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. 2022 Apr 6;15(7):2684.
doi: 10.3390/ma15072684.

Mineralogical and Technological Characterization of Zeolites from Basin and Range as Pozzolanic Addition of Cement

Giovanna Montesano  1 , Piergiulio Cappelletti  1 , Domenico Caputo  2 , Barbara Liguori  2 , Assunta Campanile  2 , Concetta Rispoli  1
Affiliations

Mineralogical and Technological Characterization of Zeolites from Basin and Range as Pozzolanic Addition of Cement

Giovanna Montesano et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

The present paper assesses petrographic, mineralogical, chemical, and technological features of different zeolitic tuff samples from various western USA districts of the Basin and Range Province containing mainly erionite, mordenite, clinoptilolite/heulandite and phillipsite. The aim of this characterization is to evaluate the pozzolanic activity of these samples according to European normative UNI-EN 196/5 (Fratini test) to program a possible use as addition for blended cements. Petrographic and mineralogical results show that the two phillipsite-bearing tuffs have a higher theoretical Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) than the other samples; technological characterization shows a pozzolanic behavior for all the samples but higher for the tuff samples containing phillipsite, which shows a higher reactivity with CaO. All the samples could be thus advantageously employed for the preparation of blended cements, potentially reducing CO2 emissions by 70-90%.

Keywords: blended cement; pozzolanic addition; zeolites.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Basin and Range Province sketch map with samples localities (modified after [18]).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Crossed polarized light microphotograph (a) and SEM (b) images of sample 25411; crossed polarized light microphotograph (c) and SEM (d) images of sample 25521; crossed polarized light microphotographs of (e) 25705 and (f) 25706 samples; SEM images of sample (g) 25705 and (h) 25706 samples.
Figure 3
Figure 3
XRPD patterns of the investigated tuff samples. Abbreviations: Eri = erionite; Mor = mordenite; Pl = plagioclase; Hul = heulandite; Cpt = clinoptilolite; Php = phillipsite; Cal = calcite; Mca = mica; Afs: alkali feldspar; Qz = quartz. Mineral abbreviations from [53].
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) Na2O + K2O vs. SiO2 (wt.%) and (b) CaO vs. SiO2 (wt.%) binary diagrams of the investigated tuff samples; (c) ternary diagram showing mole plot of exchangeable cation content in the zeolites detected within the tuff samples.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Results of Fratini’s test [51,52] for evaluating the pozzolanic activity of the investigated zeolites. Solid line represents Ca(OH)2 solubility curve.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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