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Use of fly ash in the production of geopolymers: a literature review

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Abstract

Currently, the high pollution derived from the production of Portland cement is a major problem, therefore the development of alternative cements obtained by processes with lower gas emissions and low energy consumption is a new line of research of worldwide interest. It is proved that geopolymers can replace Portland cement in some application in the construction industry; however there are lack of critical reviews about finding of it during the last years. The main objective is to perform a critical analysis of the existing literature on material sources, physical and chemical characteristics of fly ash, combination, geopolymer manufacture and its properties; to complete that 91 indexed manuscripts from different data sources were analyzed. This review reveals that the optimal burning of the materials improves their characteristics and generates a higher compressive strength of the geopolymers, and it is also concluded that the most practical way to mix the inputs is by combining at the same time the alkaline solutions and the fly ashes. In the case of mortars and concretes, similar and higher values in compressive strength have been reported, but lower values in flexural strength with respect to conventional Portland cement. While alternative activators such as CCA, it is proven that their inclusion does not affect the strength of the mixture, finally it is found that fly ashes can contain heavy metals, and these are encapsulated and immobilized in the geopolymerization process, complying with environmental standards.

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Acknowledgements

To thank the professional school of Civil Engineering of the Universidad Señor de Sipán for always motivating us to excel in different areas of research and the support provided for the advice of this literature review.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. PhD student in Civil Engineering, Universidad Nacional del Santa, Nuevo-Chimbote, Peru

    Muñoz Pérez Sócrates Pedro

  2. Mechanical Engineering, Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología, Lima, Peru

    Charca Mamani Samuel

  3. Graduate in Civil Engineering, Universidad Señor de Sipan, Chiclayo, Peru

    Dávila Gamonal Clara Mercedes, Díaz Román Irina & Reyes Gutiérrez Carlos Guillermo

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  1. Muñoz Pérez Sócrates Pedro
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Pedro, M.P.S., Samuel, C.M., Mercedes, D.G.C. et al. Use of fly ash in the production of geopolymers: a literature review. Innov. Infrastruct. Solut. 7, 236 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41062-022-00835-7

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