Assessment of the suitability of gravel wash mud as raw material for the synthesis of an alkali-activated binder

Abstract Gravel wash mud (GWM), a waste product from gravel mining was dried and processed into a fine powder to be activated by different concentrations of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solutions for the synthesis of an alkali-activated binder. The GWM powders were thermally treated at five different calcination temperatures 550, 650, 750, 850 and 950 °C. The characterisation of the raw material comprises the particle size distribution (PSD) by laser granulometry, the chemical and mineralogical composition by X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction analysis respectively, and simultaneous thermal analysis. The performance of the alkali-activated binders was examined using compression strength tests and the microstructure was observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The GWM was classified as an aluminosilicate raw material with kaolinite and illite as main clay minerals. Furthermore, a mean particle size around 6.50 μm was determined for the uncalcined and calcined GWM powders. The SEM images of the developed binders showed the formation of a compact microstructure, however, relatively low strengths were achieved. This preliminary study highlights an example of an aluminosilicate prime material, which shows very promising chemical and mineralogical characteristics, but its suitability for alkaline activation without further additives was not confirmed as far as performance-based criteria are considered.