Research Projects

Geopolymer concrete (GPC) is recent time has emerged as a sustainable alternate to Portland cement concrete; it exhibits low carbon footprint and utilize industrial by-products such as slag and fly ash [1,2]. The only bottleneck of GPC is it high cost and dependence on traditional alkaline activators (Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) and Sodium Silicate (Na2SiO3)). These activators consume huge energy during production and are unsustainable to the environment, as well as various challenges such as high alkaline nature, storage and transport, supply chain issues, fast setting, viscosity of activators, long-term performance, and high cost of activators [3]. To address these issues, to make the feasibility of GPC requires to identification of waste-derived, low-cast, and less harmful alkali activators. Activators derived from agricultural and industrial wastes can effectively replace the traditional alkali activators in GPC. The novelty of this study investigated the techno-environmental feasibility of waste-based activators in GPC to potentially offset the drawbacks associated with conventional activators, which can partially and fully replace the commercial activators. Therefore, the precise goal of this research proposal is to develop waste-derived activators with magnetized water, understand the activation mechanism, and thoroughly investigate the mechanical, microstructural, and durability of GPC. This research significantly contributes to green construction technologies by eliminating the handling and safety issues, reducing the environmental footprint and cost of GPC, encouraging the circular economy by reusing industrial/agricultural waste, and enhancing the sustainability of geopolymer concrete systems. Methodology and Testing Screening of Alternative Activators: Select and prepare activator solutions from waste glass powder, red mud, and biomass ash (e.g., rice husk ash, sugarcane bagasse ash) and conduct chemical analysis through XRF and pH to determine alkalinity. After that use the magnetized water to prepare the alkali activator solution. Prepare geopolymer concrete mixes using individual and hybrid activators. Testing and Characterization: In this phase evaluate the fresh, mechanical, durability, and microstructural properties, i.e., XRD, FTIR, SEM/EDX, TGA, MIP, NMR spectroscopy, and calorimetry to understand binding mechanisms.