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The article presents a comparison of pozzolanic activity of R-Mud, which is a by-product of TiO2, with known and long-used additives to cement and concrete. Tests were carried out comparing the amount of heat of the hydration of cement and cement with added R-Mud, silica fume, fly ash and trass. The reaction susceptibility of these additives with calcium hydroxide has also been studied using the thermogravimetric method. Results from this method have shown that the reactivity of R-Mud is high and at a similar level to silica fume, while it is much higher than the reactivity of fly ash or natural trass. The high level of pozzolanic reactivity of R-Mud has been confirmed by both isothermal calorimetry and thermogravimetry.

This paper presents a method of utilising ilmenite MUD created during the production of titanium dioxide (TiO2) according to the sulphate method as an additive for Portland cement composites. After the production process, undissolved MUD was additionally rinsed with water and filtrated in the factory to make it more useful (R-MUD) for implementation and also to turn back some of the by-products of the production of TiO2. R-MUD is less hazardous waste than MUD. It has a lower concentration of sulphuric acid and some heavy metals. The rinsing process raised the concentration of SiO2, which is a valuable part of R-MUD because of its potential pozzolanic activity. This means that the R-MUD might be a reactive substitute of part of Portland cement in building composites. The article presents the results of research on the pozzolanic activity of R-MUD and other materials with proved pozzolanic activity, such as silica fume, fly ash and natural pozzolana (trass). Tests were performed using thermal analysis techniques. The tests showed that the pozzolanic activity or R-MUD after three days is at the same level as silica fume and after 28 days it is twice as high as the activity of fly ash. Beyond the 180th day of curing, R-MUD had the same level of activity as fly ash. The summary is supplemented by calorimetric tests, which confirm the high reactivity of R-MUD compared to other commonly used concrete additives, already in the initial hydration period. In summary, heat of hydration after 72 h of Portland cement with R-MUD is at the same level as the heat of hydration of Portland cement with silica fume and also pure Portland cement grout. The results confirm that the process of formation of micro-silica contained in R-MUD react with calcium hydroxide to form the C-S-H phase, which is responsible for the microstructure of cement composites.

The paper presents the results of research on the influence of ilmenite mud waste coming from the production of titanium dioxide on the process of cement hydration by isothermal microcalorimetry. Quantitative analysis of the waste impact on hydration heat and kinetics has been conducted. The mud shows pozzolanic properties from the early hours after contacting the waste and cement mixture with water. The optimal amount of waste addition is within the wide range from 0 to 20 %. From this study, it is concluded that the waste from the production of titanium dioxide may be treated as a potential replacement for cement in concrete.