Characterization, pretreatment, and valorization of wood biomass fly ash in a binary cement-free binder

Xuhui Liang; Hua Dong; Zhenming Li; Chen Liu; Shizhe Zhang; Guang Ye

doi:10.1016/j.dibe.2025.100700

Characterization, pretreatment, and valorization of wood biomass fly ash in a binary cement-free binder

Xuhui Liang
, Hua Dong
, Zhenming Li
, Chen Liu
, Shizhe Zhang
, Guang Ye

Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

Delft University of Technology
Harbin Institute of Technology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

4 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

This research investigated the use of wood biomass fly ash (WBFA) as a key component in developing low-carbon cementitious materials. WBFA was first subjected to water pretreatment and grinding to remove metallic aluminum and free lime, reducing expansion and cracking risks. Characterization of WBFA showed its high calcium and alkali-bearing phases but limited aluminosilicates. Dissolution test showed WBFA had strong alkalinity, suggesting its role as an activator for aluminosilicate-bearing minerals. A novel cement- and chemical-free binary binder was developed using 50 % treated WBFA and 50 % blast furnace slag (BFS). Paste with a water-to-binder ratio of 0.4 achieved 40 MPa compressive strength at 60 days. The use of superplasticizer significantly improved flowability, allowing the water-to-binder ratio to be reduced to 0.25, which resulted in compressive strength up to 58 MPa at 60 days. Calcium aluminate silicate hydrates (C-A-S-H) gels and ettringite were identified as the main reaction products in the pastes.

Original language	English
Article number	100700
Journal	Developments in the Built Environment
Volume	23
Early online date	27 Jun 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dibe.2025.100700
Publication status	Published - 1 Oct 2025

Data Availability Statement

Data will be made available on request.

Funding

Xuhui Liang would like to acknowledge the financial supports from the Chinese Scholarship Council (201806050051) and Renewi Mineralz & Water. Zhenming Li would like to acknowledge Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Intelligent and Resilient Structures for Civil Engineering (2023B1212010004).

Keywords

Cement-free binder
Dissolution
Pretreatment
Wood biomass fly ash

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Architecture
Civil and Structural Engineering
Building and Construction
Materials Science (miscellaneous)
Computer Science Applications
Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design

Access to Document

10.1016/j.dibe.2025.100700Licence: CC BY

Cite this

@article{df00e9c8595b4144ab6242c42b27816b,

title = "Characterization, pretreatment, and valorization of wood biomass fly ash in a binary cement-free binder",

abstract = "This research investigated the use of wood biomass fly ash (WBFA) as a key component in developing low-carbon cementitious materials. WBFA was first subjected to water pretreatment and grinding to remove metallic aluminum and free lime, reducing expansion and cracking risks. Characterization of WBFA showed its high calcium and alkali-bearing phases but limited aluminosilicates. Dissolution test showed WBFA had strong alkalinity, suggesting its role as an activator for aluminosilicate-bearing minerals. A novel cement- and chemical-free binary binder was developed using 50 \% treated WBFA and 50 \% blast furnace slag (BFS). Paste with a water-to-binder ratio of 0.4 achieved 40 MPa compressive strength at 60 days. The use of superplasticizer significantly improved flowability, allowing the water-to-binder ratio to be reduced to 0.25, which resulted in compressive strength up to 58 MPa at 60 days. Calcium aluminate silicate hydrates (C-A-S-H) gels and ettringite were identified as the main reaction products in the pastes.",

keywords = "Cement-free binder, Dissolution, Pretreatment, Wood biomass fly ash",

author = "Xuhui Liang and Hua Dong and Zhenming Li and Chen Liu and Shizhe Zhang and Guang Ye",

year = "2025",

month = oct,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1016/j.dibe.2025.100700",

language = "English",

volume = "23",

journal = "Developments in the Built Environment",

issn = "2666-1659",

publisher = "Elsevier",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Characterization, pretreatment, and valorization of wood biomass fly ash in a binary cement-free binder

AU - Liang, Xuhui

AU - Dong, Hua

AU - Li, Zhenming

AU - Liu, Chen

AU - Zhang, Shizhe

AU - Ye, Guang

PY - 2025/10/1

Y1 - 2025/10/1

N2 - This research investigated the use of wood biomass fly ash (WBFA) as a key component in developing low-carbon cementitious materials. WBFA was first subjected to water pretreatment and grinding to remove metallic aluminum and free lime, reducing expansion and cracking risks. Characterization of WBFA showed its high calcium and alkali-bearing phases but limited aluminosilicates. Dissolution test showed WBFA had strong alkalinity, suggesting its role as an activator for aluminosilicate-bearing minerals. A novel cement- and chemical-free binary binder was developed using 50 % treated WBFA and 50 % blast furnace slag (BFS). Paste with a water-to-binder ratio of 0.4 achieved 40 MPa compressive strength at 60 days. The use of superplasticizer significantly improved flowability, allowing the water-to-binder ratio to be reduced to 0.25, which resulted in compressive strength up to 58 MPa at 60 days. Calcium aluminate silicate hydrates (C-A-S-H) gels and ettringite were identified as the main reaction products in the pastes.

AB - This research investigated the use of wood biomass fly ash (WBFA) as a key component in developing low-carbon cementitious materials. WBFA was first subjected to water pretreatment and grinding to remove metallic aluminum and free lime, reducing expansion and cracking risks. Characterization of WBFA showed its high calcium and alkali-bearing phases but limited aluminosilicates. Dissolution test showed WBFA had strong alkalinity, suggesting its role as an activator for aluminosilicate-bearing minerals. A novel cement- and chemical-free binary binder was developed using 50 % treated WBFA and 50 % blast furnace slag (BFS). Paste with a water-to-binder ratio of 0.4 achieved 40 MPa compressive strength at 60 days. The use of superplasticizer significantly improved flowability, allowing the water-to-binder ratio to be reduced to 0.25, which resulted in compressive strength up to 58 MPa at 60 days. Calcium aluminate silicate hydrates (C-A-S-H) gels and ettringite were identified as the main reaction products in the pastes.

KW - Cement-free binder

KW - Dissolution

KW - Pretreatment

KW - Wood biomass fly ash

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105009512024

U2 - 10.1016/j.dibe.2025.100700

DO - 10.1016/j.dibe.2025.100700

M3 - Article

SN - 2666-1659

VL - 23

JO - Developments in the Built Environment

JF - Developments in the Built Environment

M1 - 100700

ER -

Characterization, pretreatment, and valorization of wood biomass fly ash in a binary cement-free binder

Abstract

Data Availability Statement

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this