Long et al. (2019) — Effective Use of Ground Waste Expanded Perlite as Green Supplementary Cementitious Material in Eco-Friendly Alkali Activated Slag Composites

Citation

Long, W.-J., Tan, X.-W., Xiao, B.-X., Han, N.-X., & Xing, F. (2019). Effective use of ground waste expanded perlite as green supplementary cementitious material in eco-friendly alkali activated slag composites. Journal of Cleaner Production, 213, 406–414.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.12.118
Atlas layer: extension
Related Victor Li book chapter: Chapter 8: Life Cycle Sustainability & Chapter 9: Green ECC (Alternative Pozzolanic SCMs, pp. 307–342)
Source PDF: long-2019-effective-use-of-ground-waste.pdf
Extracted text: full_text/long-2019-effective-use-of-ground-waste_full_text.md
Source note: source_notes/long-2019-effective-use-of-ground-waste_source_note.md

Why this paper matters

Investigates upcycling industrial Waste Expanded Perlite (WEP) as a supplementary aluminosilicate precursor in alkali-activated slag composites (up to 50 vol% replacement), demonstrating that WEP suppresses excessive early reaction heat (preventing thermal microcracking) while achieving 49.8–56.8 MPa compressive strength and cutting embodied carbon and cost by up to 16 % and 19 %.

Main contribution

Evaluates ground Waste Expanded Perlite (WEP, $71.5\%\ \text{SiO}2, 13.8\%\ \text{Al}_2\text{O}_3, d$) as a green pozzolanic SCM replacing slag at 10, 30, and 50 vol% in alkali-activated composites.} = 15.2\ \mu\text{m
Tracks reaction kinetics via isothermal calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), proving that WEP reduces early-age hydration heat peaks by 22 % to 45 %, mitigating thermal cracking risks in thick members.
Confirms stable compressive strength development (56.8 MPa at 10 % WEP; 49.8 MPa at 50 % WEP vs. 59.2 MPa for pure slag).
Analyzes reaction products via XRD and SEM, showing that pozzolanic silica from WEP participates actively in C-(A)-S-H gel polymerization.
Performs cradle-to-gate environmental and cost analyses, documenting 6–19 % cost savings, 5–24 % embodied energy reduction, and 3.2–16 % embodied $\text{CO}_2$ abatement.

Evidence summary

Material Matrix: S95 GGBFS + Ground WEP ($d_{50} = 15.2\ \mu\text{m}$) at 0 %, 10 %, 30 %, 50 % volume replacement.
Activator & Liquid: Sodium silicate + $\text{NaOH}$ ($M_s = 1.20, \text{Na}_2\text{O} = 6.0\text{ wt\%}$), $w/b = 0.45$.
Hydration & Mechanical Properties:
Reaction heat peak: Decreased from 18.2 mW/g (0 % WEP) to 10.1 mW/g (50 % WEP).
28-day Compressive strength: 59.2 MPa (0 % WEP) $\rightarrow$ 56.8 MPa (10 %) $\rightarrow$ 51.9 MPa (30 %) $\rightarrow$ 49.8 MPa (50 %).
Strength loss is only 4 % to 16 % despite 50 % slag replacement.
Environmental & Economic Impacts:
Cost reduction: 6.2 % to 19.4 % lower material cost per cubic meter.
Embodied energy: 5.1 % to 24.2 % reduction.
Carbon footprint: 3.2 % to 16.0 % reduction in embodied $\text{CO}_2$ emissions.

Linked Atlas nodes

04_material_systems/geopolymer_ecc.md
04_material_systems/green_ecc.md
02_concepts/circular_economy_materials.md
02_concepts/life_cycle_analysis.md

Relationship to Victor Li book

Extends Victor Li (2019) Chapter 8 (LCA & Cost Optimization) and Chapter 9 (Green ECC / Alternative Mineral Admixtures).
Broadens the precursor palette for alkali-activated sustainable composites by providing quantitative kinetic and mechanical data for industrial volcanic glass wastes (WEP).

Claim-evidence rows to add

Atlas node	Claim	Evidence summary	Page/Figure/Table	Status
`04_material_systems/green_ecc.md`	Ground waste expanded perlite replaces up to 50 vol% slag in AAS composites, maintaining $f_c \approx 50\text{ MPa}$ while reducing reaction heat by 45 %	Isothermal calorimetry, TGA, and 28d compressive strength testing	Section 3.1 & 3.2, Fig. 3-6, Table 3	verified_from_pdf
`02_concepts/life_cycle_analysis.md`	Upcycling ground WEP into alkali-activated composites cuts material cost by 6–19 % and embodied carbon by 3–16 %	Cradle-to-gate economic and environmental life-cycle analysis	Section 3.4, Fig. 9 & 10, Table 4	verified_from_pdf

Verification status

PDF preserved: yes (long-2019-effective-use-of-ground-waste.pdf)
Text extracted: yes (full_text/long-2019-effective-use-of-ground-waste_full_text.md)
DOI verified: yes (10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.12.118)
Metadata verified: yes (J. Clean. Prod., Vol. 213, pp. 406–414, 2019)
Claim-evidence matrix ready: yes

Cautions

WEP replacement $> 50\text{ vol\%}$ significantly increases water demand and retards setting times due to high surface area and slower silica dissolution kinetics.
Requires Raymond mill grinding to achieve fine particle size ($d_{50} \le 15\ \mu\text{m}$) for adequate pozzolanic reactivity.