Making Cement at Ambient Temperature Using 55% Municipal Solid Waste Ash

This novel approach to making cement at ambient temperature uses 55% Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) incinerator ash AND adds chemicals and wastes to sequester environmentally problematic combustion gases, chemicals and heavy metals during incineration, that in turn eliminates undesired chemicals in the final product leachate. The main project objective is the development of a novel cement product based on using large volumes of MSW ash (55%) as an alternative to traditional ordinary Portland cement (OPC) which cannot sequester nearly as much ash (16%). A magnesium oxide (MgO)-containing co-feed (and other mineral co-feeds can be added before combustion for a twofold effect: 1) acting as an anti-slagging agent or flocculant to protect against slag buildup on an incinerator’s heat transfer boiler tubes; and 2) sequestering gases, harmful chemicals, and heavy metals, while simultaneously being co-calcined. This cement is a chemically based cement rather than OPC, in which heat of 1300°C is required and sets up in about a month for a compressive strength of average 3000 psi. Our cement uses no heat, gives off no CO2, hardens quickly, and averages high strength. This project addresses the ARPA-E goals of making municipal solid waste ash into a value added product that uses no more energy to manufacture.