Green Building: Use of Pozzolanic Material to Reduce CO₂ Emissions and Energy Conservation in the Production of Composite Pozzolanic Cement

Abstract

The effect of pozzolanic material on the mechanical properties and microstructure of clinker Portland cement mortar was studied. The main objective of this research is to formulate a Pozzolanic blended cement mortar with high mechanical properties to reduce CO₂ emissions and energy conservation uses in the clinker industry. The present investigation aims to study the effect of fresh basalt on the properties of clinker and Portland cement pastes. The rate of hydration was studied from the determination of free lime and combined water up to 90 days of hydration. The physical-mechanical properties such as compressive strength, phase composition, and microstructure of mortar were investigated. The results revealed that the water consistency increased with the basalt substance while the setting time was somewhat elongated. On the other hand, the combined water increases with the basalt content and curing time. This can be primarily due to the influence of nucleating of basalt as a filler in pozzolanic cement generation. The fresh mortar pastes were first cured at 100% relative humidity for 24 h and then cured in water for 90 days. The results showed that the compressive strength of the cement mortars with basalt pozzolanic mixed cement was higher than plain clinker Portland cement mortar; the improvement in compressive quality was 10% to 15% basalt.