The Determination of Bound Water in Waste Phosphatic Clay

Phosphatic clay is a by-product of phosphate strip mining, particularly in Florida, USA. This waste material occupies about 100 000 acres of land which could be utilized for other causes. Thus, its use as an alternating cementing material for the addition into the mixing matrix of cement paste and concrete to yield higher strength would be profitable for both materials involved. But the biggest drawback faced is that the phosphatic clay possesses high water holding capacity. The water is thus not available for mixing purposes when added to cement paste and concrete and is thus known as bound water. It is therefore essential to determine the amount of bound water to phosphatic clay which shall not be available for the hydration reaction of cement in cement paste and concrete.