Research undertaken to increase fly ash in cement

An ongoing research project, carried out by De Salle University in the Philippines, is seeking to use 100 per cent fly ash in cement production in an effort to reduce its carbon footprint.

"My project aims to use fly ash alone without using Portland cement. We try to utilise the waste of coal-fired plants to produce material comparable to Portland cement and we call the technology geopolymer," said Dr Michael Angelo B Promentilla, Professor of Chemical Engineering and the head of the Waste and Chemicals Management Unit of the Center for Engineering and Sustainable Development Research (CESDR) at De Salle University.

The project has been financed with PHP3m (US$58,041) since it began in 2013 and requires a further PHP10m for field tests, according to Business World. The project is currently at the R&D stage. "R&D usually takes two to three years, and with the best scenario we can come up with a level of technology readiness in five years where we can commercialise it," stated Dr Promentilla.