Carbonate-containing precipitate of sugar production from sugar beet as filler for polymer concrete

Abstract

Polymer concrete is widely used in economic activities and construction. They consist of a polymer resin (polyester, phenol-formaldehyde, epoxy, etc.) and various fillers, the content of which can reach 85%. Many industrial wastes according to their physical and chemical properties can be used as substitutes for traditional materials in construction. One of such waste is the carbonate-containing saturation precipitate, which is formed during the production of sugar from sugar beet (CCP). The possibility of using CCP as filler for polymer concrete is investigated in the paper. Experimental samples with different contents of thermally modified precipitate and quartz sand were made. It is shown that when the precipitate is added to the mixture in an amount of up to 20%, the results of the compressive and flexural strength measurements do not differ from those samples which are made on the basis of quartz sand. Then the strength begins to decrease, and after 28% becomes lower than the control samples. Therefore, we came to conclusion that 15–20% of the precipitate to the mixture should be considered a rational amount of the additive. The density of the experimental samples increases insignificantly with the addition of modified CCP due to the more intensive chemical interaction of the resin with carbon in the CCP composition when using pure quartz sand is used.