Possibility to use spent fluid catalytic cracking catalyst as component of Portland cement binders

Abstract

Fluid cracking catalyst residue (spent FCC) is a by-product from petrol refineries. It primarily consists of zeolite (in used sample - faujasite) and amorphous aluminosilicates. In this study, possibility to use spent FCC as a component of binders with low content of Portland cement (PC) have been investigated. Binders made with high volume of mineral additions are being developed in order to reduce the amount CO2 emitted by PC industry. Fly ash (FA), a by-product of coal combustion in thermal power plants, is one of the most commonly used raw material for these binders. The main shortages of binders with high volume of FA are long setting time and low early strength. In this work, mixtures of PC, FA and spent FCC were prepared. It was found that addition of spent FCC to low PC mixtures significantly shortened setting time and improved early strength of the binders. However, 28-day compressive strength of the ternary binder was lower than the strength of low PC binder synthesized with FA only, which indicated the need for further optimization of the binder composition.