Research Article - (2020) Volume 10, Issue 6
Received: 01-Aug-2019
Published:
14-Oct-2020
, DOI: 10.37421/jcde.2020.10.361
Citation: Rajnivas P, Freeda Christy C, Selva Mugunthan A and
Saravana Perumal M. “Effect of Zeolite in the Mechanical Properties of Concrete
and its CO2 Absorption Characteristics to Form an Eco-Friendly Environment.”
Civil Environ Eng 10 (2020): 361 doi: 10.37421/jcde.2020.10.361
Copyright: © 2020 Christy CF, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the
terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author
and source are credited.
Carbon dioxide is one of the major air pollutants into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is emitted more into the atmosphere because of combustion of fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) in cement production industry and many other industries and emissions from traffic congestions. Carbon-dioxide pollutes the air and the air pollution is the major threat faced by the present generation. Hence, there is a need to have an eco-friendly concrete which can absorb the carbon-dioxide from the atmosphere and reduces the air pollution. Therefore, a study has been carried out on the zeolite concrete for the enhancement of the mechanical properties and on the absorption of carbon sequestration in to the zeolite concrete.
Zeolite • Carbon dioxide • Air pollution • Eco-friendly • Sequestration • Strength
With the increase in population, the demand for the construction increases. Thereby the production of cement based construction materials increases which emit more Carbondioxide into the atmosphere. Also with the increase in population the demand for the own vehicle increases. This leads to more vehicle emissions of Carbondioxide and other toxic gases into the atmosphere and pollute the atmosphere. Among all greenhouse gas emissions, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are considered as the most serious concerns [1]. Carbon-dioxide, the main greenhouse gas emission, traps heat in the atmosphere and contribute to climate change. There exists an urgent need for the recovery or reduction in CO2 emissions or recycling of CO2 and effective utilization of Carbondioxide. CO2 from the atmosphere is to be trapped and deposited in a reservoir either beneath the earth or under ocean or on the construction material is known as the carbon sequestration [2]. The capacity for carbon capture and storage (CCS) in geologic formation is approximately 1 million tonnes per year per site [3]. Carbon-dioxide may be utilized in concrete blocks and bricks production as equivalent to carbon sequestration [4]. The direct and indirect emission coefficient of Carbondioxide from cement industry is 58.2% [5]. Trees and plants play a major role as absorber of the Carbondioxide through photosynthesis [6]. Because of urbanization, many green lands were replaced with several cement based constructions. Therefore, it is important to absorb large volume of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in cement based structures other than the trees. Hence the need for these cement based structures are to be designed to minimize the Carbondioxide emissions from the structure and serve other useful purposes in addition to shelter as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere.
The Carbondioxide may be sequestered in the cement or lime based products in order to reduce the CO2 in the environment [7] via carbonation process. Carbondioxide slowly diffuses through the pores present in the cement or lime based products and react with the calcium compounds to form a stable calcium carbonate i.e., Carbonation as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Carbonation in concrete.
With the increase in the concentration of CO2, carbonation increases significantly [8]. Carbonation depends upon the pore structure and occurs in the pores near the surface of concrete and progresses interior of concrete [9]. This results in the modification of pore refinement in the cement paste. The diffusion of carbon-di-oxide becomes difficult as it diffuses further in the cement paste matrix, which results in reduced rate of carbonation of cement-based products. The factors that influence the carbonation are, the moisture content, temperature relative humidity, CO2 concentration and the availability of Ca (OH)2, water and the replacement of cement with mineral additives [10]. Zeolite is the largest group of silicate minerals stated in the minerals database. Some of the mineral zeolites are analcime, chabazite, clinoptilolite, heulandite, natrolite, phillipsite, and stillbite [11,12]. It was found that zeolite consist of a crystalline structure bonded together in such a way that it form a tetrahedron structure zeolite and hence it can be considered as an active admixture which contributes to the formation of microstructure and can improve the properties of hardened concrete [13-16]. The mixed matrix membrane of polymer and zeolite as the most effective membrane for post- combustion CO2 capture and zeolite offers CO2 adsorption capacity and it increases with increasing pressure and decreases with increasing temperature [17,18]. The research identified that the traffic as being the top contributor for air pollution. With the increase in the demand for the vehicles, it leads to more traffic. With the traffic congestion, the average traffic speed reduces which emits more CO2 into the atmosphere. At low speed, scientific studies reveal, vehicles burn fuel inefficiently and pollute the environment for every trip [19,20]. Incorporation of zeolite into the concrete is one of the most promising concepts to absorb the Carbondioxide from the atmosphere [21]. The study has been carried out on the zeolite, zeolite mortar and the zeolite concrete for its mechanical properties and the carbonation study has been carried out on the zeolite concrete for the Carbondioxide absorbtion in order to have the eco-friendly environment.
In this study, the zeolite material properties and four mixtures of 1:3 cement mortar were prepared in 70.6 × 70.6 × 70.6 mm cube with distinct ratios of the zeolite as substitution of M-sand aggregate (mass with volume compensation), considering the amounts of 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% as shown in Table 1. The compressive strength of mortar was studied with 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% of zeolite replaced with M-sand in the cement mortar cube for 14th , 21st and 28th day test. Then the study was carried out on M15 zeolite concrete for compressive strength and for the carbon sequestration in zeolite concrete.
| Materials | 0% | 10% | 20% | 30% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cement (kg) | 0.164 | 0.164 | 0.164 | 0.164 |
| M-sand (kg) | 0.492 | 0.4428 | 0.3936 | 0.3444 |
| Zeolite (kg) | - | 0.0492 | 0.0984 | 0.1476 |
| Water (lt) | 0.082 | 0.082 | 0.082 | 0.082 |
Table 1. Mortar proportions used for a specimen preparation.
Material properties
Physical properties are the characteristics that are observed or measured without changing the composition of substances. The physical properties of zeolite were studied with its colour, texture as shown in Figure 3, pH value as shown in Figure 4, internal temperature using probemeter as shown in Figure 5, microstructure study and its composition in XRD as shown in Figures 6-8.
Figure 3. Colour and texture of zeolite.
Figure 4. pH value indicated in pH strip.
Figure 5. Temperature measured using probemeter.
Figure 6. Carbonation chamber model.
Figure 7. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) surface image of zeolite with magnification. (a) 10000x and (b). 5000x SEM view of zeolite in different focus.
Figure 8. Composition of elements in zeolite.
Zeolite is Greyish white with smooth texture. pH value indicates the material as acidic or alkaline. pH value was determined using pH strip as shown in Figure 4. The pH value of zeolite was observed as 8 (green) which indicated that the zeolite can be used in concrete as it is alkaline in nature. The internal temperature of the zeolite was measured as 26°C and hence the effect the hydration of concrete is negligible.
Physio-chemical characterization and structural examination
The crystallographic properties of zeolite concrete were studied by X-ray diffraction. The morphology of the material and the element of zeolite were studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM JEOL JSM-6610) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray (EDAX) spectrophotometer operated at 20 kV. To monitor the formation of carbonates in cement, the samples were scanned with FTIR (The Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy).
Carbon sequestration study
Carbon sequestration study was carried out on the zeolite concrete specimens. Carbonation chamber is suitable for testing the carbon sequestration in concrete or building materials under an environment of constant temperature, humidity and CO2 concentration as per ISO 1920-12:2015. The zeolite concrete specimens were placed inside the carbonation chamber as shown in Figure 6. The carbonation chamber was vacuumed at – 0.5 bar with the vacuum pump, then the Carbondioxide is filled in the chamber. The pressure in the chamber was controlled at 5.0 bar with the regulator such that the flow rate of the gas was controlled by 1 to 10 l/min for 48 hours.
Carbonation reaction takes place the as the carbon dioxide intrude into the pore water and forms the weak carbonic acid which in turn reacts with the calcium hydroxide and forms the calcium carbonate and water. The carbonation reaction is indicated in Equation 1.
CO2 + H2O→H2C2O ----------------- 1 (a)
Ca (OH)2 + H2CO3 →CaCO3 + 2H2O ----------------- 1 (b)
The carbonation test was performed on the carbonated zeolite concrete cube samples with phenolphthalein solution to indicate the change of pH level in the concrete. Phenolphthalein an indicator is dissolved in a suitable solvent such as isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol) in a 1% solution. The phenolphthalein solution is sprayed over the concrete as per IS 516. The depth of carbonation was determined on the zeolite concrete.
Based on the experimental investigations, the following conclusions were drawn;
• The water absorption of zeolite is within the permissible limits and hence it can be used in the concrete.
• The compressive strength of the 1:3 zeolite cement mortar, an average of 8.87% higher than the control cement mortar.
• The rate of carbonation depth on the zeolite concrete was 5mm for every 48 hours.
• The compressive strength of the carbonated zeolite cement concrete is almost the same as the strength of the uncarbonated zeolite control concrete.
• The incorporation of zeolite increased the level of carbon sequestration.
• Zeolite in concrete acts as the carbon sinks and can adsorb the atmospheric Carbondioxide which is a major pollutant in the atmosphere.
The authors would like to thank the Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences for providing necessary facilities and fund and to carry out the experimental study in the Structural Engineering laboratory.
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