Materials Today: Proceedings 43 (2021) 1587–1591
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Materials Today: Proceedings
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/matpr
Characterization of red mud based cement mortar; mechanical and
microstructure studies
Maddi Anirudh ⇑, Kosuri Sasi Rekha, Chava Venkatesh, Ruben Nerella
Department of Civil Engineering, Vignan’s Foundation for Science, Technology and Research, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh 522213, India
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Article history: Alumina industries produce Red mud as a residue in the refinery process, discharging millions of tonnes
Received 26 June 2020 annually. This large discharge creates damage to the surrounding water, air bodies. This present work
Received in revised form 16 September emphasizes utilizing red mud as a substituent to the cement. An investigation is carried out on red
2020
mud-based cement mortar to understand its mechanical and microstructure properties’ performance.
Accepted 19 September 2020
A proportionate replacement of cement is done to the range of 0% to 20% with 5% intervals with red
Available online 23 October 2020
mud. The mortar was prepared with a proportion of 1:1.5:0.52 and the behavioral performance of mortar
were studied as concern towards its mechanical (compressive strength), durability properties (water
Keywords:
Compressive strength
absorption test) as well as microstructure analysis (X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy
Durability and energy dispersive spectroscopy). The results showed that the mortar exhibited better performance
Red mud at a 10% replacement. Durability performance was enriched with red mud replacement and microstruc-
Scanning electron microscopy ture analysis confirmed that red mud mortar was denser than normal cement mortar.
X-ray diffraction Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Confer-
ence on Advanced Materials Behavior and Characterization.
1. Introduction mud could be replaced into the cement. Few studies are reported
on the application of red mud concrete; Nikibin et al. [10] con-
Red mud, a bauxite residue left as a by-product during Alumina cluded that red mud concrete is only used to construct non-
manufacturing, is discharged in greater amounts worldwide [1]. structural members. But Rathan Raj et al. [11] reported red mud
For each tonne of alumina produced, more than one tonne of red could be used to construct structural members. Reason for this
mud is discharged. It creates harm to the neighbor livening bodies mixed opinion; concrete/mortar performance purely based on
due to its high alkalinity [2]. Adapting alternative methods to uti- the chemical composition of cementitious material, here the chem-
lize red mud as a raw material helps to curb the pollution by the ical composition of red mud is varied with location.
industries that manufacture bricks, ceramic tiles, etc. [3–5]. Many W.C. Tang et al. [12] used red mud as a substitute for the fly ash
investigations were conducted throughout the world for the uti- in concrete; the study concluded that compressive strength has
lization of red mud as a construction material because concrete improved with an increase in replacement percentages. 50% of
is a wide consuming material on earth [6]. Moreover, 7%-10% of red mud replacement in the fly ash mix shown higher compressive
carbon dioxide was emitted from cement industries. Using red strength and good improvement observed ITZ, and also, hatrurite
mud as a cementitious material can reduce pollution due to its dis- and larnite are observed in the XRD [13]. Yang et al. 2017 [14] con-
posal and minimize pollution due to cement production [7]. Many ducted a study on red mud-based cement mortars; the study
investigations are reported mixed opinions on the optimum dosage replaced red mud from 0% to 9%, mortar becomes denser with
of red mud in cement and its applications. Rathod et al. [8] the addition of red mud and compressive strength is increased.
reported that red mud could be replacing in cement upto 25%. At Another study reported that concrete strength is reduced at higher
the same time, Swanth et al. [9] reported that red mud could be replacements of red mud [15–20]. Few more studies mentioned
replaced upto 15%. Some other studies reported only 2% of red that the concrete’s sorptivity values and porosity reduced in red
mud concretes [21,22].
Research significance of the present study, Red mud is an envi-
⇑ Corresponding author. ronmental issue due to the disposal of various pollution problems.
E-mail address: [email protected] (M. Anirudh).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.09.504
2214-7853/Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Advanced Materials Behavior and Characterization.
M. Anirudh, Kosuri Sasi Rekha, C. Venkatesh et al. Materials Today: Proceedings 43 (2021) 1587–1591
Considering its limitations of usage in the industries, there is a dire
need for establishing innovative techniques propagating its exten-
sive use in the industries. A study on utilizing this by-product as a
proportional replacement to cement in construction industries
may lead to sustainable construction. The present work discusses
cement mortar’s behavioral performance with the proportional
replacement of cement to red mud in the ranges of 0% to 20% with
5% intervals. The mechanical properties, durability, and
microstructure analysis of mortar specimens obtained from pro-
portionate mixes are compared to the control mix.
2. Materials and methods
In the present work, 53 grade Ordinary Portland cement (OPC)
is used according to IS 12269–1987 [23]. The specific gravity of
the cement is 3.15, with fineness 5%. Fine aggregates (FA) were
used as per IS383-1970 [24]. Red mud (RM) was collected from Fig. 2. X-ray diffractograms of red mud.
the Nalco refinery plant, Daman Jodi, Orissa, India. Red mud was
dried in a hot oven plate in 24hr with a temperature of 100 °C to
remove moisture and neutralization. Afterward, red mud was 2.3. Water absorption test
grinded in ball mills and all the physical and chemical properties
are investigated. Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 show X-ray diffractograms of As per IS 1199 (1959) [28], water absorption test was per-
cement and red mud. The specific gravity and specific surface area formed; the specimens were dried in an oven for 105 °C for 72 h,
of red mud were 2.40 and 22,000 m2/kg. The chemical composition later weigh the sample and consider it as dry weight (Wd). Further,
of red mud used is given in Table 1 the samples are immersed in water for 24 h to take the sample’s
wet weight (Ww) after wiping the surface dry. Following Eq.1 can
be used for calculation of % of water absorption.
2.1. Mix calculations
Water absorption ð%Þ ¼ ðW W W d Þ=W d 100 ð1Þ
In the present study, 1(OPC + RM): 1.5(FA):0.52(w/c) mix pro- Ww = wet weight of the sample, Wd = Oven dry weight of the
portions are adopted and prepared as per IS: 2250-1981 [25]. sample.
Mix calculations are represented in Table 2.
2.4. Microstructural studies
2.2. Compressive strength
Scanning electron microscopy analysis is conducted to mortar
samples to identify its morphological properties. The samples pre-
As per IS 516–2013 [26], compressive strength test was per-
pared in the size of 10 mm 10 mm 5 mm and carbon splutter-
formed on all mortar samples in the present study. The sizes of
ing is applied to the samples before performing the study. Along
the samples are 70 mm 70 mm 70 mm. All mortar samples
with the SEM, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis is also
are cured in regular water upto 28 days, according to IS9013- performed to know the elemental compositions. Rigaku mini flex
1978 [27]. The cumulative average of three samples is taken for
600 X-ray powder diffraction has been used for X-ray diffraction
each mix proportion. Fig. 3 shows the experimental setup of the analyses of samples collected from the core of the cubes rather
compressive strength test.
than from the surface. Whereas, expert high score software was
used for the analysis of X-ray diffractograms in the present study.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Compressive strength
Compressive strength test results are shown in Fig. 4. At 10% of
red mud replacement mix shown higher strength compared to all
mixes in this study. However, as compared to the normal mortar
mix, a 10% RM mix shown 26.44% and 23.68% of strength incre-
ment after 7 and 28 days of curing. The red mud alkalinity helps
develop good pozzolanic reactivity, and a high specific surface area
of the red mud particle plays a significant role in the cement hydra-
tion process. Another study also gives a similar justification for
strength increment [13]. Rathan Raj et al. [29] performed a study
on the utilization of red mud in concrete and concluded that com-
pressive strength enhancement was observed upto 4% of RM
replacement. Red mud has a high specific surface area, making
concrete denser by filling voids in it. Another study [2], reported
that untreated red mud could be replaced into concrete upto 5%.
Fig. 1. X-ray diffractograms of cement. During cement hydration, the excess availability of alumina, silica,
1588
M. Anirudh, Kosuri Sasi Rekha, C. Venkatesh et al. Materials Today: Proceedings 43 (2021) 1587–1591
Table 1
Chemical composition of red mud and cement (%).
Materials Cao Al2O3 Fe2O3 SiO2 Na2O TiO2 others
OPC 63.29 4.73 3.95 20.93 0.22 2.49 4.39
RM 4.90 23.79 28.24 19.90 7.83 5.50 2.34
Table 2
Mix calculations (weight in grams per sample).
Mix Name OPC RM FA Water
RM0 299 – 449 155.48
RM5 284.05 14.95 449 155.48
RM10 269.1 29.9 449 155.48
RM15 254.15 44.85 449 155.48
RM20 239.2 59.8 449 155.48
Fig. 4. Compressive strength test results.
Fig. 5. Water Absorption test results.
Fig. 3. Compressive strength test setup.
and titanium oxides in red mud reacts with chemicals, which reported; red mud fills the voids in concrete, which decreases
increases concrete strength [11]. the passage of water and chemical [22]. Some other studies
reported that water absorption is reduced in red mud concrete
because all the pores are filled by CSH gel [11].
3.2. Water absorption
3.3. Microstructure analysis
Fig. 5 represents the percentage of water absorption by red mud
and normal cement-based mortars. Here, water absorption is 3.3.1. X-ray diffraction analysis
reduced with increases red mud replacement in cement upto XRD analysis was performed to identify the hydration products
20%. As compared to normal cement mortar, red mud mortar has of Red mud and normal cement-based mortars. Portlandite, quartz,
shown 18% (RM0) to 9% (RM20) of water absorption reduction after albite, hatrurite, larnite are presented in all mixes shown in Fig. 6.
28 days of curing. Red mud is a very finer mineral compared to Portlandite is a major hydration product that reacts with silica in
cement and pores present in the mortar and the red mud fills max- the cementitious materials. Hatrurite and larnite are reasonable
imum no of pores. Hence the water absorption percentage was for early and later age strength gains in the cement matrix. In
reduced with red mud. Similarly, Rathan Raj et al. [29] also the RM10 mix shown a higher percentage of larnite (30.16%) and
1589
M. Anirudh, Kosuri Sasi Rekha, C. Venkatesh et al. Materials Today: Proceedings 43 (2021) 1587–1591
Fig. 6. X-ray diffractograms of red mud mortar. Fig. 8. SEM image for 10%RM.
hatrurite (32.45%), this might be the reason for achieved high was conducted to know the quantification of elemental composi-
strength in the respective mix. As compared to normal cement tion. Table 3 represents Ca/Si of with and without red mud-based
mortar, red mud cement mortar has higher strength in 7 days of cement mortar, which informed that the RM0 mix has 1.14 and
curing; this might be due to a higher percentage of hatrurite. RM10 has1.03. Whereas, higher Ca/Si indicates lower the CSH for-
mation, while lower Ca/Si indicates higher CSH formation. The
RM10 mix has shown higher CSH formation; this might be one rea-
3.3.2. SEM-EDs
son for achieved high strength in the respective mix.
In the present study, SEM-EDS analysis performed only on nor-
mal cement mortar (RM0) and optimum strength mix (RM10).
Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 depict. Scanning electron microscopy images for
cement mortar contain (RM10) and without (RM0) red mud. In 4. Conclusions
case of no red mud, cement mortar has more voids/pores than
red mud-based cement mortar. This phenomenon is observed This paper investigated the characterization of red mud-based
due to the higher specific surface area of red mud that occupies mortar durability and microstructure properties. All the conclu-
the pore structure. Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy analysis sions are purely observed from the experimentation and result in
analysis.
Red mud mortar (10% RM) mix shown 26.44% and 23.68% of
strength increment than the cement mortar mix. The alkalinity
of red mud triggers the pozzolanic reactivity of cementitious
material, which increases the strength.
Water absorption of mortar is reduced with red mud addition
because the red mud particles fill most of the voids.
RM mortar has displayed dense formation at 10% replacement
of cement with RM than the control mix.
X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that hatrurite and larnite are
abundantly presented in the red mud mortar mixes than normal
cement mortar.
5. Future scope
There is a need to verify the long-term strength and durability
behavior of red mud mortar/concretes.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Maddi Anirudh: Conceptualization, Writing - review & editing,
Supervision. Kosuri Sasi Rekha: Investigation, Validation. Chava
Venkatesh: Writing - original draft, Visualization. Ruben Nerella:
Fig. 7. SEM image for 0%RM. Methodology.
1590
M. Anirudh, Kosuri Sasi Rekha, C. Venkatesh et al. Materials Today: Proceedings 43 (2021) 1587–1591
Table 3
Energy dispersive spectroscopy results.
Mix OK CaK SiK AlK FeK Ca/Si
0%RM 58.31 18.45 16.10 4.95 1.05 1.14
10%RM 60.68 17.87 17.31 3.39 0.75 1.03
Declaration of Competing Interest [13] W.C. Tang, Z. Wang, Y. Liu, H.Z. Cui, Influence of red mud on fresh and
hardened properties of self-compacting concrete, Constr. Build. Mater. 178
(2018) 288–300.
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan- [14] X. Yang, J. Zhao, H. Li, P. Zhao, Q. Chen, Recycling red mud from the production
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared of aluminium as a red cement-based mortar, Waste Manag. Res. 35 (5) (2017)
500–507.
to influence the work reported in this paper. [15] Rathan Raj Rajendran, E.B. Perumal Pillaib, A.R. Santhakumai, Effective
utilization of red mud bauxite waste as a replacement of cement in concrete
for environmental conservation, Ecol. Environ. Conserv. 19 (1) (2013) 247–
255.
References [16] L. Senff, D. Hotza, J.A. Labrincha, Effect of red mud addition on the rheological
behaviour and on hardened state characteristics of cement mortars, Constr.
[1] C. Venkatesh, M. Chand, R. Nerella, A state of the art on red mud as a Build. Mater. 25 (1) (2011) 163–170.
substitutional cementitious material, Ann. Chim. – Sci. Matér. 43 (2) (2019) [17] C.S.S. Durga, N. Ruben, M.S.R. Chand, C. Venkatesh, Performance studies on
99–106. rate of self healing in bio concrete, Mater. Today: Proc. 27 (2020) 158–162.
[2] C. Venkatesh, R. Nerella, M. Sri Rama Chand, Comparison of mechanical and [18] C.S.S. Durga, N. Ruben, M.S.R. Chand, C. Venkatesh, Evaluation of mechanical
durability properties of treated and untreated red mud concrete, Mater. parameters of bacterial concrete, Ann. Chim.-Sci. Matér. 43 (6) (2019) 395–
Today:. Proc. 27 (2020) 284–287. 399.
[3] M. Abdel-Raheem, S.L.M. Gómez, C.M.A. Piñeiro, M.B. Olazaran, Uses of red [19] C.S.S. Durga, N. Ruben, Assessment of various self healing materials to enhance
mud as a construction material, Aei. (2017). the durability of concrete structures, Ann. Chim.-Sci. Matér. 43 (2) (2019) 75–
[4] C. Venkatesh, S.K. Mohiddin, N. Ruben, Corrosion Inhibitors Behaviour on 79.
Reinforced Concrete—A Review, Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering Sustainable [20] C.S.S. Durga, N. Ruben, A review of the mechanical behavior of substitution
Construction and Building Materials., pp. 127–134, 2018. materials in self-healing concrete, in: Sustainable Construction and Building
[5] S. Samal, A.K. Ray, A. Bandopadhyay, Proposal for resources, utilization and Materials, Springer, Singapore, 2019, pp. 135–144.
processes of red mud in India — a review, Int. J. Mineral Processing 118 (2013) [21] C. Venkatesh, M. Chand, R. Nerella, Experimental investigation of strength,
43–55. durability, and microstructure of red-mud concrete, J. Korean Ceramic Society
[6] N.T., Memade P.D., Evaluation of the properties of red mud concrete, ISOR J. 57 (2) (2020) 167–174.
Mech. Civil Eng., (2012), 31–34. [22] C. Venkatesh, M. Chand, R. Nerella, Red mud as an additive in concrete:
[7] A.B. Sawant, M.B. Kumthekar, M. Abdel-Raheem, L.G. Santana, M.P. Cordava, B. comprehensive characterization, journal of the Korean ceramic society, vol.57,
O. Martínez, Uses of Red Mud as a Construction Material. In AEI 2017 (pp 388- no.3, pp.281-289, 2020.
399), 2017. [23] BIS (1987), IS 12269-1987, Specifications for 53 grade ordinary Portland
[8] D.L. Metilda, C. Selvamony, R. Anandakumar, A. Seeni, Investigations on cement, Bureau of Indian Standards., New Delhi, India.
optimum possibility of replacing cement partially by redmud in concrete, [24] BIS (1970), IS 383-1970, Specification for coarse and fine aggregates from
Scientific Res. Essays 10 (4) (2015) 137–143. natural sources for concrete, Bureau of Indian Standards., New Delhi, India.
[9] R.R. Rathod, Suryawanshi, S.G. Sawant, Utilization of neutralized red mud [25] BIS (1981), IS 2250-1981, Specification for preparation and use of masonry
(industrial waste) in concrete, Int. J. Inventive Eng. Sci., 1, 2(2013), 9-13. mortar, Bureau of Indian Standards., New Delhi, India.
[10] I.M. Nikbin, M. Aliaghazadeh, S.H. Charkhtab, A. Fathollahpour, Environmental [26] BIS (2013), IS 516-2013, Specification for method of tests for concrete, Bureau
impacts and mechanical properties of lightweight concrete containing bauxite of Indian Standards., New Delhi, India.
residue (red mud), J. Cleaner Prod. 172 (2018) 2683–2694. [27] BIS (1978), IS: 9013-1978, Specification for method of curing of concrete,
[11] R.R. Raj, E.P. Pillai, A.R. Santhakumar, Strength and corrosion properties of Bureau of Indian Standards., New Delhi, India.
concrete incorporating metakaolin and redmud, Eur. J. Sci. Res 91 (4) (2012) [28] BIS (1959), IS: 1199-1959, Specification for method of test for water
569–579. absorption concrete, Bureau of Indian Standards., New Delhi, India.
[12] W. Tang, Z. Wang, S. Donne, M. Forghani, Y. Liu, Influence of red mud on [29] R.R. Raj, E.P. Pillai, A.R. Santhakumar, Effective utilization of redmud bauxite
mechanical and durability performance of self-compacting concrete, J. Hazard. waste as a replacement of cement in concrete for environmental conservation,
Mater. 379 (2019) 120802. Ecol. Environ. Conserv. 19 (2013) 247–255.
1591
