Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-03T02:44:32.177Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

High-porosity geopolymer foams with tailored porosity for thermal insulation and wastewater treatment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 April 2017

Chengying Bai Open the ORCID record for Chengying Bai [Opens in a new window] ,
Giorgia Franchin ,
Hamada Elsayed ,
Alessandro Zaggia ,
Lino Conte ,
Hongqiang Li  and
Paolo Colombo
Chengying Bai*
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Giorgia Franchin
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Hamada Elsayed
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy; and Ceramics Department, National Research Centre, 12622 Cairo, Egypt
Alessandro Zaggia
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Lino Conte
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Hongqiang Li
Affiliation:
College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, 410082 Changsha, China
Paolo Colombo
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Padova, Italy; and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
*
a) Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

High-porosity metakaolin-based geopolymer foams (GFs) were fabricated by a gelcasting technique using hydrogen peroxide (foaming agent) in combination with Tween 80 (surfactant). Slurries processed in optimized conditions enabled to fabricate potassium based GFs with a total porosity in the range of ∼67 to ∼86 vol% (∼62 to ∼84 vol% open), thermal conductivity from ∼0.289 to ∼0.091 W/mK, and possessing a compressive strength from ∼0.3 to ∼9.4 MPa. Moreover, factors that influence the compressive strength, the porosity, the thermal conductivity, and the cell size distribution were investigated. The results showed that the cell size and size distribution can be controlled by adding different content of surfactant and foaming agent. The foamed geopolymer can also be used as adsorbents for the removal of copper and ammonium ions from wastewater. The foams, due to their low thermal conductivity, could also be used for thermal insulation. It was also possible to produce geopolymer formulations that could be printed using additive manufacturing technology (Direct Ink writing), which enabled to produce components with nonstochastic porosity.

Keywords

foamadsorptionthermal conductivity
Type
Invited Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 32 , Issue 17: Focus Issue: Achieving Superior Ceramics and Coating Properties through Innovative Processing , 14 September 2017 , pp. 3251 - 3259
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Contributing Editor: Eugene Medvedovski

References

REFERENCES

Davidovits, J.: Geopolymer Chemistry & Applications, 3rd ed. (Institut Géopolymère, Saint-Quentin, 2011).Google Scholar
Davidovits, J.: Geopolymers and geopolymeric materials. J. Therm. Anal. 35, 429 (1989).Google Scholar
Lecomte, I., Liégeois, M., Rulmont, A., Cloots, R., and Maseri, F.: Synthesis and characterization of new inorganic polymeric composites based on kaolin or white clay and on ground-granulated blast furnace slag. J. Mater. Res. 18, 2571 (2003).Google Scholar
Palmero, P., Formia, A., Antonaci, P., Brini, S., and Tulliani, J.: Geopolymer technology for application-oriented dense and lightened materials. Elaboration and characterization. Ceram. Int. 41, 12967 (2015).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Novais, R.M., Buruberri, L., Ascensão, G., Seabra, M., and Labrincha, J.: Porous biomass fly ash-based geopolymers with tailored thermal conductivity. J. Cleaner Prod. 119, 99 (2016).Google Scholar
Hlaváček, P., Šmilauer, V., Škvára, F., Kopecký, L., and Šulc, R.: Inorganic foams made from alkali-activated fly ash: Mechanical, chemical and physical properties. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 35, 703 (2015).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hemra, K. and Aungkavattana, P.: Effect of cordierite addition on compressive strength and thermal stability of metakaolin based geopolymer. Adv. Powder Technol. 27(3), 1021 (2016).Google Scholar
Al-Majidi, M.H., Lampropoulos, A., Cundy, A., and Meikle, S.: Development of geopolymer mortar under ambient temperature for in situ applications. Constr. Build. Mater. 120, 198 (2016).Google Scholar
Ge, Y., Yuan, Y., Wang, K., He, Y., and Cui, X.: Preparation of geopolymer-based inorganic membrane for removing Ni2+ from wastewater. J. Hazard. Mater. 299, 711 (2015).Google Scholar
Bai, C. and Colombo, P.: High-porosity geopolymer membrane supports by peroxide route with the addition of egg white as surfactant. Ceram. Int. 43(2), 2267 (2017).Google Scholar
Minelli, M., Medri, V., Papa, E., Miccio, F., Landi, E., and Doghieri, F.: Geopolymers as solid adsorbent for CO2 capture. Chem. Eng. Sci. 148, 267 (2016).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Novais, R.M., Buruberri, L.H., Seabra, M.P., and Labrincha, J.A.: Novel porous fly-ash containing geopolymer monoliths for lead adsorption from wastewaters. J. Hazard. Mater. 318, 631 (2016).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Luukkonen, T., Sarkkinen, M., Kemppainen, K., Rämö, J., and Lassi, U.: Metakaolin geopolymer characterization and application for ammonium removal from model solutions and landfill leachate. Appl. Clay Sci. 119, Part 2, 266 (2016).Google Scholar
López, F.J., Sugita, S., Tagaya, M., and Kobayashi, T.: Metakaolin-based geopolymers for targeted adsorbents to heavy metal ion separation. J. Mater. Sci. Chem. Eng. 2, 16 (2014).Google Scholar
Sharma, S., Medpelli, D., Chen, S., and Seo, D.: Calcium-modified hierarchically porous aluminosilicate geopolymer as a highly efficient regenerable catalyst for biodiesel production. RSC Adv. 5, 65454 (2015).Google Scholar
Zhang, Y.J., Liu, L.C., Xu, Y., and Wang, Y.C.: A new alkali-activated steel slag-based cementitious material for photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutant from waste water. J. Hazard. Mater. 209, 146 (2012).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhang, Z., Provis, J.L., Reid, A., and Wang, H.: Mechanical, thermal insulation, thermal resistance and acoustic absorption properties of geopolymer foam concrete. Cem. Concr. Compos. 62, 97 (2015).Google Scholar
Papa, E., Medri, V., Kpogbemabou, D., Morinière, V., Laumonier, J., Vaccari, A., and Rossignol, S.: Porosity and insulating properties of silica-fume based foams. Energy Build. 131, 223 (2016).Google Scholar
Ducman, V. and Korat, L.: Characterization of geopolymer fly-ash based foams obtained with the addition of Al powder or H2O2 as foaming agents. Mater. Charact. 113, 207 (2016).Google Scholar
Masi, G., Rickard, W.D., Vickers, L., Bignozzi, M.C., and Van Riessen, A.: A comparison between different foaming methods for the synthesis of light weight geopolymers. Ceram. Int. 40, 13891 (2014).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henon, J., Alzina, A., Absi, J., Smith, D.S., and Rossignol, S.: Potassium geopolymer foams made with silica fume pore forming agent for thermal insulation. J. Porous Mater. 20, 37 (2013).Google Scholar
Verdolotti, L., Liguori, B., Capasso, I., Errico, A., Caputo, D., Lavorgna, M., and Iannace, S.: Synergistic effect of vegetable protein and silicon addition on geopolymeric foams properties. J. Mater. Sci. 50, 2459 (2015).Google Scholar
Prud’homme, E., Michaud, P., Joussein, E., Peyratout, C., Smith, A., Arrii-Clacens, S., Clacens, J., and Rossignol, S.: Silica fume as porogent agent in geo-materials at low temperature. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 30, 1641 (2010).Google Scholar
Prud’Homme, E., Michaud, P., Joussein, E., Clacens, J., Arii-Clacens, S., Sobrados, I., Peyratout, C., Smith, A., Sanz, J., and Rossignol, S.: Structural characterization of geomaterial foams—Thermal behavior. J. Non-Cryst. Solids 357, 3637 (2011).Google Scholar
Bai, C., Franchin, G., Elsayed, H., Conte, A., and Colombo, P.: High strength metakaolin-based geopolymer foams with variable macroporous structure. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 36, 4243 (2016).Google Scholar
Papadopoulos, A.M.: State of the art in thermal insulation materials and aims for future developments. Energy Build. 37(1), 77 (2005).Google Scholar
Liefke, E.: Industrial applications of foamed inorganic polymers. ‘99 Geopolymer International Conference Proceedings (1999); p. 189.Google Scholar
Rahier, H., Wastiels, J., Biesemans, M., Willlem, R., Van Assche, G., and Van Mele, B.: Reaction mechanism, kinetics and high temperature transformations of geopolymers. 42(9), 2982 (2007).Google Scholar
Papa, E., Medri, V., Benito, P., Vaccari, A., Bugani, S., Jaroszewicz, J., Swieszkowski, W., and Landi, E.: Synthesis of porous hierarchical geopolymer monoliths by ice-templating. Microporous Mesoporous Mater. 215, 206 (2015).Google Scholar
Cilla, M.S., Morelli, M.R., and Colombo, P.: Open cell geopolymer foams by a novel saponification/peroxide/gelcasting combined route. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 34, 3133 (2014).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Franchin, G. and Colombo, P.: Porous geopolymer components through inverse replica of 3D printed sacrificial templates. J. Ceram. Sci. Technol. 6, 105 (2015).Google Scholar
Glad, B.E. and Kriven, W.M.: Highly porous geopolymers through templating and surface interactions. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 98, 2052 (2015).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feng, J., Zhang, R., Gong, L., Li, Y., Cao, W., and Cheng, X.: Development of porous fly ash-based geopolymer with low thermal conductivity. Mater. Des. 65, 529 (2015).Google Scholar
Ramamurthy, K. and Narayanan, N.: Influence of composition and curing on drying shrinkage of aerated concrete. Mater. Struct. 33, 243 (2000).Google Scholar
Ceron, E.K.B. and Leonelli, H.T.E.: Insulating behavior of metakaolin-based geopolymer materials assess with heat flux meter and laser flash techniques. J. Therm. Anal. Calorim. 108, 1189 (2012).Google Scholar
Yong, M., Liu, J., Alengaram, U.J., Jumaat, M.Z., and Mo, K.H.: Evaluation of thermal conductivity, mechanical and transport properties of lightweight aggregate foamed geopolymer concrete. Energy Build. 72, 238 (2014).Google Scholar
Zhang, Z., Provis, J.L., Reid, A., and Wang, H.: Geopolymer foam concrete: An emerging material for sustainable construction. Constr. Build. Mater. 56, 113 (2014).Google Scholar
Nie, T., Xue, L., Ge, M., Ma, H., and Zhang, J.: Fabrication of poly(L-lactic acid) tissue engineering scaffolds with precisely controlled gradient structure. Mater. Lett. 176, 25 (2016).Google Scholar
Zhang, Y., Rodrigue, D., and Ait-Kadi, A.: High-density polyethylene foams. I. Polymer and foam characterization. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 90(8), 2111 (2003).Google Scholar
Jung, H., Fazio, A., Van Dooren, N., Delcroix, A., Faggio, C., Blust, R., and De Boeck, G.: Kidney activity increases in copper exposed gold fish (Carassius auratus auratus). Comp. Biochem. Physiol., Part C: Pharmacol., Toxicol. Endocrinol. 190, 32 (2016).Google Scholar
Sepsi, P., Sárközi, E., Hrotkó, K., and Kardos, L.: Monitoring of air pollution in budapest, Hungary using tree leaf samples—preliminary results. AgroLife Journal 4(1), 1 (2015).Google Scholar
Hagenkamp-korth, F., Haeussermann, A., and Hartung, E.: Agriculture, ecosystems and environment effect of urease inhibitor application on urease activity in three different cubicle housing systems under practical conditions. Agric., Ecosyst. Environ. 202, 168 (2015).Google Scholar
Yin, L., Peng, H.X., Dhara, S., Yang, L., and Su, B.: Natural additives in protein coagulation casting process for improved microstructural controllability of cellular ceramics. Composites, Part B 40(7), 638 (2009).Google Scholar
yan Yin, L., gui Zhou, X., Shan Yu, J., lei Wang, H., Zhao, S., Luo, Z., and Yang, B.: New consolidation process inspired from making steamed bread to prepare Si3N4 foams by protein foaming method. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 33(7), 1387 (2013).Google Scholar
Liu, Z., Shao, N.N., Wang, D.M., Qin, J.F., Huang, T.Y., Song, W., Lin, M.X., Yuan, J.S., and Wang, Z.: Fabrication and properties of foam geopolymer using circulating fluidized bed combustion fly ash. Int. J. Miner., Metall. Mater. 21(1), 89 (2014).Google Scholar
Lloyd, R.R., Provis, J.L., Smeaton, K.J., and van Deventer, J.S.J.: Spatial distribution of pores in fly ash-based inorganic polymer gels visualised by Wood’s metal intrusion. Microporous Mesoporous Mater. 126, 32 (2009).Google Scholar
Rice, R.: Comparison of physical property-porosity behaviour with minimum solid area models. J. Mater. Sci. 31, 1509 (1996).Google Scholar
Rice, R.: Comparison of stress concentration versus minimum solid area based mechanical property–porosity relations. J. Mater. Sci. 28, 2187 (1993).Google Scholar
Ge, Y., Cui, X., Kong, Y., Li, Z., He, Y., and Zhou, Q.: Porous geopolymeric spheres for removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solution: Synthesis and evaluation. J. Hazard. Mater. 283, 244 (2015).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Twigg, M.V. and Richardson, J.T.: Fundamentals and applications of structured ceramic foam catalysts. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 46(12), 4166 (2007).Google Scholar
Lucci, F., Della Torre, A., Montenegro, G., and Dimopoulos Eggenschwiler, P.: On the catalytic performance of open cell structures versus honeycombs. Chem. Eng. J. 264, 514 (2015).Google Scholar
Al-Zboon, K.K., Al-smadi, B.M., and Al-Khawaldh, S.: Natural volcanic tuff-based geopolymer for Zn removal: Adsorption isotherm, kinetic, and thermodynamic study. Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 227(7), 1 (2016).Google Scholar