The fly-ash based geopolymer composites as an innovative material for circular

Abstract

A circular economy is the answer to the problem of wasting raw materials and increasing environmental pollution. It is based on the effective use of materials - from extraction, through use, to the way of managing waste. Analyzing the impact of particular industries on the production of pollution, it can be concluded that the construction is one of such industries. In order to reduce the negative impact of the construction on the environment resulting from energy consumption and large amounts of generated waste, various researches are carried out on modern and innovative materials production solutions. One of the possibilities is a production technology based on the alkaline-activated compositions and geopolymers. The advantage of this technology is that it has a much lower carbon footprint compared to the traditional production methods used in construction - during the synthesis of geopolymers the emission of CO2 is 4-8 times lower and also the energy consumption is reduced up to 2-3 times. This article shows the possibility of using the industrial and mining waste for creating new eco-friendly materials – geopolymers. The paper presents the results of studies on geopolymer composites reinforced with addition of 1% by weight of different types of natural fibers i.e. short hemp fibres, raw flax fibres (shortened), long flax fibres (stannous) and linseed cotonin. The paper showed that geopolymer composites can be successfully produced with the addition of natural fibres (often waste) and have good strength parameters even after long-term use.