Extraction of Tricalcium Aluminate for Research Applications by Selective Dissolution of Portland Cement Clinker: Fid-Bau Portal

Extraction of Tricalcium Aluminate for Research Applications by Selective Dissolution of Portland Cement Clinker

Girotto, Lucas / Provis, John L. / Rodríguez, Erich D. / Kirchheim, Ana Paula

Tricalcium aluminate ( $C_{3} A$ ) is the most reactive phase in portland cement clinker. In the study of the $C_{3} A$ hydration process, the use of synthetic samples is often preferred over clinker-sourced samples due to the absence of traces of other elements in synthetic $C_{3} A$ . However, the reproduction of results from synthetic samples using clinker-sourced $C_{3} A$ samples is challenging due to the difficulty of complete extraction of aluminate phases from clinkers without damaging their structure. Salicylic and maleic acid/methanol solutions were used in the past to isolate $C_{3} A$ , but complete extraction has not been observed. Thus, it was necessary to modify the selective dissolution (SD) method. Possible processes were tested with white and ordinary portland clinkers. A modified process with maleic acid/methanol solution was developed and the samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Raman spectroscopy, compared with synthetic $C_{3} A$ samples. The modified selective dissolution process with maleic acid/methanol solution proposed in this work was effective in achieving complete isolation of aluminate-based phases, and can be used for further studies of the hydration process of clinker-sourced $C_{3} A$ samples to improve the understanding and quality of portland cement clinkers.