Buildings (Apr 2024)

The Properties of Magnesium Silicate Hydrate Prepared from the Magnesium Silicate Minerals in the Earth’s Crust

  • Qiang Song,
  • Qian He,
  • Jiao Nie,
  • Tiantian Song,
  • Hong Zhou,
  • Yaru Hu,
  • Yanxin Chen,
  • Yang Deng,
  • Fuan Cheng

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14051188
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 5
p. 1188

Abstract

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In order to explore a wider range and lower cost of raw materials for the preparation of magnesium silicate hydrate (M-S-H), an acid-leaching method was employed to extract and separate high-purity magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)2) with a purity higher than 97% and amorphous silica with a purity higher than 90% from four types of natural silicate minerals (serpentine, peridotite, zeolite, and montmorillonite). These two intermediate products, which are amorphous silica and magnesium hydroxide, were used to prepare M-S-H, and the influence of curing at two temperatures, 50 °C and 80 °C, on the properties of M-S-H was investigated. The results showed that with the increase in curing temperature, the bound water content, tetrahedral polymerization degree, and Mg(OH)2 content increased. There was a good correlation between the increase in strength and the bound water content of M-S-H. This work provides a possible technological route for expanding the raw materials for preparing magnesium silicate hydrate cementitious materials and utilizing the abundant magnesium silicate minerals in the Earth’s crust.

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