Ground granulated iron silicate slag as supplementary cementitious material: Effect of prolonged grinding and granulation temperature

The metallurgical and cement industries contribute significantly to anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. Utilizing oxidic by-products from the metallurgical industry as supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) can improve resource efficiency and reduce emissions from cement production. Iron silicate copper slags have been studied as SCMs, but mainly in systems where Portland cement is used as an activator. There is limited research on the inherent reactivity of the slag under changing processing conditions. The present study offers insight into the effect of granulation temperature and grinding on the inherent reactivity of an industrially produced iron silicate copper slag. The results showed that granulation temperature had an insignificant effect on reactivity, while grinding generated substantial improvements. The latter effect was concluded to stem from the increased specific surface area, increased number of sites for nucleation and growth of hydrates, and changes in the inherent reactivity owing to structural changes induced by the grinding.