The effect of supplementary cementitious materials on chloride binding in hardened cement paste

This paper reports the results of a study to determine the effects of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) on the chloride binding of portland cement pastes. The results show that SCMs with significant quantities of alumina increase the binding capacity of cement paste. Pastes with metakaolin (45% Al2O3) showed the greatest chloride binding capacity and pastes with silica fume (< 0.5% Al2O3) showed the least binding. The chemical binding in solutions of high chloride concentration is mainly attributed to the formation of Friedelʹs salt, C3A·CaCl2·10H2O. When pastes originally exposed to high chloride concentrations are subsequently exposed to chloride-free solution, a portion of the bound chloride is released, but a significant portion remains irreversibly bound. There is some evidence that Friedelʹs salt may partially convert to Kuzelʹs salt, C3A·(0.5CaCl2)(0.5CaSO4)·12H2O, under these conditions. The binding relationships were best described by the Freundlich isotherm and binding coefficients are given for all the binders tested.