Regarding the current environmental concerns indoor comfort in buildings has given rise to an intense research over alternative construction materials in order to diminish energy consumption and greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. This is related to 2012/27/UE directive of the European Union (EU), where the main goal is the improvement of a 20% on energy efficiency in buildings as well as the reduction of 20% of GHG emissions.
It is possible to reduce the GHG emissions by using different kind of cements instead of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). One of these new cements of increasing interest is the Magnesium phosphate cement (MPC) which is part of the family of Chemically Bonded Phosphate Ceramic (CBPC). In particular, the MPC are obtained by means of an acid-base reaction in water between magnesium oxide and a source of phosphate at room temperature. The reaction sets very fast and is very exothermic. These cements have attracted significant attention because of its properties such us low final pH of the matrix as a binder for natural fibers; rapid setting as repairing materials. However, because of the raw materials costs the use of this MPC is still limited.
A by-product mainly compound by MgO is obtained by the company Magnesitas Navarras S.A. during the calcination process of the natural magnesite (MgCO3) for the production of magnesia (MgO) for the refractory sector. During these lasts years the authors have been demonstrated that it is possible to develop MPC by using this by-product, named Low-Grade MgO (LG-MgO), due to their suitable reactivity and characteristics. In this manner, by using the by-product the costs are reduced among improving sustainable and environmental criteria. For this reason we named this cement formulated with the by-product as sustainable MPC (sust-MPC).
The present study is focused on the improvement of the thermal conductivity by increasing the porosity of the sust-MPC drastically. Therefore, this research would present thermal behavior and mechanical properties in front of porosity by using a non-commercial additive as air entraining agent (AEA).
In addition to economic benefits in terms of cost of production, the use of by-products has a positive impact on environmental and sustainability aspects. Besides, the improvement of the material’s thermal performance would shed light for further panels’ developments. Hence, it would be able to reduce the use of Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems in buildings while promoting environmental and sustainability criteria.
Interaction and chemical compatibility with other materials and structures , New products, applications and machinery
