One-Week Hydration Characteristics of Silica-Alumina Based Cementitious Materials Composed of Phosphorous Slag: Phosphorus Involved in Calcium Alumino-Silicate Hydrate Gel.

Abstract

Phosphorous slag is an industrial by-product generated in the process of producing yellow phosphorus by electric furnace, which occupies a substantial number of land resources and causes serious environmental pollution. The comprehensive utilization of phosphorous slag is a major topic relevant to the sustainability of the yellow phosphorus industry. In this paper, we attempted to utilize phosphorous slag as a supplementary cementing material to prepare silica-aluminum based cementitious material (SAC-PHS). To determine how phosphorus influences the early-age hydration reaction process of silica-aluminum based cementitious material, three groups of samples, PHS₂₀, PHS₂₅, and PHS₃₀, with better mechanical properties were selected to deeply investigate their one-week hydration characteristics. Characterization results showed that the main hydration products of SAC-PHS were C-A-S-H gels and ettringite. PHS₂₅ specimen produced more C-A-S-H gels and ettringite than the other two samples after one-week hydration. Interestingly, the P/Si atomic ratio indicated that chemical bonds were formed between Si and P during the formation of C-A-S-H gels, which improved the strength of SAC-PHS. Our findings offer valuable insights for the application of phosphorous slag in construction and building materials and promote the efficient resource utilization of phosphorous residue.