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High-porosity geopolymer foams with tailored porosity for thermal insulation and wastewater treatment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 April 2017

Chengying Bai Open the ORCID record for Chengying Bai [Opens in a new window] ,
Giorgia Franchin ,
Hamada Elsayed ,
Alessandro Zaggia ,
Lino Conte ,
Hongqiang Li  and
Paolo Colombo
Chengying Bai*
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Giorgia Franchin
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Hamada Elsayed
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy; and Ceramics Department, National Research Centre, 12622 Cairo, Egypt
Alessandro Zaggia
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Lino Conte
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Hongqiang Li
Affiliation:
College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, 410082 Changsha, China
Paolo Colombo
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Padova, Italy; and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
*
a) Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: chengyingbai@163.com
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Abstract

High-porosity metakaolin-based geopolymer foams (GFs) were fabricated by a gelcasting technique using hydrogen peroxide (foaming agent) in combination with Tween 80 (surfactant). Slurries processed in optimized conditions enabled to fabricate potassium based GFs with a total porosity in the range of ∼67 to ∼86 vol% (∼62 to ∼84 vol% open), thermal conductivity from ∼0.289 to ∼0.091 W/mK, and possessing a compressive strength from ∼0.3 to ∼9.4 MPa. Moreover, factors that influence the compressive strength, the porosity, the thermal conductivity, and the cell size distribution were investigated. The results showed that the cell size and size distribution can be controlled by adding different content of surfactant and foaming agent. The foamed geopolymer can also be used as adsorbents for the removal of copper and ammonium ions from wastewater. The foams, due to their low thermal conductivity, could also be used for thermal insulation. It was also possible to produce geopolymer formulations that could be printed using additive manufacturing technology (Direct Ink writing), which enabled to produce components with nonstochastic porosity.

Keywords

foamadsorptionthermal conductivity
Type
Invited Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 32 , Issue 17: Focus Issue: Achieving Superior Ceramics and Coating Properties through Innovative Processing , 14 September 2017 , pp. 3251 - 3259
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Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2017 

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Footnotes

Contributing Editor: Eugene Medvedovski

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