of crystalline form
correlates with higher burning tempera-
ture. The diagram shows 2 huge and broad
network which may explain the flaky and humps at 2u ¼ 5  15 and 2u ¼ 15  30 ,
honey comb-like structure. respectively, indicating the presence of
The X-ray diffraction analysis (Figure 4) amorphous phases. A few sharp peaks also
shows that the dominating minerals in both indicate the presence of crystalline phases
RM are quartz (Q) and kaolinite (K). The such as quartz and carbon.
XRD diffractogram of RM shows the The EDX mapping (Figure 6) of RM
presence of hematite Fe2O3, gibbsite corroborates with the results of element
Al(OH)3, akdalaite 4Al2O3.H2O, lepidoc- analysis and confirms among others the
rocite FeO(OH) and calcite CaCO3. RM presence of Fe, Al, Ti, Si, and Ca; that of Na
displays some undisclosed peaks and a few in a less extend.
sharp peaks that are mainly from hematite
and calcite, but no observable broad Characterization of the Resulting
humps. This suggests that the amorphous RHA/RM Geopolymer
phases are not present at large quantity. By Figure 7 shows specimens of fresh
comparison with its chemical composition, demolded RM/RHA5 geopolymer; the
alumina mainly presents as amorphous red coloration of the RM parent material
phases. Thus, red mud provides mainly did not change significantly. There are
Al (in the form of amorphous Al2O3 or three parent materials contributing in the
dissolved NaAlO2 and NaOH but little Si synthesis of RHA/RM geopolymers: RM,
to geopolymerization. RHA, and NaOH solution. However, only

Figure 4. Figure 5.
XRD diagram of red mud. X-ray diagram of RHA (C ¼ cristobalite; Q ¼ quartz).

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8 of 11 | Macromol. Symp. 2017, 373, 1600090

Figure 6.
EDX pattern of RM.

amorphous phases in raw materials con- iron silicon oxide (36 -2u angle). Amor-
tribute in geopolymerization reaction. phous phase in the microstructure of RHA/
Among the three raw materials, the red RM geopolymer has also been observed.
mud provides NaOH, Al2O3, and NaAlO2; Two peaks of gibbsite and iron oxide at
rice husk ash provides amorphous Si02; 18 -2u and 20 -2u, respectively are typically
sodium hydroxide solution provides associated with red mud raw material
NaOH. (Figure 4) disappeared in the XRD spec-
trum because there was reaction of geo-
polymerization among reactants resulting
XRD Analysis to an increase of compressive strength of
The XRD diagram (Figure 8) shows that end products.
the product is not clean geopolymer
matrix, but a composite consisting of the
geopolymer structure and crystalline SEM Observation
phases from parent materials.[27] It is The SEM of the investigated samples
certainly a composite containing two solid shows that the microstructure of RHA
parts, explicitly the non-dissolved solid and RM geopolymer comprises non-dis-
particles and the formed geopolymeric solved particles of RM, which are bonded
binder. The XRD patterns show a broad in an extent gel phase and the formation of
reflection related to the high amorphous gel silicate (Figure 9). The reaction with the
content. However, the center of this alkaline solution to form a particulate gel
reflection is shifted to 2u ¼ 29 due to network took place at the border of
changes in composition and structure particles then involving the entire surface.
when RHA is activated by NaOH and Several studies claim that the solid to liquid
NaSiO2 solutions. (S/L) ratio and the sodium hydroxide and
The main compositions in the crystalline silicon concentrations in the aqueous phase
structure are silicon oxide, cristobalite (at are the main synthesis parameters affecting
22 -2u angle) and some minerals such as the physical and mechanical properties of
sodium aluminum silicate (at 21.5 -2u), geopolymers.[28,29]

Figure 7. Figure 8.
RM/RHA5 specimen. XRD pattern of RHA/RM 5.

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Macromol. Symp. 2017, 373, 1600090 | 9 of 11

Figure 10.
Effect of the mix ratio on the compressive strength of
RHA/RM geopolymer.

lead to higher strength; in this study higher

Figure 9. ratio the RHA/RH4 network resulted in
SEM observation of RHA/RM 5. the inverse effect. The amount of RHA
seems to have variable effect on the
mechanical properties of geopolymer.
Compressive Strength Development of Hence, the lower the SiO2/Al2O3 ratio,
the Geopolymers the weaker is the strength of geopolymer.
The RHA/RM materials developed com- By increasing the RM content, also the
pressive strength between 3 and approxi- Na2O/SiO2 ratio increased and a higher
mately 20 MPa, as S/L ratio was increased strength was measured. For the 2, 4 and
from 2 to 3 g/ml. This confirms the work of 6 M, this showed that the compressive
Zhang el al.[27] with compressive strength resistance is maximal when the Na2O/
ranging from 3.2 to 20.5 MPa, comparable Al2O3 molar ratios are between 1 and 6.
to that of all Portland cement Molar values over/below this space, as it
(9–20.7 MPa). Such a geopolymer compos- occurs in RHA/RM4, the polymerized grid
ite can be used as a binding material to is less stable and easily disintegrated.
substitute Portland cement in several
engineering applications. The presence of
sharp peaks of crystalline phases from Effect of the Curing Age on the Compressive
starting raw material confirms that the Strength
crystalline phases do not contribute in Figure 11 shows that the compressive
geopolymerization, suggesting that they strength value growths primarily with
present only as inactive fillers in geo- curing time, and then becomes constant
polymer composite network.[30] The com- and almost invariable at about 11 MPa after
pressive strength of the RHA/RM a curing period of 5 weeks. Such a long
geopolymer can be viewed as the mixture curing time may represent a handicap for
of the strength of the non-dissolved solid the application of RHA/RM inorganic
particles and the geopolymeric binder. composites. Further research on the pa-
Increase of solid/liquid ratio resulted in rameters of the basic geopolymerization
increasing the amount of non-dissolved reaction such as RHA/RM, Si/Al ratios, the
solid particles per volume of produced mixing time of the blend is necessary to
materials.

Effect of Mix Ratio on the Compressive

Strength
Figure 10 shows the effect of the mix ratio
of parent materials on the compressive
strength. The highest compressive strength
was developed by the RHA/RM3 compo- Figure 11.
sition. Higher RHA/RM ratios generally Effect of curing age on the compressive strength.

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10 of 11 | Macromol. Symp. 2017, 373, 1600090

hindered, resulting in detrimental influence

on the mechanical properties.

Conclusion

With regard to the huge potential of

Figure 12. bauxite minerals and the perspective for
Influence of NaOH concentration on the compressive
its conversion into alumina and further to
strength.
elemental aluminum on one hand in
Guinea and the continuous growth of
rice production on the other, severe
speed up the curing and even impact the issues of red mud and rice husk disposal
mechanical properties. and management will arise in the future.
Namely the high basicity, the presence of
several chemical elements in the RM, the
Effect of NaOH Concentration the Compressive resistance of RH to ambient decomposi-
Strength tion represent a technological challenge
As shows Figure 12, increase of NaOH and a threat for the human health and for
concentration in the aqueous phase of the the biosphere in general. Geopolymeri-
geopolymeric system results with the direct zation for the synthesis of new materials
increase of the dissolution degree of Si and suitable for several engineering applica-
Si-AI phases of RHA improving the tions is gaining attention and becomes a
effectiveness of the geopolymerization promising sustainable technology. In this
process. Augmented Si and AI contents trial, red mud in combination with rice
in the aqueous phase of geopolymeric husk ash in alkaline condition resulted in
systems are essential for the initiation of geopolymer composites exhibiting good
the formation of oligomeric precursors and chemical structure and compressive
therefore, of the polycondensation that is strengths comparable to cementous mate-
the most important process of strength rials. High RHA/RM mix ratios, NaOH
development in geopolymeric materials. concentration and long curing age in-
Thus, the continuous increment of NaOH crease the compressive strength. Higher
concentration in the aqueous phase of the RHA/RM ratios and NaOH molarities
geopolymeric system shall affect positively cause a reverse effect.
the compressive strength of the obtained
materials.
Conversely, this is not in agreement with [1] R. S. Thakur, B. R. Sant, J. Sci. Ind. Res. 1983, 42, 87.
the results shown in Figure 12. Although [2] G. Power, M. Gr€afe, C. Klauber, DMR-3608 CSIRO-
the formation of oligomeric precursors is Minerals, Waterford, Tampa, 2009, p. 44.
enhanced by the increased contents of Si [3] P. Chindaprasirt, P. Kanchanda, A. Sathonsaowaphak,
Construct. Build. Mater. 2007, 21, 1356.
and AI in the aqueous phase, it is inhibited
[4] V. M. Govindarao, J. Sci. Ind. Res. 1980, 39, 495.
under extremely high NaOH concentra- [5] K. J. Bayer, Verfahren zur Darstellung von
tions.[29] Moreover viscosity of increased Thonerdehydrat und Alkalialuminat, 1887 (Bayer
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