Geopolymer synthesis with the use of phyllite
L.G. de A. Melo, F.J. da Silva, and Thaumaturgo C.
Instituto Militar de Engenharia, Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Products that are environmentally friendly have gained an important role in modern world.
Portland cement is one of the most important materials in global economics, but also emits
CO2 into the atmosphere, one of the gases responsible for the Green House Effect. With one of
its applications as a substitute for Portland Cement, geopolymer is an inorganic polymer that
not only does not emit CO2, it also can use a wide variability of starting materials, such as
industrial residues or largely available minerals in the earth’s crust.
Geopolymer is made basically of a source of solid aluminosilicate mixed with a highly alkaline
solution. Phyllite, a highly available and cheap rock, was used for the first time in this product,
as a parcial substitute of metakaolin, source of solid aluminosilicate widely used in this
technology. The product was synthesized with various percentages of phyllite and evaluated
through tests of compressive strength.
Keywords: geopolymer, compressive strength, green technology
Work supported by FAPERJ.
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Melo_lis7@hotmail.com; Instituto Militar de Engenharia, Seção de Engenharia Mecânica e
de Materiais, Praça General Tibúrcio, 80, Praia Vermelha, 22190-270, Rio de Janeiro, RJ,
Brazil