A Review on Mineral Waste for Chemical-activated Binders: Mineralogical and Chemical Characteristics

This review discusses the potential of alkali-activated materials obtained from mineral waste. A brief historical background on alkali-activated materials is presented. Recent advances in the develop-ment of binders obtained from mineral wastes and alkali-activated solutions are described. The scope of this state of the art review is to identify current knowledge in support that mineral waste can be used for the production of alkali-activated binders. In addition, this review identifies the chemical activators that can be effectively utilized for such purposes in the age when wastes are still viewed by industry as dis-posable. Some mineral wastes which are discussed can be viewed as a new resource for recycling and recovery which will offer important economic and social benefits.European Commission under Horizon 2020, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE), by REMINE – “Reuse of Mining Waste into Innovative Geopolymeric-based Structural Panels, Precast, Ready Mixes and Insitu Applications”, Portuguese national funds through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology, IP, within the research unit C-MADE, Centre of Materials and Building Technologies (CIVE-Central covilhã-4082), University of Beira Interior, Portugal