Alumina Superfines Based Geopolymeres: Developments And Characterization

The superfine material generated in the Bayer process was used in one innovatively way as a precursor to geopolymerization techniques because of the presence of Gibbsite. Gibbsite can play a role in system adjustment because of the SiO2/Al2O3 ratio. Furthermore in the geopolymeric system it was studied the influenceof the additives such as kaolin, metakaolin and sodium trisilicate in an alkaline media. Others conditions to form the geopolymer were also evaluated such as solid/liquid ratio, SiO2/Al2O3 ratio and total alkaline. The raw materials and geopolymeric products were characterized by several techniques e.g. XRD, DSC, FTIR and SEM. Through the FTIR technique it was observed an increase in intensity and bandwidth in the region centered at 1010 cm-1, which is related to the asymmetric vibration Si(Al)-O, this is an indicating of the possible geopolymer formation This broadening of the band promotes a relative disappearance (overlapping) peaks at 965 and 935 cm-1 associated with raw material (ESPDust).