Utilization of fly ash: basic oxygen furnace slag as a raw material in geopolymerization

Abstract: The aim of this project was to develop a basic oxygen furnace slag (BOFS) and fly ash (FA) based geopolymer. The developed geopolymer were required to have strength to withstand hydraulic load. In respect to BOFS and FA, there are two main ways in which they can be handled following the best practices of conserving the environment. The two are disposal and utilisation, the disposal thereof is a problem because it increases the amount of FA annually since they are not consumed completely yearly. Results also showed that wastes beneficiate FA and BOFS can be utilised for other applications and this will reduce these wastes in the landfills. The development of the geopolymer to investigate the optimum conditions to enhance strength has resulted in a 20 % FA mass blend ratio, 9 M concentration of sodium hydroxide, 20 % liquids solid-liquid ratio and 80 °C curing temperature. The addition of hydrogen peroxide to the geopolymer increased the porosity of the geopolymer