Magnesium phosphate cement are materials prepared by reacting magnesium oxide with water-soluble phosphates such as mono-ammonium dihydrogen phosphate, which solidified at ambient temperature through the formation of hydrated phases in the material. However, MgO has a high reactivity and requires calcination to reduce its surface area, facilitating the practical application of magnesium phosphate cement. Because it is a process with large energy consumption, the sintering cost is very high when implemented at a large scale. Since the final stages of solid-state reaction are rarely reached, the addition of some components is beneficial from a calcination point of view, as they can lead to the formation of low melting liquid phases. In this study, effects of the inorganic activation of MgO on the properties of cements in terms of phase formation, microstructure, setting time, pore size distribution and mechanical properties were evaluated. The additivation considerably improved the properties of MgO powders, and Na2O-PbO-SiO2-Bi2O3-B2O3 was the most efficient additive to reduce de BET surface area (about 5-6 times). Cements produced using doped MgO without calcination at high temperatures or the use of higher levels of retarding and dispersing additives, showed better physical (porosity approximately 5 times lower and density approximately 38% higher) and mechanical properties (approximately 9 times higher) than the pastes produced with MgO calcined without additives (traditional method).

A lama vermelha é um resíduo sólido gerado no processo de beneficiamento da bauxita e, devido a seu elevado pH, é considerado "perigoso". O elevado pH da lama vermelha proporciona uma maior proteção à armadura do concreto, o que é refletido no baixo potencial de corrosão da armadura e elevada resistividade elétrica (efeito filler) do concreto. O potencial de corrosão foi monitorado por medidas eletroquímicas e a resistividade elétrica foi avaliada com o uso de sensores embutidos nas amostras de concreto. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que a adição da lama vermelha é benéfica ao concreto, reduzindo o potencial de corrosão e aumentando a resistividade elétrica. Assim, a lama vermelha apresenta-se como uma promissora adição ao concreto armado, no intuito de inibir o processo corrosivo.

Red mud, the main waste generated in aluminum and alumina production from bauxite ore by the Bayer process, is considered "hazardous" due to its high pH. The high pH also provides greater protection of rebars, which is reflected in the low corrosion potential and high electrical resistivity (filler effect) of concrete. The corrosion potential was monitored by electrochemical measurements and the electrical resistivity was evaluated using sensors embedded in concrete test specimens. The results showed that the addition of red mud is beneficial to concrete, reducing its corrosion potential and increasing its electrical resistivity. Red mud proved to be a promising additive for concrete to inhibit the corrosion process.

A lama vermelha é um resíduo sólido gerado no processo de produção de alumina e, devido a seu elevado pH, é considerado "perigoso". A característica de elevada alcalinidade associada à presença de aluminossilicatos facilitam a assimilação e formação de compostos pela reação com os íons cloreto. No presente estudo, a concentração de cloretos foi monitorada por meio da medida da condutividade do anólito, que inicialmente era água destilada. Adicionalmente, foram estimados os coeficientes de difusão nos estados estacionário e não-estacionário, obtidos através do "time lag" e do "tempo equivalente" de medida. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que a adição da lama vermelha é benéfica ao concreto, reduzindo a taxa migração dos cloretos (coeficientes de difusão) devido à elevada finura da lama vermelha (efeito filler) e à ação dos aluminossilicatos.

Red mud is a solid waste produced in the alumina production process and, due to its high pH, is classified as hazardous. Its incorporation in concrete mixtures, acting as filler due to the particles fineness, might be an interesting reuse alternative. The focus of this paper is to study the chloride diffusivity of concrete mixtures containing red-mud. The concentration of chlorides was monitored by measuring the conductivity of the anolyte, which was distilled water initially. In addition, the estimation of the chloride ions diffusion coefficients in steady and non-steady conditions, Ds and Dns, was obtained from the ''time-lag'' and ''equivalent time'' between diffusion and migration experiments. Due to superfine particle-size distribution and the "filler" effect, the red mud addition seems to assure lower chloride diffusivity.

In this work two different synthesis methods of perovskites, SrCo0.5FeO3, were compared: combustion synthesis and oxides mixture aiming at evaluating their use as membranes for partial oxidation of methane. The combustion synthesis method explores an exothermic, generally very fast and self-sustaining chemical reaction between the desired metal salts and a suitable organic fuel, which is ignited at a temperature much lower than the actual phase formation temperature. The oxides mixture are based on a physical mixture of the powder oxides followed by calcination to obtain the desired phase. In order to obtain the membranes, we studied the conformation of bodies and the temperatures of sintering in the two powders synthesized. The powders were analyzed by density and grain size distribution and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). After conformation, in cylindrical form, the green bodies were analyzed by density. After sintering at 1150 °C, the membranes were analyzed by density and they were characterized by XRD and SEM. The powder obtained by combustion synthesis shows lower density and fine grains than the other obtained by oxides mixture. The membranes obtained present very different morphology depending on the precursor powder synthesis. The sintered membranes obtained by combustion method also present a very uniform morphology without segregation.

In the present study the thermal decomposition of a freeze-dried copper(II) acetate monohydrate powder, (CH3COO)2Cu.H2O, (FDCuAcH2O), was analysed by a combination of high-temperature X-ray diffractometry; differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry, up to 700 °C. The structure and morphology of the calcined freeze-dried powders were analysed by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffractometry. The results showed that FDAcCuH2O decomposes during heating in two stages: I) (25-225 °C) FDCuAcH2O dehydrates giving rise to copper(II) acetate, (CH3COO)2Cu, (AcCu), and II) (225-525 °C) AcCu decomposes to CuO through complex oxidation reactions of Cu and Cu2O, simultaneously. SEM showed that FDCuAcH2O powder has a scale-like morphology, which is created in the freezing stage and retained after freeze-drying. After calcination at 125 and 225 °C, clusters of elongated tubes (or filaments) compose the resulting powder (AcCu). Subsequent calcination at temperatures above 325 °C resulted in hard clusters of spheroid-like CuO particles.