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CRITIQUE
On performing the extensive survey on the basis of the literature which is available, it is easy
to understand cement is the key ingredient of concrete has negative impact on the
environment releasing CO
2
to the atmosphere. In cement manufacturing about one ton of CO
2

is released in one ton clinker production, constitutes 7% global CO
2
emission. The course
toward sustainable concrete involves mainly minimizing the environmental impact of
concrete production by substituting virgin materials by recycled once as reducing the global
CO
2
emission.
In 1978, Joseph Davidovits developed inorganic polymeric materials and coined the term
Geopolymer. Geopolymer is a fiction binding material produced a polymerize reaction of
alkaline liquid with silicon and aluminium in source material of geological origin or material
such as Fly ash. Presently, over 120 million ton of fly ash is generated in all over India. Fly
ash is generated by thermal power plant from the combustion of pulverized coal. When
pulverized coal is burnt to generate heat the residue contains 80 % Fly ash and 20 % bottom
ash. If not managed properly fly ash disposal in sea/river/ponds can cause serious damage to
aquatic life. Slurry disposal lagoons/settling tanks can become breeding ground for
mosquitoes and bacteria. It can also contaminate the ground water resources with traces of
toxic metals present in fly ash. Fly ash is kind of example which has been treated as waste
material in India, till a decade back and has now emerged not only as a resource material but
also an environment savoir as per Ministry of Environment and Forests, Hazardous Waste
(Management, Handling and Transboundry Movement) Rules 2008, Schedule 1 noted that
the high volume low effect wastes such as fly ash are excluded from the category of
hazardous waste. As per the estimates, fly ash generation is expected to increase to about 225
million tons by 2017. Now-a-days fly ash has been most successfully used in Geopolymer
concrete or Green concrete or ecofriendly concrete. The alkaline liquids are from soluble
alkali metals that are usually sodium or potassium based. The most common alkaline liquid
used in Geopolymerisation is a combination of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or potassium
hydroxide (KOH) and sodium silicate or potassium silicate but mostly a combination of
sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate is used.
The reaction between various alumina-silicate oxides and alkali metal silicate solutions under
highly alkaline conditions that yields amorphous to semi crystalline three dimensions
polymeric structures consisting Si-O-Al-O bonds. According to literature which is available it
was found that Geopolymer concrete is much better than the cement concrete in terms of
strength durability and mostly it protects the environment as it emits CO
2
about 80% less than
Ordinary Portland Cement Concrete.
Fly ash is the most researched pozzolana used in the stabilization process of waste materials.
Solidification/Stabilization has been quite viable treatment process for reducing an
immobilizing the contaminants present in the waste by adding fly ash.
Since, fly ash is impelling filler and absorbent which has successfully replaced a part of
Portland cement in solidification/stabilization process. Along with the fly ash another kind of
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waste from chlor-alkali plants is also used, for solidification/stabilization i.e. brine sludge.
The chlor-alkali plant generates brine sludge during manufacturing of chlorine and caustic
soda production through the electrolysis of brine. There are about 37 chlor-alkali units
located all over India. Approximately one lakh metric ton of brine sludge is generated from
all units in India. The sludge generated is around 1500 MT on a monthly basis. It is inorganic
brine sludge containing mud, NaCl, KCl, water, CaSO4, BaSO
4
, Mg (OH)
2
, caustic
soda/potash, Na
2
CO
3
.
Two kind of manufacturing processes are used in chlor-alkali industries
Mercury cell technology
Membrane cell technology (working at present)
The brine sludge generated in membrane cell plant is non-hazardous, but it may contain
substantial levels of dissolved metals and the other impurities which during course of time get
leached out there by affecting ecosystem. Therefore there is need to find alternate solution for
brine sludge management to render it suitable for ecological safe disposal by stabilizing
leachable impurities.
According to the literature, not much utilization of brine sludge in construction material has
been reported.
The characterization and influence of brine sludge on the properties of cement-fly ash-brine
sludge are presented. The reaction products formed during the hydration of binder provide an
interlocking framework to physically encapsulate the waste particles and responsible for the
development of strength. The sample of brine sludge procured from Dahej, Gujrat was dried
at 1002
0
C for 48 hours, and analyzed for various chemical constituents by X-ray
fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy and as per IS 4032-2005, Methods of chemical analysis of
hydraulic cement. Similarly, fly ash sample procured from Chlor-alkali plant Dahej, Gujrat
was evaluated for chemical composition by XRF. The mineralogical behavior of fly ash was
accomplished using X-ray diffraction technique. The results of XRF analysis for brine sludge
and fly ash (Table 1) are shown








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TABLE 1: Physical and chemical analysis of brine sludge and fly ash.


Sr.No. Properties Brine sludge Fly ash
Physical parameters
1 Colour Light Grey Grayish black
2 Physical state at room temp. Semi-solid Solid
3 pH 12 10.5
4 Bulk density, g/cc 2.52 2.35
Chemical parameters, %
1 SiO
2
9.36 62.15
2 Al
2
O
3
+Fe
2
O
3
5.22 26.88
3 CaO 9.32 2.20
4 MgO 7.65 0.92
5 BaO 40.03 --
6 SO
3
12.32 1.80
7 Cl 5.30 --
8 Na
2
O 4.8 0.4
9 K
2
O 0.31 0.57
10 Cr
2
O
3
-- 0.04
11 ZnO 0.03 0.02
12 CuO 0.05 0.01
13 V
2
O
5
0.01 --
14 LOI 5.8 4.65

*LOI- Loss on Ignition
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As per reported literature the utilization of brine sludge in making paver block (250x 150x 65
mm) and bricks ( 190x 90x 90 mm) and the effects of sludge concentration on the
engineering properties of these products reveals that the compressive strength increased in
hydration period in all compositions and maximum strength is achieved for the mix
composition comprised of 20% brine sludge, 30% fly ash, and 50% cement.
The fine particles of fly ash play an important role in filling pores and internal gaps in the
matrix to generate a compact structure with reduced water absorption and porosity. The
hydration products, that is, calcium silicates and aluminates, bind the entire mass together
producing a solidified matrix and immobilize the dissolved metal ions into it by their
consequent adsorption and precipitation
The leachability studies confirm that the metals and impurities in the sludge are substantially
fixed in the solidified product. The utilization of brine sludge in construction materials
enables the disposal of large amounts of sludge while consuming lesser amounts of
cementing materials than heretofore possible.
The proposed R & D work is to study the effect of brine sludge on engineering properties of
fly ash (Cement free) Geopolymer binder for broad civil engineering applications.