International Journal of Environmental Pollution Control & Management

Vol. 3, No. 1, July-December 2011; pp. 79-88

EFFECT OF SYNTHESIS PARAMETERS ON THE COMPRESSIVE

STRENGTH OF FLY ASH BASED GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE
Aditya Kumar Patra1, Manjeet Chowdhry1 & Basanta Kumar Prusty1
1

Department of Mining Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur-721302, India

Abstract: The paper presents the effect of different synthesis parameters, such as (a) fly ash to alkaline
solution ratio, (b) concentration of NaOH solution, (c) concentration of sodium silicate solution,
(d) geopolymer solids to water ratio and (e) sodium silicate to sodium hydroxide solution ratio, on the
compressive strength of geopolymer concrete synthesized from fly ash of Indian origin. It is observed
that compressive strength of the geopolymer concrete increases with the increase of the above parameters
and reaches at an optimum value above which, the strength of the concrete decreases. In the present
study, the optimum values for fly ash to alkaline solution ratio, concentration of NaOH solution,
concentration of sodium silicate solution, geopolymer solids to water ratio and ratio of sodium silicate
solution to NaOH solution are found to be 60:40, 12 M, 2 M, 2.15 and 2.5 respectively.
Keywords: Geopolymer concrete; Fly ash; Compressive strength; Polymerisation; Curing.

1. INTRODUCTION
Several efforts are in progress to reduce the use of Portland cement in concrete in order to
address the global warming issues. Davidovits (Davidovits, 1988a; Davidovits, 1994) proposed
that an alkaline liquid could be used to react with the silicon (Si) and aluminum (Al) in a source
material of geological origin to produce binders. Because the chemical reaction that takes place
in this case is a polymerization process, he coined the term geopolymer to represent these
binders (Davidovits, 1988b). Geopolymers are members of the family of inorganic polymers.
The chemical composition of the geopolymer material is similar to natural zeolitic materials,
but the microstructure is amorphous. The polymerization process involves a substantially fast
chemical reaction under alkaline condition on Si-Al minerals. It results in a three-dimensional
polymeric chain and ring structure consisting of Si-O-Al bonds (Davidovits, 1994; Davidovits
and Davidovics, 1988; Palomo et al., 1992). The concrete made of this geopolymer is called
geopolymer concrete. The geopolymer technology shows considerable promise for application
in concrete industry as an alternative binder to the Portland cement (Duxson et al., 2006).
Several Al-Si containing source materials such as fly ash, blast furnace slag, building
residues, and some pure Al-Si minerals and clays (kaolinite and metakaolinite) have been studied
for their use as source materials for geopolymers (van Jaarsveld, 1997; van Jaarsveld, 1998;
van Jaarsveld, 1999). However, research on use of waste materials such as fly ash, blast furnace
slag and mine tailings as source material for geopolymer binder has gained momentum because
of the dual benefits of their gainful utility and reduced environmental consequences (Davidovits,
1988b; Palomo et al., 1992; van Jaarsveld et al., 1997; van Jaarsveld et al., 2002).

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Low-calcium fly ash (generally less than 10% CaO by mass) has been successfully used to
manufacture geopolymer binder (van Jaarsveld et al., 2002; Davidovits, 1991; van Jaarsveld
and van Deventer, 1999; van Jaarsveld et al., 2003). The content of the silicon and aluminum
oxides in such fly ash constitutes about 80% by mass; with the Si-to-Al ratio of about 2 and the
content of the iron oxide usually range from 10 to 20% by mass. The carbon content of the fly
ash, as indicated by the loss on ignition by mass, is sometimes less than 2%. Studies have been
conducted on the reactivity of low-calcium fly ash in geopolymer matrix (Fernandez-Jimenez
and Palomo, 2003; Fernandez-Jimenez et al., 2006).
Coarse and fine aggregates used by the concrete industry are suitable to manufacture
geopolymer concrete (Sofi et al., 2007). A combination of sodium silicate solution and sodium
hydroxide (NaOH) solution has been used as the alkaline liquid (Chindaprasirt et al., 2007;
Rattanasak and Chindaprasirt, 2009). The sodium silicate solution is commercially available in
different grades. The sodium hydroxide with 97-98% purity, in flake or pellet form, is also
commercially available. The solids are dissolved in water to make a solution with the required
concentration. The mass of NaOH solids in a solution varies depending on the concentration of
the solution. Earlier studies indicated that solubility of fly ash depends on concentration of
NaOH and duration of mixing with NaOH (Rattanasak and Chindaprasirt, 2009). The mass of
water is the major component in both the alkaline solutions.
However, not all fly ashes produce geopolymer with the same properties, primarily because
of different chemical composition and physical characteristics of fly ash generated from
combustion of coal of different sources. Product properties are further found to be dependent
on activator composition and activator/fly ash mass ratio (van Jaarsveld and van Deventer,
1999; Rattanasak and Chindaprasirt, 2009; Xu and van Deventer, 2000). The present work
investigates the effect of different synthesis parameters, such as (a) fly ash to alkaline
solution ratio, (b) concentration of NaOH solution, (c) concentration of sodium silicate solution,
(d) geopolymer solids to water ratio and (e) sodium silicate to sodium hydroxide solution ratio,
on the compressive strength of geopolymer concrete synthesized from fly ash of Indian origin.
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS
2.1. Materials
Fly ash used in the present investigation is obtained from the Kolaghat Thermal Power Station,
East Midnapore district, West Bengal, India. The power station is located in close proximity to
the Raniganj coalfield, the oldest coalfield of India. The grade of coal fed to the plant is
sub-bituminous. The chemical composition of fly ash is summarized in Table 1. Due to the
relatively low calcium content (2.36%), this fly ash could be classified as Class F fly ash
according to ASTM C618 definitions (ASTM C618-92a, 1994).
A combination of sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide solution is used as alkali solution.
Sodium hydroxide solution is prepared from the commercially procured sodium hydroxide
pellets with 98-99% purity. Sodium silicate solution used is neutral with specific gravity of
1.55 g/cc and it contains 7.5-8.5% Na2O and 25-28% SiO2.

EFFECT OF SYNTHESIS PARAMETERS ON THE COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF FLY ASH BASED / 81

Table 1
Chemical Composition of fly ash of Kolaghat Thermal Power Station, India
SiO2

Al2O3

Fe2O3

CaO

TiO2

MgO

K 2O

Na2O

P2O5

56.01%

29.8%

3.58%

2.36%

1.75%

0.30%

0.73%

0.61%

0.44%

In the case of Portland cement concrete, the coarse and fine aggregates occupy about 60 to
75% of the mass of geopolymer concrete. To maintain uniformity of different samples, a fixed
aggregate percentage of 65% by mass is used in this study. The ratio of fine sand: fine aggregate
(< 4mm): coarse aggregate (> 4mm; < 10mm) in the aggregate mixture is 50:35:15.
2.2. Mixing, Casting and Curing
A homogenous solution comprising NaOH and sodium silicate solutions was prepared by mixing
and manual stirring, at least 24 hours before casting the concrete samples. In the laboratory, fly
ash and the aggregates were first dry mixed manually for about 3 to 4 minutes to produce a
homogenous mixture. The alkaline liquid was then added to the dry materials and manual
mixing was continued for another 6 to 8 minutes to produce homogenous pastes. Pastes thus
produced, were then transferred into 54 x 108 mm cylindrical moulds (diameter: length = 1:2)
and demoulded after 3 days. Samples were tested for uniaxial compressive strength (UCS)
after 28 days of curing at ambient conditions (30-36 oC, > 60% RH). Similar moulding,
demoulding and curing times are reported in earlier studies (van Jaarsveld et al., 2002; van
Jaarsveld et al., 2003; Sofi et al., 2007).
2.3. Compressive Strength Testing
Before testing for compressive strength, cross-sectional ends of each of the concrete sample
were smoothened using the grinding machine. Tests of the UCS were performed using SATECTM
Series Model 3500KN Static Hydraulic Universal Testing System. All samples were tested for
UCS after 28 days of curing, as typical construction applications require a 28-day compressive
strength of 25-40 MPa (Diaz et al., 2010).
3. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
The proportions of aggregates fly ash and alkaline solution were maintained at 65:22.75:12.75.
In the alkaline solution, the ratio of NaOH solution to sodium silicate solution (by mass) was
kept constant at 1:2. To study the effect of fly ash to alkaline solution ratio on compressive
strength, concentration of NaOH solution and sodium silicate solution were maintained at 8 M
and 2 M respectively and mass of fly ash was varied from 40% to 80%. To study the effect of
concentration of NaOH solution on compressive strength, concentration of sodium silicate
solution was kept constant at 2 M, while concentration of NaOH solution was varied from 6 M
to 16 M. To study the effect of concentration of sodium silicate solution on compressive strength,
concentration of NaOH solution was kept constant at its optimum value 12 M observed during
the experiment, while concentration of sodium silicate solution was varied from 0.5 M to 3 M.
To study the effect of geopolymer solids to water (S/W) ratio on compressive strength, specimens

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were prepared with different concentrations of NaOH and sodium silicate solution as well as
different amount of fly ash, as given in Table 2.
Table 2
UCS of Geopolymer Concrete with Varying Solid to Water (S/W) Ratio
Aggregate = 65%, FA: AS = 65: 35, NaOH Sol. : Sodium Silicate Sol. = 1:2
Sample

SW-1
SW-2
SW-3
SW-4
SW-5
SW-6
SW-7

NaOH
Sol. (M)

4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Sodium
Silicate
Sol. (M)

NaOH
(g/0.8 kg
of GP)

Sodium
Sillicate
(g/0.8 kg
of GP)

FA (g/0.8
kg of GP)

Extra
Water
(g/ 0.8 kg
of GP)

Solids/
water
(g/g)

UCS
(MPa)

0.50
0.75
1.00
1.25
1.50
1.75
2.00

54.0
48.0
43.5
38.5
33.5
28.5
23.5

108
97
87
77
67
57
47

120
135
150
165
180
195
210

0
15
30
40
50
60
75

1.02
1.24
1.43
1.67
1.89
2.09
2.15

2.46
6.39
9.86
15.67
20.79
32.94
36.57

To study the effect of sodium silicate to NaOH solution (by weight) ratio on compressive
strength, the ratio was varied from 1 to 3 keeping concentrations of sodium hydroxide and
sodium silicate solutions constant at their optimum values of 12 M and 2 M respectively, as
discussed in sections 4.2 and 4.3.
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1. Effect of Fly Ash to Alkaline Solution Ratio on Compressive Strength
UCS of concrete sample increases when fly ash content increases from 40 to 60% (Figure 1).
Addition of fly ash increases the concentration of Si and Al in the aqueous phase, and thus
enhances the process of Si and/or SiAl oligomers formation and consequently, the processes
of oligomers polycondensation and the hardening of the geopolymeric system. Decreasing
alkaline solution doesnt show adverse effect up to this point, as enough concentration of Na
and Si ions are present to carry out polycondensation to satisfactory level. When fly ash content
exceeds 60%, UCS of the concrete sample decreases because of less leaching of Si and Al from
fly ash due to less availability of alkaline solution content in the mixture (Rattanasak and
Chindaprasirt, 2009). When the fly ash content increases to 80%, and therefore alkaline solution
content decreases to 20%, UCS of the sample drops drastically, because the concentrations of
Si and Al in aqueous phase are too low to carry out geopolymerisation to a satisfactory extent.
4.2. Effect of Concentration of NaOH Solution on Compressive Strength
Compressive strength increases as NaOH concentration in the aqueous phase increases from 6
to 12 M and then decreases with further increase of NaOH concentration until 16 M, which is
the highest value of NaOH concentration examined in the present study (Figure 2). The increase

EFFECT OF SYNTHESIS PARAMETERS ON THE COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF FLY ASH BASED / 83

of NaOH concentration in the aqueous phase of the geopolymeric system results in the increased
leaching of Si and Al ions of fly ash and therefore strength of geopolymer concrete increases
with the increase of NaOH concentration. However, under extremely high NaOH concentrations,
the oligomeric silicate species such as Si4O8(OH)6 2 and Si4O8(OH)4 4 lose their stability
in favor of mononuclear silicate species like SiO(OH)3 and SiO2(OH)2 2 (Bao et al., 2005).

Figure 1: Effect of Fly Ash to Alkaline Solution Ratio on Compressive Strength

Figure 2: Effect of Concentration of NaOH Solution on Compressive Strength

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This minimizes the concentration of oligomeric silicate species in the aqueous phase and thus,
decelerates the process of polycondensation. It results in decrease of compressive strength of
the geopolymer materials, as seen in this study for NaOH concentration beyond 12 M. Similar
observations are reported earlier when NaOH concentration was increased from 10 M to 15 M
(Bergna and Roberts, 2006).
4.3. Effect of Concentration of Sodium Silicate Solution on Compressive Strength
The compressive strength of the geopolymer concrete increases almost linearly with the increase
in concentration of sodium silicate solution from 0.5 to 2.0 M. Further increase in concentration
of sodium silicate solution resulted in the decrease of the compressive strength (Figure 3).
Sodium silicate solution provides the aqueous phase of the geopolymeric system with soluble
silicate species. Subsequent polymerization of these monomers results in formation of oligomers.
Polycondensation of silicate and/or aluminosilicate oligomers enhances substantially the
geopolymerisation efficiency (Xu and van Deventer, 2000). However, when concentration of
silicate solution becomes very high, high concentration of cyclic silicate species inhibits further
condensation and therefore the strength of the geopolymer material decreases. Observation in
this study conforms to the earlier study which suggested that at SiO2/Na2O > 2, the reactivity,
and therefore the strength of the geopolymer, is likely to reduce (Sindhunata et al., 2006).
Sodium silicate solution is highly viscous and therefore its increase in the composition of
geopolymer increases the viscosity of the geopolymeric paste and causes inefficient paste
workability (Chindaprasirt et al., 2007). During the present study, the paste composed of sodium
silicate solution concentration higher than 2 M lead to specimens with obvious defects and the
specimens failed at lesser loads. This could be another reason for having an optimum limit of
sodium silicate content to get desired strength of geopolymer paste.

Figure 3: Effect of Concentration of Sodium Silicate Solution on Compressive Strength

EFFECT OF SYNTHESIS PARAMETERS ON THE COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF FLY ASH BASED / 85

4.4. Effect of Geopolymer Solids to Water (S/W) Ratio on Compressive Strength

The compressive strength of geopolymer increases as the solid to water (S/W) ratio
increases from 1.02 to 2.15 g/g. However, it sharply goes down for S/W ratio higher than 2.15
g/g (Figure 4). As the water content in the synthesis decreases, the NaOH concentration in the
aqueous phase increases substantially. The increase of NaOH concentration causes a substantial
acceleration to the dissolution reactions and enhances the process of Si and/or SiAl oligomers
formation and therefore, the processes of oligomers polycondensation and the hardening of the
geopolymeric system (Xu and van Deventer, 2000, Xu et al., 2001). However, the continuous
decreasing of the water content in the synthesis may cause insufficient wetting of fly ash particles,
affecting negatively the paste workability and making it extremely difficult to mould. In the
present study, the reduced compressive strength obtained for the geopolymer concrete
synthesized with the highest S/W ratio (2.26 g/ml) is attributed exclusively to this reason.

Figure 4: Effect of Geopolymer Solids to Water Ratio on Compressive Strength

4.5. Effect of Sodium Silicate to NaOH Solution (by Weight) Ratio on Compressive
Strength
Figure 5 shows that compressive strength of geopolymer increases with increase in sodium
silicate to NaOH ratio due to higher degree of geopolymerisation and it supports the observations
of earlier studies (Chindaprasirt et al., 2007). However, beyond sodium silicate to NaOH ratio
of 2.5, the compressive strength decreases. At high silicate concentration (SiO2/Na2O > 2), the
reactivity, and therefore the strength of the geopolymer, is likely to decrease (Bao et al., 2005).
This limit is also determined by the viscosity of the geopolymeric pastes, which increases
substantially under high SiO2 to Na2O ratios. This affects paste workability and poses difficulties
during their moulding and thus leads to low compressive strength of the geopolymer concrete.
Further, the optimum ratio of 2.5 observed in this study is higher than 0.67 to 1.00 reported in

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Figure 5: Effect of Sodium Silicate to NaOH Solution Ratio on Compressive Strength

earlier study (Chindaprasirt et al., 2007). The fly ash used in this study has SiO2 and Al2O3
content of 56.01% and 29.8% respectively, which is about 50% higher than the earlier study
that used fly ash with SiO2 and Al2O3 content of 38.7% and 20.8% respectively and reported
optimum values of sodium silicate to NaOH ratio between 0.67 and 1.00. In the present study
high SiO2 and Al2O3 content of fly ash resulted in increased concentration of Si and Al in the
aqueous phase and shifted the optimum ratio to higher values. It is also postulated that the
variations in the ratio of sodium silicate to NaOH ratio affects the pH conditions of the
mixture and therefore would have some effects on strength development of the geopolymer
(Chindaprasirt et al., 2007).
5. CONCLUSION
The aim of this study was to develop an understanding of the complex relationship between
different synthesis parameters which affects the compressive strength of geopolymer concrete
with fly ash as one of the constituents. The compressive strength of the geopolymer concrete
generally increases with the composition (concentration) and mixing proportion of different
synthesis parameters for a source material (fly ash). However, beyond an optimum
proportion of these synthesis parameters, the strength of the geopolymer concrete decreases. In
the present study, the optimum values for fly ash to alkaline solution ratio, concentration of
NaOH solution, concentration of sodium silicate solution, geopolymer solids to water ratio and
ratio of sodium silicate solution to NaOH solution are found to be 60:40, 12 M, 2 M, 2.15 and
2.5 respectively. The chemistry behind these optimum combinations of ingredients of
geopolymer concrete is discussed. Repetition of similar studies for fly ash of different thermal
power plants of India will lead to establishing relationship between flay ash and other
synthesis parameters of geopolymer binder to yield geopolymer concrete with optimum
compressive strength. This is a necessary step for producing geopolymer in commercial scale

EFFECT OF SYNTHESIS PARAMETERS ON THE COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF FLY ASH BASED / 87

with reasonably consistent strength and transforming environmentally hazardous fly ash to a
revenue generating commercial commodity.
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