In this investigation, non-spontaneous combustion coal gangue was activated by two methods: (1) low-temperature calcination and (2) calcium addition. Differences in the activity of the activated coal gangue were studied at various calcination temperatures and amounts of calcium addition. Meanwhile, the cementation activity of the activated coal gangue was evaluated according to the activity effect analysis. Furthermore, the influences of the activated coal gangue on the cementation activity of cement were investigated. The results indicated that the activities of the activated coal gangue increased at a temperature between 500 °C and 700 °C. The calcium addition method can also increase the activity of coal gangue, with the effect being better when the gangue is mixed with slag. The addition of calcium and the calcination of coal gangue can promote the production of active minerals such as metakaolin, which is the main reason for the increased cementation activity.
Keywords: activity evaluation; adding calcium; calcination; coal gangue; mineral admixtures.