Alternative fuel characteristics
Most microscopic analysis is based on classic studies carried out when single natural (traditional) fuels were the norm. How has the use of alternative fuels affected the microstructures observed? These observations start with a view on what differences new fuels can bring to the clinker.
Figure 1: a belite cluster (150µm across) after the presence of coarse fly ash in the kiln feed
Reducing conditions occur where there is an absence of oxygen such as at the bottom of an ocean or submerged in a peat bog. Where there is no oxygen, very little else can happen, including breathing or rotting. The ‘bog people’ of northern Europe, found preserved to a remarkable degree even several centuries after death, were the result of being submerged in a medium with no oxygen where even the organisms which decompose the human body could not thrive.
