Reaction of converter slag with supercritical carbon dioxide and its potential applicability as aggregate for concrete

Abstract

The presence of free lime and periclase in converter slag prevents it from directly being utilized as a source of concrete aggregate due to the deleterious expansion caused by reaction of free lime and periclase. In general, a six-month aging period is suggested in order to avoid any potential problems, but it is a tedious process that requires a long period of time. In this work, supercritical CO2 (SCD) was used to reduce the aging period down to one day or so. Since SCD creates a more aggressive environment for reaction, it can directly attack the surface of free lime and periclase to induce expansive reaction before using converter slag as concrete aggregate. According to the experimental results, the surface of converter slag was successfully carbonated by SCD, showing 7.80% of CO2 uptake by weight of converter slag. It was found that the mortar bar made of reacted converter slag reduced the amount of expansion. The 28-day compressive strength of mortar with converter slag was slightly reduced after reaction with SCD, but it was still 32% higher than mortar made of conventional sand.