0000000000343920

AUTHOR

Rui M. Novais

Valorisation of industrial iron oxide waste to produce magnetic barium hexaferrite

Barium M-type hexagonal ferrite (BaM, BaFe12O19) is an immensely important magnetic material, which we have successfully made from the simple valorisation of Fe-rich industrial waste from steel wire drawing, with addition of BaCO3 and heating in air to 1000 degrees C. The optimum ratio of Fe. Ba (producing 86 wt% BaM) was found to be 11: 1 (non-stoichiometric), and secondary phases of alpha-Fe2O3 (non-magnetic) and ZnFe2O4 (poorly antiferromagnetic) were always present. This material consisted of small submicron platelets. A hard magnetic ferrite was produced with Ms=48.6 A m(2) kg(-1) and H-c=211.5 kA m(-1). The highest density was achieved by sintering samples with Fe: Ba ratios of 11: 1 …

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Pyrolysed cork-geopolymer composites: A novel and sustainable EMI shielding building material

Abstract In this investigation, and for the first time, pyrolysed sustainable cork was used to produce waste-based geopolymer-cork composites with enhanced electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding properties. The influence of the pyrolysed cork amount and the geopolymer porosity on the EMI shielding ability of the composites was studied. The maximum total shielding effectiveness (SET) values achieved by these novel building materials (−13.8 to −15.9 dB) are equal to any other reported geopolymer microwave (MW) absorbers over the X-band, despite containing much lower carbon content. In addition, our composites were produced using an industrial waste (biomass fly ash) as raw material and …

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Mix design and mechanical performance of geopolymer binder for sustainable construction and building materials

Sustainability in construction is a major concern worldwide, due to the huge volume of materials and energy consumed by this sector. Associated supplementing industries (e.g. Portland cement production) constitute a significant source of CO2 emissions and global warming. Valorisation and reuse of industrial wastes and by-products make geopolymers a solid and sustainable via to be followed as a valid alternative to Portland cement. In this work the mix design of a green fly ash-based geopolymer is evaluated as an environmentally friendly construction material. In the pursuit of sustainability, wastes from a regional kraft pulp industry are exploited for the material processing. Furthermore, …

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Green geopolymeric concrete using grits for applications in construction

Abstract This work investigates the production a green geopolymer-based concrete for a sustainable construction material using biomass wastes from a kraft pulp industry: fly ash (as main alumina-silicate source) and grits (as aggregate). Moreover, a simple, reproducible, ambient temperature, and low-cost manufacture is followed. Mix design aims to maximize wastes incorporation and optimize the mechanical performance. Preliminary tests indicate that the used wastes may be successfully employed to produce green geopolymeric concretes with satisfying mechanical performance (up to 18 MPa), according to the European standards. Furthermore, they represent a viable solution to reduce the environme…

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