Synchrotron radiation analysis of sugar cane ash 800°C and their cement pastes blends.

This paper presents a synchrotron X-ray radiation analysis of the sugar cane straw ashSCSA (treated at 800 °C) cement pastes blends aged at 7, 28 and 90 days at the X-ray diffraction beamline (XPD) of the Brazilian Synchrotron Laboratory (LNLS). A high intensity monochromatic beam at λ =1.5489 A was used and an excellent signal to noise ratio was obtained for 2θ varying from 10 to 110. The main goal is to study the influence of the ashes in the cement curing process and its pozzolanicity through the chemical reactivity, obtaining the quantity of the multiphase compound, alite and portlandite, produced in the cement. The results show that even that SCSA shows high reactivity; its inclusion in blended cement paste becomes less reactive than the control cement paste when we follow the behavior of the intensity of the peaks related to portlandite and alite phases.