This work deals with the investigation of alkaline binders obtained from binary mixtures of carbonate-rich illitic clay from deposits in southern Italy and two industrial by-products with very different total composition and calcium content, i.e., blast furnace slag and type F fly ash, respectively. To improve the reactivity, the selected clay was ground in a ball miller and heated to 700 °C. The binary mixtures were alkali activated with NaOH solution at 4 M and 8 M, and the activated pastes were cured at room temperature and relative humidity >90% in a climatic chamber. Heat flow, total heat and compressive strength (2, 7 and 28 days) were determined. The hardened pastes were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX). Results show that the main reaction product in all samples is a gel or mixture of C-A-S-H/(N, C)-A-S-H type gel depending on the calcium content in the precursors. The paste, made up of a 1:1 weight proportion of carbonate-rich illitic clay and blast furnace slag, showed the formation of a more compact matrix than that observed in each individually activated component, achieving the considerable mechanical strength value of 45 MPa after 28 days, which suggests a very positive interaction between the two calcium-rich solid precursors. The binary mixture of carbonate-rich illitic clay and F fly ash showed relatively low compressive strength (below 15 MPa), which has been related to the poor reaction potential of fly ash regarding the alkali activation at room temperature. The modification of curing parameters is expected to improve the reaction of carbonate-rich illitic clay/fly ash blend. The clay activation method used in this study has been demonstrated to be suitable for larger scale industrial pre-treatment set-ups.
Keywords: alkali activation; blast furnace slag; carbonate-rich illitic clay; fly ash.