Utilization of mineral wools in production of alkali activated materials

摘要

One of the main available sidestreams, which is recently used in the construction industry and received great attention is mineral wools. In this paper, the mineral wools are comprised of combined rock wool (RW) with glass wool (GW). The main novelty of this study was to use a combination of RW and GW to develop mineral wool-based mortars using alkali activation process. This investigation was carried out in three different stages to clarify the effects of different parameters on the mechanical strength, microstructural investigation, and toxicity characteristic leaching procedure. The studied differential parameters were comprised of using different co-binders (metakaolin (MK) or ladle slag (LS)), using different alkali activator properties, different contents of RW and GW, and different sand contents. The results showed that MK provided higher mechanical strength and uniformity than LS as a co-binder in alkali activated mineral wool-based binders. Moreover, it was revealed that the content of RW or GW had a key role in the mechanical strength, microstructural and mineralogical analysis, and leaching behavior of heavy metals. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.