Geopolymer Technology and its Role in a Sustainable Concrete Industry
The development of geopolymer concrete as an alternative to traditional cements provides significant potential advantages from environmental, technological and commercial perspectives. Geopolymer concrete gives significant Greenhouse emission reductions compared to ordinary Portland cements, displays very good durability and resistance to chemical attack, and provides a means of utilising waste streams from a variety of industries, in particular coal fly ash. Standards compliance is one of the major obstacles delaying widespread uptake of geopolymer technology, as the very different chemistry of these materials means that standards developed based on "acceptable" OPC performance are in many cases specific to the particular chemistry of the OPC binder, and therefore not directly applicable to geopolymer concretes. Previous work has shown that geopolymer concrete is able to not only meet but also significantly exceed many existing concrete standards. Recent work with respect to durability and also in the elucidation of synthesis mechanisms is presented, with an aim towards better understanding the early setting and long-term behaviour of geopolymer concrete, which is a key to the ongoing and future commercial success of geopolymers in construction and other applications.