Recycling of waste autoclaved aerated concrete powder in Portland cement by accelerated carbonation

To recycle waste autoclaved aerated concrete (WAAC) and minimize environmental pollution induced by Portland cement (PC), carbonation curing was performed on cement pastes containing variable replacement levels (0–50%) of waste autoclaved aerated concrete powder. Compressive strength and chloride ion permeability of PC-WAAC specimens were measured and related mechanisms were demonstrated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), ²⁹ Si solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), mercury intrusion porosimeter (MIP), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and back scattered electron images (BSE) measurements. Results showed that the PC-WAAC specimens presents a higher compressive strength increase than the pure PC specimen after carbonation curing and the optimal dosage of WAAC is 20%. This effect compensates the decreasing strength induced by the incorporation of WAAC. Chloride ion penetration resistance of cement pastes were also improved by carbonation curing due to the refinement of pore structure. Up to 20% of WAAC can be successfully recycled to replace PC without compromising strength and chloride ion permeability. Moreover, around 11.23–19.02% of CO ₂ by the total binder weight can be captured. Therefore, this technology has a great environmental potential to both recycling of construction waste and capture of greenhouse gas.