Paper Title: Evaluating the carbonation resistance of mortars made with industrial byproducts

Sustainable Materials in Civil Infrastructure

Kaustav Sarkar, Bhawana Sharma, Navdeep Singh, Nitin Ankur, & Ragini Dutt Sharma.

In cement concrete or mortar, the capacity to resist carbonation is one of the most essential durability attributes. Carbonation is a phenomenon in which a chemical reaction between atmospheric carbon dioxide and the cement hydration product takes place and results in the formation of calcium carbonate. This reaction led to a decrease in the pH of cement concrete or mortar making them less alkaline. Conventional mortars are civil engineering materials, made with cement and natural fine aggregate while blended mortars are formed by the partial replacement of either sand or cement with cementitious and pozzolanic materials. Various industrial wastes like coal bottom ash, iron slag, copper slag, and silica fume can be used to make blended mortar. This current study focuses on blended mortar formed with industrial by-products and evaluating its carbonation resistance. In this study blended mortar with replacement levels of 10% and 20% are manufactured and exposed to accelerated carbonation for four, eight and twelve weeks. The present study also shows the most suitable proportion of substances in relation to cement additions (type and replacement level) for the best carbonation resistance of mortar. This study also involves a brief discussion of the compressive strength of blended mortars. Results obtained from this study reveal that industrial wastes are found good at enhancing the carbonation resistance of mortar up to a particular level. This research also aims to reduce carbon footprints and industrial waste disposal by replacing cement with industrial byproducts, thus ensuring long-term sustainability.