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Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry (2021) 328:1391–1398

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-021-07719-7

Fly ash as a raw material for low‑carbon cement clinkers and its
radiological properties
Miljana Mirković1 · Ljiljana Kljajević1 · Snežana Nenadović1 · Sabina Dolenec2 · Katarina Šter2 · Lea Žibret2 ·
Milica Rajačić3

Received: 30 December 2020 / Accepted: 8 April 2021 / Published online: 28 April 2021
© Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary 2021

Abstract
Potential comprehensive solutions in order to protect environment is the synthesis of alternative mineral binders such as
belite-sulfoaluminate cement clinkers, which are considered as energy and carbon reducing, allowing the substitution of
natural raw materials with secondary ones. In this study, three different samples of fly ash (FA) from "Nikola Tesla" Ther-
mal power plant (Serbia) were used in clinker synthesis with the targeted phase composition of 65 wt.% belite, 20 wt.%
calcium sulfoaluminate and 5 wt.% ferrite. Fly ashes and cement clinkers were investigated in terms of physical–chemical,
mineralogical and also radiological characterization. Results showed that incorporation of fly ash in raw mixture resulted in
achieving the targeted phase composition of cement clinkers with satisfactory radiological properties.

Keywords Fly ash · Cement clinker · Environment protection · Effective dose · Gamma radiation

Introduction as product of coal combustion in thermal power plants rep-


resenting solid waste [1, 2]. The fly ash production from
In the modern age and way of life where the need for power plants in Serbia is about seven milion tons per year,
energy is increasing, the usage of fly ash as secondary but less than 3% is utilized in the construction industry
raw material has many benefits and significant role in [3, 4]. The utilization and potenitial application of fly ash
the cement industry as one of the starting components of in cement clinker processing should be also investigated
raw materials for clinker production. Due to the growing from radiological point of view. During coal combustion
need to protect the environment, it is useful to use waste the initial radionuclide content of the coal remains, so
materials in order to reduce emissions of gases but also there is accumulation in soil residues and also in fly ash
to preserve non-renewable resources. In this sense, the [5]. This is the main reason why FA belongs to Naturally
methods of recycling and reuse of fly ash in the produc- Ocurring Radioactive Materials (NORM), which is the
tion of clinker are increasingly used, and it is an available materials containing certain natural radionuclide content.
material that is deposited over the years in large quantities There is a large scatter data which can be found in dif-
ferent countries, but there is very limited data which can
be found related to Serbian fly ash [3, 5, 6]. The natural
* Miljana Mirković terrestrial gamma radiation is very important, and estima-
miljanam@vinca.rs tion of the radiation dose distribution is crucial for asses-
1
ing the health risk to a population [7]. The radionuclides
Department of Materials, “VINČA” Institute of Nuclear
Sciences - National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, with corresponding decay products existing in terrestrial
University of Belgrade, 11351 Belgrade, Serbia materials such as 232Th, 238U and 40K are of great inter-
2
The Department of Materials, Slovenian National Building est [8]. Gamma radiation from these radionuclides repre-
and Civil Engineering Institute, Dimičeva ulica 12, sents the main external source of iradiation to the human
1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia body, so radionuclides in fly ash and its products generate
3
Department of Radiation and Environmental Protection, a certain radiation exposure to humans [9]. In order to
“VINČA” Institute of Nuclear Sciences - National estimate the health effects of the absorbed dose, the annual
Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, effective dose rate (H) should be determined taking into
11351 Belgrade, Serbia

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1392 Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry (2021) 328:1391–1398

account the conversion coefficients from the absorbed dose chemical, physical and phase characterization of fly ash
in air to the effective dose (0.7 Sv ­Gy−1) and the outdoor and obtained clinker.
occupancy factor (the fraction of time spent outdoors) of
0.2 both proposed by The United Nations Scientific Com-
mittee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) Experimental
[7]. Having in mind these facts it is clear that radiological
characteristics are one of the most important parameters Selected samples of fly ash were taken from thermal power
for usage of fly ash as a material for the production of plant Nikola Tesla (Tent A), Obrenovac, Belgrade, Serbia
cement clinker. Calcium-sulfoaluminate cements are pro- from active cassette (sample FA03) and from Tent B site
moted as alternative binder to Portland cement especially (from soil: FA01 and from passive cassette: FA02) located
because of much less ­CO2 emission and low energy usage 17 km upstream of Tent A.
in their production [10]. These savings are related to the Samples of fly ash for chemical analysis were prepared in
reduction of calcination temperature and thus energy, but a accordance to standard EN 450–1 [23] and their parameters
very important fact is that as a basic material for their syn- ­(Al2O3, ­SiO2, ­Fe2O3, CaO, MgO, S ­ O3, ­Na2O, ­K2O and LOI-
thesis can be industrial waste/by product such as: fly ash, Loss of ignition at 950 °C) were determined in accordance
red sludge and also natural materials such as bauxite and to standard EN 196–2 [24].
gypsum [1, 10, 11].The main phases in the composition The specific surface area of the fly ash samples were
of cement on which its hydraulic properties depend are: determined using the BET (Brunauer-Emmet-Teller) method
belite ­(Ca2SiO
− 4-C2S), calcium sulfoaluminate ­(Ca4(AlO2)6 using Micromeritics ASAP-2020 analyser, by nitrogen
­SO3-C4A3 S) and ferrite ­(Ca2(Al,Fe)2O4-C4AF). Calcium adsorption measurements at 77 K. The samples were pre-
sulfate minerals like gypsum, anhydrite or bassanite are dried for 60 min at 105 °C. Specific density analysis of fly
added to cement clinker and affect the setting rate [12, 13]. ash samples was determined according to EN 1097–7 [25],
Depending on mineralogical and chemical composition of by pyknometer method. Moisture measurements were deter-
raw starting material and sintering conditions for belite- mined by drying sample in an oven SP-440 (max. T 300 °C)
calcium sulfoaluminate cements can also contain other on 105 °C for 24 h. Moisture content is given with the rela-
secondary phases like gehlenite, mayenite, perovskite, tion % mcwb = (ww-wd/ww) × 100 where mc is expressed on
periclase and etc. [13]. Researchers in so far studies shown wet basis (ww is wet weight and wd is dry weight).
successful production of calcium sulfoaluminate clinkers X-ray powder diffraction was performed to determine the
using different combinations of reagent chemicals with phase composition of fly ash and clinker samples using a
natural and waste materials [14]. The main characteristics PAN Analytical Empyrean X-ray diffractometer equipped
of belite sulfoaluminate clinkers are easier grinding due to with CuKα radiation with λ = 1.54 A. The samples were
higher porosity which also contributes to the reduction of scanned at 45 kV and a current of 40 mA, over the 2θ range
energy consumption as well as lower preparation tempera- from 4° to 70°, at a step size of 0.026° 2θ with a scan step
ture while good mechanical properties allow its use [15]. time of 172 s. The obtained X-ray diffraction patterns were
The latest studies have dealt with the preservation of the analysed using X’Pert High Score Plus diffraction software
environment and the effect of residual carbon during the v. 4.8 from PANalytical, using PAN ICSD v. 3.4 powder
production of these clinkers and it has been shown that the diffraction files. All Rietveld refinements were performed
production is profitable and the impact on the environment using the PANalytical X’Pert High Score Plus diffraction
is less during the production of cement [16]. software, using the structures for the phases from ICDD PDF
In previous research, Nenadović et al. [17–21] moni- 4 + 2016 RDB powder diffraction files. Amorphous content
tored the influence of physicochemical structure on syn- was determined using external standard method (corundum,
thesis and natural inorganic materials and investigated the ­Al2O3, NIST SRM 676a).
influence on radioactivity. Ivanović et al. in 2018 [22] con- Spectroscopic analysis of all samples determined by Dif-
firmed that natural radioactivity decreases with the synthe- fuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy
sis of inorganic polymers during the alkaline activation. (DRIFTS), the method has been shown elsewhere [26].
The aim of this study is to measure the specific activ- DRIFT spectra were obtained using the Perkin-Elmer FTIR
ity and changes in γ-ray absorbed doses of the naturally spectrometer Spectrum Two. Approximately 5% samples
occuring radionuclides ( 232Th, 238U and 40K) in three were dispersed in oven-dried spectroscopic grade KBr with
selected samples of fly ash from Serbian Thermal power the refractive index of 1.559 and particle size of 5–20 μm.
plant Nikola Tesla A and B using γ-spectrometry. The fly The spectra were scanned at 4 ­cm−1 resolution and collected
ash was used as raw material for belite-sulfoaluminate in the mid-IR region from 4000 to 400 ­cm−1.
clinker synthesis, in order to investigate its application as Cement clinker raw mixtures of the targeted phase com-
construction material. The aim of the research was also position 65 wt.% of C ­ 2S, 20 wt.% of C­ 4A3S and 10 wt.% of

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Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry (2021) 328:1391–1398 1393

­C4AF were prepared according to generalized Bogue cal- Table 2  Specific density, Blaine SSA and the main parameters of
culation for sulfoaluminate cements based on fly ash [27]. PSD curves for clinkers KFA01, KFA02 and KFA03
Each clinker raw mixture (KFA01, KFA02, KFA03) besides Clinker KFA01 KFA02 KFA03
selected fly ash sample contained also limestone, white tita-
ρ (g/cm3) 3.19 3.20 3.18
nogypsum, bauxite and mill scale (Table 1).
Blaine SSA (­ cm2/g) 2070 1930 2200
Homogenization of the raw mixtures and clinker prepara-
d10 (µm) 5.98 7.02 5.05
tion was performed according to the protocol described in
d50 (µm) 26.60 28.65 28.54
[28]. Clinkers (CFA01, CFA02, CFA03) were heated at a
d90 (µm) 61.37 64.18 67.04
heating rate of 10 °C/h to 1250 °C, held at final temperature
for 1 h and naturally cooled in closed furnace. Clinkers were
ground in laboratory disc mill (Siebtechnik) bellow 125 µ.
Specific density and specific surface area (SSA) of ground were calculate by EFTRAN software and international rec-
clinkers were determined by Blaine method, ToniPERM ommendations [29, 30]. The spectra of all samples were
Standard Model 6578, ToniTechnic. In addition, particle recorded for 60 000 s and analyzed using the Canberra’s
size distribution (PSD) was determined by laser granu- Genie 2000 software. The net areas of the peaks were cor-
lometry using Microtrac SYNC Model 5001, Microtrac rected for the background. The obtained activity concentra-
Retsch GmbH). Specific density of ground clinkers is simi- tions are expressed in Bq ­kg−1 with the combined standard
lar (3.18–3.20 g/cm3) while Blaine specific surface area of uncertainties which included the statistical uncertainties of
cement clinker KFA03 is slightly higher, Table 2. Ground the recorded peaks, efficiency calibration uncertainty and
clinkers have similar particle size distribution as seen from the uncertainty of measured mass. The confidence level of
Fig. 1 and d values in Table 2. quoted uncertainties is 2σ.

Radiological measurements
Results and discussion
Investigated samples were powdered and left for at least
28 days in PVC cylindrical containers (125 ml and 250 ml) Results of chemical composition and physical parameters of
sealed with beeswax. In this way it is achieved radioactive FA01, FA02 and FA03 are shown in Table 3.
equilibrium between radon and its progenies. The next pro- Based on presented results in Table 3 chemical compo-
cedure in determining activity of radionuclide was measure- sition of fly ash samples vary in composition. According
ment on a coaxial semiconductor high purity germanium to standard EN 197–1 [31] the fly ashes are classified as
(HPGe) detector (Canberra 7229 N-7500–1818, with 20% siliceous fly ash (< 10% CaO). Investigated fly ash samples
relative efficiency and 1.8 keV resolution for 60Co at the have similar contents of A
­ l2O3, ­SiO2 and F
­ e2O3, while the
energy of 1332 keV) in accordance with international rec- percentage of CaO and MgO are very low in all samples.
ommendations [29], the method has been shown previously
and described by Nenadović, et.al. [17, 18]. Energy and effi-
ciency calibration of the spectrometer was done with labora-
tory standards prepared with certified radioactive solution
purchased from the Czech Metrology Institute and trace-
able to the BIPM. The experimental values of efficiencies
were multiplied by the coincidence correction factors which

Table 1  Raw mix proportion for clinkers KFA01, KFA02 and KFA03
(wt.%)
Clinker KFA01 KFA02 KFA03

Limestone 71.0 70.3 70.4


FA01 20.6 – –
FA02 – 22.6 –
FA03 – – 22.4
White titanogypsum 3.6 3.7 3.7
Bauxite 4.3 2.6 2.9
Mill scale 0.5 0.8 0.6 Fig. 1  Particle size distribution (PSD) of the clinker (ground bellow
125 µm)

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1394 Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry (2021) 328:1391–1398

Table 3  Chemical and physical parameters of fly ash quantity only in FA01. Higher content of amorphous phase
FA01, FA02 and FA03 to crystalline increases the reactivity of the used material.
Content (%) FA01 FA02 FA03
DRIFT results of FA samples
Al2O3 19.76 23.70 23.17
SiO2 61.77 57.35 56.40
DRIFT results of fly ash samples shown in Fig. 2 are char-
Fe2O3 6.58 5.20 5.71
acterized by the typical absorption bands of Si–O-Si and
CaO 5.32 6.60 4.01
Si–O-Al bonds originating most likely form silica and alu-
MgO 2.06 2.03 1.51
mina minerals in investigated fly ashes (absorption range
SO3 0.51 0.10 0.13
600–800 ­cm−1) [26, 34]. Since the silica is the main com-
Na2O 0.32 0.29 0.32
ponent of fly ash represented as mineral quartz there are
K 2O 1.27 1.14 0.95
presence of bands at 797 and 694, 917 ­cm−1 and 1030 ­cm−1
LOI (950 °C) 2.06 3.44 5.87
which correspond to modified shape of Si–O stretching band
BET SSA(m2/g) 5.73 8.04 17.94
[34, 35]. The latter result is supported by the disappearance
ρ (g/cm3) 1.82 2.20 2.05
of the band at 3621 ­cm−1 and the persistence of the bands
Moisture content (%) 9.10 31.22 25.92
at 3440, 3697 and 1639 ­cm−1, which are the stretching and
bending vibrations for the hydroxyl groups of water mol-
ecules [22].
It should be also noted that the content of ­SO3 and alkalis
are also relatively low. The loss of ignition at 950 °C very in XRD results of the clinkers
content which indicates to presence of unburned coal par-
ticles. The main difference is LOI due to different carbon Phase composition of the clinkers determined using the Riet-
content, which may be attributed to the source of coal. Also veld method are presented in Table 5.
the combustion conditions and installation of air pollution As shown by the results the phase composition of the
equipment lead to increasing of unburned carbon in fly ash clinkers is close to the targeted composition. Apart from
[32]. main phases, C ­ 4A3Ś, ­C2S and C­ 4AF, also minor phases
Since carbon particles are porous, that can be one of formed. Those represent mayenite, periclase, perovskite,
the reason for higher SSA and specific surface area espe- arcanite, Ca-langbeinite and aphthitalite. Periclase was
cially in FA03 and KFA03 sample (Tables 2 and 3). The formed due to the incorporation of MgO from raw materi-
densities value of FA samples (Table 3) is mainly uniform als [13], mainly derived by fly ash. Highest amount of per-
(1.82–2.20 g/cm3) because of which fly ash particles are ovskite was observed for sample CFA01, however, bauxite
very light in weight. It can be due to the burning and depend- content in raw mixture was highest for this sample.
ing on the nature of the coal compared to previous research
[33]. DRIFT results of clinkers

XRD results of FA samples The results of the DRIFT analysis of the studied clinker
samples are presented in Fig. 3, where the observed
Phase content of FA samples determined by Rietveld refine- hydroxyl groups vibrations correspond to the bands on the
ment method is presented in Table 4. wave numbers around 3414 and 1632, c­ m−1. Si(Al)–O–Si
Based on Rietveld analysis it is evident that fly ash sam- asymmetric stretch indicating the main band centered at
ples contain significant presence of the amorphous phase, 1052 ­cm−1. This band is typical of the spectra of silicate,
in all of three samples the content is above than 60%. The and its frequency depends slightly on the state of hydration
most common crystalline phases are quartz, mullite and pla- and Al content [36, 37]. On presented spectra the main
gioclase while K-feldspar, hematite and anhydrite are pre- Si–O stretching band is located at near 1050 ­cm−1 (over-
sent in minor quantities. Also anhydrite is detected in minor lapped with main band), with three relatively symmetric

Table 4  Rietveld analysis of phase content in FA samples (wt. %)


Sample ID Amorphous Hematite Hem Calcite Cal Quartz Qtz Plagioclase Pl Mullite Mul Anhydrite Anh K-Feldspar Fsp

FA01 75.6 0.3 – 10.0 4.9 8.6 0.4 0.4


FA02 68.0 0.2 0.4 14.2 6.8 9.2 – 1.2
FA03 71.5 0.1 – 16.5 4.6 6.5 – 0.7

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Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry (2021) 328:1391–1398 1395

Fig. 2  DRIFT spectra of FA01,


FA02 and FA03 samples

Radiological results of FA and clinkers


Table 5  Phase composition of the clinkers as determined using the
Rietveld method (wt.%)
The decay process of radionuclides presents in the building
phase CFA01 CFA02 CFA03
materials (226Ra, 232Th and 40K) releases of gamma radiation
C4A3Ś ortho 11.7 12.3 13.2 which produce external radiation. So it is necessary to know
C4A3Ścubic 4.7 4.8 6.1 the radiological hazard associated with the exposure to the
ΣC4A3Ś 16.4 17.1 19.3 radiation from these radionuclides. Different hazard indices,
C2S beta 62.3 62.9 59.8 such as Radium equivalent activity ­(Raeq), external radiation
C2S gamma 0.9 4.1 7.4 hazard (Hex) [39], interal radiation hazard (Hin) [40], gamma
ΣC2S 62.4 67.0 67.2 index (Iγ) [40], and alpha index (Iα) [41], are used for the
C12A7 3.7 1.5 1.0 assessment of radiological hazard of building materials.
C4AF 13.0 11.9 10.2 The value of Hex should be less than and the maximum
Periclase 1.0 1.1 1.0 value of Hex equal to 1 corresponds to the upper limit of
Perovskite 1.2 0.2 0.2 ­Raeq (370 Bq ­kg−1). As it seen from Table 6, Hex calculated
Arcanite 0.3 0.4 0.3 during the present study ranges from 0.30 to 0.68 and Hin is
Ca-langbeinite 0.7 0.5 0.4 less than 1 for all investigated samples.
Apthitalite 0.5 0.3 0.5 The excess alpha radiation due to radon inhalation origi-
nating from building materials is estimated through the
alpha index (Iα), which is defined as follows Eq. (1) [40, 41]:
( )
bands in the lower frequency: 793, 698 and 459 ­cm−1. The A 226 Ra
I𝛼 = (1)
presence of sulphates confirms stretching vibration band 200
which belongs to S–O between 1100 and 1200 ­cm−1. The
Considering that the Hin has the strictest criterion for
samples also showed bands which belongs to carbonate 226
Ra activity (185 Bq ­kg−1), it follows that the recom-
vibrations at about 2518 and 875 ­cm−1, which is absorbed
mended maximum concentration of 226Ra of 200 Bq ­kg−1,
most probably from the air [38].
which gives Iα = 1 is met by all tested samples.

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1396 Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry (2021) 328:1391–1398

Fig. 3  DRIFT spectra of


CFA01, CFA02 and CFA03
clinkers

Table 6  Activity concentration Activity concentration[Bq/kg]


(in Bq ­kg−1) of natural
radionuclides and 137Cs in Radioisotpe Sample ID
investigated samples with
associated measurement FA01 CFA01 FA02 CFA02 FA03 CFA03
uncertainties (k = 2) 226
Ra 101 ± 4 92 ± 5 72 ± 3 59 ± 4 62 ± 3 57 ± 3
232
Th 81 ± 6 70 ± 7 61 ± 4 34 ± 4 47 ± 4 31 ± 4
40
K 387 ± 26 160 ± 20 246 ± 17 103 ± 12 248 ± 17 93 ± 12
137
Cs < 0.1 < 0.4 < 0.1 < 0.2 < 0.1 < 0.3
238
U 140 ± 20 92 ± 14 84 ± 7 39 ± 6 69 ± 7 46 ± 7
235
U 7.8 ± 0.6 4.4 ± 0.5 4.7 ± 0.4 1.8 ± 0.2 3.7 ± 0.3 2.1 ± 0.3
235 238
U/ U 0.056 0.048 0.056 0.046 0.053 0.046
Iγ 0.87 0.71 0.63 0.40 0.43 0.38
Hex [Bq/kg] 0.68 0.56 0.49 0.32 0.41 0.30
Hin [Bq/kg] 0.94 0.80 0.68 0.47 0.57 0.45

One of a number of indices concerning the assessment As per the European Commission No. 112 [41], the building
of the gamma radiation originating from building materials materials used in bulk quantities with Iγ < 1 correspond to
have been described is a gamma index (Iγ), Eq. (2): annual effective doses of 1 mSv. In the legislation of Ser-
( ) ( ) ( ) bia [42, 43] and many other countries, the prescribed limit
A 226 Ra A 232 Th A 40 K of the individual dose above background radiation in the
I𝛾 = + + (2)
300 200 3000 course of one year is 1 mSv. All measured samples meet
this criterion, too.
In this paper the fly ashes and synthesized clinkers are
Results showed that the higher values of specific activi-
treated as raw materials, so the radiological aspects can be
ties as well as for calculated parameters were obtained for
used only as screening tool. The both are not final products.
raw materials. The lowest values were observed for the

13
Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry (2021) 328:1391–1398 1397

synthesized cement clinker. In all three pairs of fly ash- synthesis, which indicates that it is safe for use in the con-
clinkers, the most common index (Iγ), which is also used in struction industry, having in mind that world average 232Th,
226
Serbian legislation, has been reduced in the range from 18 to Ra, and 40K activity concentrations for building materials
36% by the previously described clinker production process. are 50, 50, 500 Bq/kg, respectively [44].
The clinker production process has led to a reduction of
the Hex from 17 to 35% and the strictest criterion for 226Ra Acknowledgements This activity has received funding from the
European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the
activity, Hin, from 15 to 30%. The largest decrease occurred European Union, under the Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Program-
in the second pair, while the risks decreased the least in the mme for Research and Innovation (RIS-ALiCE, project no. 18258).
first pair. In addition to reducing the hazard indices, the ratio Funds for the realization of this work were provided by the Ministry
of 235U/238U in clinkers more corresponds to their natural of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic
of Serbia number 451-03-68/2021-14/200017.We would like to thank
ratio od 0.046. The ratio of 214Bi/214Pb is closer to 1, which Maruša Borštnar, Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering
is their natural ratio. Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia for their contribution in realization of
This research confirmed that during the synthesis of this manuscript.
clinker products the natural radioactivity was reduced, i.e.
process of raw materials structural changes has an influence
on natural radioactivity of synthesized materials. References
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cement clinker have a decrease in the gamma index after its and durability properties of mortars with the same strength class.

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