Converting Coal-burning and Steel-making Wastes to Green Construction Materials Using Geopolymer Technology and Mineral Carbonation Process

Faculty Development Competitive Research Grant Program (General) 2024-2026

In Kazakhstan, approximately 70% of the country’s power generation comes from coal-burning plants located in the northern coal-producing regions, whereas the iron-steel industry is one of the leading manufacturing products trading economies. However, the utilization of industrial by-products generated from these two main streams is very limited in Kazakhstan. Because of the low quality and inherent problematic properties, these by-products are usually relegated to waste dumps or stockpiled in landfills. Moreover, coal-combustion and steel-making plants also generated huge amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2). Therefore, since the lack of an integrated waste management system exists, the scarcity of land, the high costs of management and treatment associated with the disposal of these materials, and the control of CO2 emission create an additional problem for Kazakhstan. Therefore, in conjunction with pollution control and cleanup, the Ministry of Ecology, Geology, and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan explores various options to develop a capacity for industrial waste management beyond purely national needs.
With sustainable development and reuse of waste materials as a starting point, this project investigates the potential use of coal combustion by-products (non-conventional fly ash (FA) and bottom ash (BA)) and steel-making by-products (ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and basic oxygen furnace slag (BOFS) generated in Kazakhstan as construction materials and their applications such as geopolymer snow barrier and energy-efficient geopolymer cellular concrete. This project’s accomplishment is based on the characterization of chemical/mineralogical compositions, physical properties, and chemical interactions of these by-products, an adaption of geopolymer technology and mineral carbonation to remove inherent problematic properties of these by-products, and the development of green construction materials using these by-products.