Foundation Industry Wastes for Cement Encapsulants

Foundation Industry (FI) wastes such as coal fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag can potentially be used in geopolymer cements to give more effective encapsulation of hazardous wastes compared with Portland Cement, which is extensively used at present.

Activities will evaluate sources and types of FI wastes in the UK to select FI wastes for encapsulation trials and their business potential, namely:

* develop geopolymer formulations and process methods to encapsulate simulants wastes using FI wastes as a key cement component.
* maximise the amount encapsulated within the geopolymers
* characterise properties of the composites to indicate compliance with disposal requirements

This 12-month project is the first step of a timely opportunity to produce disruptive cement technology using FI wastes, creating internationally attractive products with low CO2 footprints.