ACID MEDIA-INDUCED LEACHING IN FLY ASH ALKALI-ACTIVATED PASTES: EFFECT OF FLY ASH NATURE

Chemical attack on Portland cement paste in acid media has been widely studied and shown to induce changes in their microstructure that is causing decrease of mechanical strength. The impact of this aggressive solution on alkali-activated fly ash (AAFA) is insufficiently understood, however. This study explored leaching in early age (3-21 day)AAFA pastes in a 6M NH4NO3 solution to determine the impact on mechanical behaviour and on the composition and microstructure of the starting material on the process. Two AAFA pastes of different nature and compositions were prepared, along with control OPC pastes. The studies have shown that the aggressive 6M NH4NO3 solution had a much more moderate effect on AAFA than on OPC paste strength. Furthermore, the nature and chemical composition of the starting fly-ash was governing their reactivity and hence their mechanical behaviour and durability. Whilst low amounts of cations leached out of the former material, the leachate contained no aluminium, a component found in its main reaction product, N-A-S-H gel. NMR and FTIR studies showed that the post-exposure gels had higher silicon content than the pre-exposure materials. Simultaneously these methods had revealed the formation of aluminium hydroxide.