Medidas de concentração de radônio proveniente de argamassas de cimento portland, gesso e fosfogesso

Portland cement being very common construction material has in its composition the natural gypsum. To decrease the costs of manufacturing, the cement industry is substituting the gypsum in its composition by small quantities of phosphogypsum, which is the residue generated by the production of fertilizers and consists essentially of calcium dihydrate and some impurities, such as fluoride, metals in general, and radionuclides. Currently, tons of phosphogypsum are stored in the open air near the fertilizer industries, causing contamination of the environment. The 226 Ra present in these materials, when undergoes radioactive decay, produces the 222Rn gas. This radioactive gas, when inhaled together with its decay products deposited in the lungs, produces the exposure to radiation and can be a potential cause of lung cancer. Thus, the objective of this study was to measure the concentration levels of 222Rn from cylindrical samples of Portland cement, gypsum and phosphogypsum mortar from the state of Paraná, as well as characterizer the material and estimate the radon concentration in an environment of hypothetical dwelling with walls covered by such materials. Experimental setup of 222Rn activity measurements was based on AlphaGUARD detector (Saphymo GmbH). The qualitative and quantitative analysis was performed by gamma spectrometry and EDXRF with Au and Ag targets tubes (AMPTEK), and Mo target (ARTAX) and mechanical testing with x- ray equipment (Gilardoni) and the mechanical press (EMIC). Obtained average values of radon activity from studied materials in the air of containers were of 854 ± 23 Bq/m3, 60,0 ± 7,2 Bq/m3 e 52,9 ± 5,4 Bq/m3 for Portland cement, gypsum and phosphogypsum mortar, respectively. These results extrapolated into the volume of hypothetical dwelling of 36 m3 with the walls covered by such materials were of 3366 ± 91 Bq/m3, 237 ± 28 Bq/m3 e 208 ± 21 Bq/m3for Portland cement, gypsum and phosphogypsum mortar, respectively. Considering the limit of 300 Bq/m3 established by the ICRP, it could be concluded that the use of Portland cement plaster in dwellings is not secure and requires some specific mitigation procedure. Using the results of gamma spectrometry there were calculated the values of radium equivalent activity concentrations (Raeq) for Portland cement, gypsum and phosphogypsum mortar, which were obtained equal to 78,2 ± 0,9 Bq/kg; 58,2 ± 0,9 Bq/kg e 68,2 ± 0,9 Bq/kg, respectively. All values of radium equivalent activity concentrations for studied samples are below the maximum level of 370 Bq/kg. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of EDXRF spectra obtained with studied mortar samples allowed to evaluate quantitate and the elements that constitute the material such as Ca, S, Fe, and others.

Influência da gipsita no surgimento de eflorescência em telhas cerâmicas

The red ceramic industry is recognized as of major importance in Piauí State. The State capital, Teresina, is the greatest producer of this material ( production about 18 million peaces), which is used mainly for masonry sealing blocks. One of the most frequent problems in this kind of products is the efflorescence. This work has the main objective of studying the influence of gypsum addition on non-glazed tiles, by using the local industry production standards. The raw materials were characterized by FRX, DRX, TGA, DTA and AD. Extruded test specimens were made with the addition of 1, 3 and 5% of gypsum in the ceramic paste, burned at 850oC, 950oC and 1050oC and submitted to further technological tests and microestrutural analysis by the scanning electron microscope. In order to accelerate the aging of bodies of evidence, they were immersed in successive water baths and posterior drying. The reference ceramic paste showed tendency to efflorescence formation after drying and consolidated efflorescence after burning, but no affecting the technological results

Estudo sobre a influência do massará no processo de formação de salitre em rebocos na região de Teresina - PI

This work had to verify the influence of massará, while mortar component, in the process of formation of saltpeter in cementitious plaster walls of buildings. The massará is a ceramic material, texture areno usually found in large volumes argillaceous sediments in Teresina, Piaui State capital, which is associated with the Portland cement mortar form for fixing and finishing in construction. Saltpeter or flowering is a pathology that happens in gypsum wallboard, which invariably reaction between soluble salts present in materials, water and oxygen. This pathology, supposedly credited to massará caused its use to suffer significant reduction in the market of the buildings. Verify this situation with particular scientific rigor is part of the proposal of this work. Grading tests Were performed, consistency limits (LL, LP and IP), determination of potential hydrogen, capacity Exchange (CTC), electrical conductivity (EC), x-ray fluorescence (FRX) and x-ray diffraction (DRX). Massará analysed samples in number six, including sample plastering salitrado presented potential hydrogen medium 5.7 in water and 5.2 on KCl n and electrical conductivity (EC), equal to zero. These results pointed to the affirmative that massará is a material that does not provide salinity content that can be taken into consideration. It is therefore concluded that the material analyzed not competing, at least with respect to the presence of soluble salts, for the formation of saltpeter

Avaliação da potencialidade dos resíduos de gesso de revestimento incorporados em formulações de massas cerâmicas

In building, during the implementation process of major or even minor works, there is a considerable waste of plaster in the steps of coating, making it is a negative factor because of the loss of these processes constructive remains incorporated into buildings, as component, whose final dimensions are higher than those projected. Another negative factor is the disposal of waste gypsum in inappropriate places, thus contributing to the degradation of environmental quality, due to the leaching of this waste and may trigger the formation of sulfuric acid. Therefore, based on this picture, processing and reuse of waste coating, combined with the ceramics industry, which is a strong potential in the reuse of certain types of waste, promote mutual benefits. Thus the overall objective of this work is to conduct a search with scientific and technological aspects, to determine the effect of the incorporation of the residue of plaster for coating, from the building, the formulation of bodies for red ceramic. The residue of plaster coating was collected and characterized. They were also selected raw materials of two ceramic poles of the state of Rio Grande do Norte and formulations have been made with the intention of obtaining those with the best physical and mechanical properties, the residue was added the percentage of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30%, in the best formulation of ceramic industry 1 and, according the properties analyses, 5%, 10% and 15% as the best results of ceramic industry 2. The samples were sintered at temperatures of 850 ºC, 950 °C and 1050 °C, the heating rate of 5 ºC / min with isotherm of two hours. They were submitted to testing technology, such as lineal shrinkage, water absorption, apparent porosity, apparent density and bending resistence. The residue incorporation best results in the formulations of mass in red ceramic, were observed between the temperatures of 850 ºC and 950 ºC, in those formulations that have illite clays and medium plastic in their composition, in the range of 0% to 15% residue incorporated

Synthesis and behavior of Belite-Alite-Ye’elimite (BAY) cement

Ye’elimite based cements have been studied since 70’s years in China, due to the irrelevant characteristics from a hydraulic and environmental point of view. One of them is the reduced fuel consumption, related to the lower temperature reaction required for this kind of cement production as compared to Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), another characteristic is the reduced requirement of carbonates as a typical raw material, compared to OPC, with the consequent reduction in CO2 releases (~22%)from combustion. Thus, Belite-Ye’elimite-Ferrite (BYF) cements have been developed as potential OPC substitutes. BYF cements contain belite as main phase (>50 wt%) and ye´elimite as the second content phase (~30 wt%). However, an important technological problem is associated to them, related to the low mechanical strengths developed at intermediate hydration ages (3, 7 and 28 days). One of the proposed solutions to this problem is the activation of BYF clinkers by preparing clinkers with high percentage of coexisting alite and ye'elimite. These clinkers are known Belite-Alite-Ye’elimite (BAY) cements. Their manufacture would produce ~15% less CO2 than OPC. Alite is the main component of OPC and is responsible for early mechanical strengths. The reaction of alite and ye´elimite with water will develop cements with high mechanical strengths at early ages, while belite will contribute to later curing times. Moreover, the high alkalinity of BAY cement pastes/mortars/concretes may facilitate the use of supplementary cementitious materials with pozzolanic activity which also contributes to decrease the CO2 footprint of these ecocements. The main objective of this work was the design and optimization of all the parameters evolved in the preparation of a BAY eco-cement that develop higher mechanical strengths than BYF cements. These parameters include the selection of the raw materials (lime, gypsum, kaolin and sand), milling, clinkering conditions (temperature, and holding time), and clinker characterization The addition of fly ash has also been studied. All BAY clinker and pastes (at different hydration ages) were mineralogically characterized through laboratory X-ray powder diffraction (LXRPD) in combination with the Rietveld methodology to obtain the full phase assemblage including Amorphous and Crystalline non-quantified, ACn, contents. The pastes were also characterized through rheological measurements, thermal analyses (TA), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The compressive strengths were also measured at different hydration times and compared to BYF.

Análise comparativa entre as propriedades do gesso obtido de rejeito da produção de sal e gesso comerciais

The environmental impacts, caused by the solid residues generation, are an often quoted concern nowadays. Some of these residues, which are originated from different human activities, can be fully reused, reducing the effects of the poor waste management on the environment. During the salt production process, the first formed crystals are discarded as industrial waste. This is mainly made of gypsum that is a calcium sulfate dihydrate (CaSO4.2H2O). The gypsum in question may go through a calcination process due to the plaster (CaSO4.0,5H2O) production and then the application on the cement industry. Considering the necessity of development and application for these industrial wastes, this paper aims to analyze the plaster, called Salgesso, from the gypsum that was generated during the salt production, and its use viability on the civil construction industry in order to create environmental and economical benefits. For characterization, the following experiments were performed: X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), thermal analysis (TG/DTG) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with EDS. The following tests were also performed to obtain the mechanical characteristics: Thinness Modulus, Unit Mass, Setting Time and Compressive Resistance. Three commercial plasters used on civil construction were taken as references. All of these tests were performed according to the current standards. It was noticed that although there were some conflicting findings between the salt and commercial plasters in all of the studied properties, the Salgesso has its values within the standard limits. However, there is the possibility to improve them by doing a more effective calcination process. Three commercial plasters, used in construction, were used as reference material. All tests were performed according to standards in force. It was observed that although some tests present conflicting findings between the salt and gypsum plasters commercial properties in all of the studied Salgesso have values within the limits imposed by the standard, but can be improved simply by calcination process more effective

Estudo sobre as potencialidades de compósitos à base de gesso e fibras de coco seco para aplicação na construção civil

The use of gypsum, one of the oldest building materials for the construction industry in the country has been experiencing a significant and steady growth, due to its low cost and some of its properties that confer comparative advantage over other binder materials. Its use comprises various applications including the coating of walls and the production of internal seals and linings. Moreover, the fibers are being increasingly incorporated into arrays fragile in an attempt to improve the properties of the composite by reducing the number of cracks, the opening of the same and its propagation velocity. Other properties, depending on the function of the component material or construction, among these thermal and acoustic performances, are of great importance in the context of buildings and could be improved, that is, having better performance with this embodiment. Conduct a comparative study of physico-mechanical, thermal and acoustic composite gypsum incorporating dry coconut fiber, in the form of blanket, constituted the main objective of this work. Improving the thermal and acoustic performances of precast gypsum, used for lining and internal vertical fences of buildings, was the purpose of development of these composites. To evaluate the effect of fiber content on the properties of the composites were used to manufacture the composite layer with different thicknesses. The composites were fabricated in the form of plates with dimensions of 500x500x24mm. To facilitate the comparative study of the properties were also made with material gypsum boards only. We then determined the physico-mechanical, thermal and acoustical plaster and composites. The results indicated that the composites were significant gains in relation to thermal performance and also acoustic, in certain frequency range, increasing the thickness of the blanket. Concerning other physical-mechanical properties, the results showed that although the compressive strength was lower than for the composite did not occur after a fracture catastrophic failure. The same trend was observed with regard to resistance to bending, since the composites have not suffered sudden rupture and still continued after the load supporting point of maximum load

Distinguishing the distributions of two cryptic frogs (Anura: Discoglossidae) using molecular data and environmental modeling

Currently, the identification of two cryptic Iberian amphibians, Discoglossus galganoi Capula, Nascetti, Lanza, Bullini and Crespo, 1985 and Discoglossus jeanneae Busack, 1986, relies on molecular characterization. To provide a means to discern the distributions of these species, we used 385-base-pair sequences of the cytochrome b gene to identify 54 Spanish populations of Discoglossus. These data and a series of environmental variables were used to build up a logistic regression model capable of probabilistically designating a specimen of Discoglossus found in any Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) grid cell of 10 km × 10 km to one of the two species. Western longitudes, wide river basins, and semipermeable (mainly siliceous) and sandstone substrates favored the presence of D. galganoi, while eastern longitudes, mountainous areas, severe floodings, and impermeable (mainly clay) or basic (limestone and gypsum) substrates favored D. jeanneae. Fifteen percent of the UTM cells were predicted to be shared by both species, whereas 51% were clearly in favor of D. galganoi and 34% were in favor of D. jeanneae, considering odds of 4:1. These results suggest that these two species have parapatric distributions and allow for preliminary identification of potential secondary contact areas. The method applied here can be generalized and used for other geographic problems posed by cryptic species.

Calcium sulfate fillers and binders in Portuguese 15th and 16th centuries: Ground layers from a family painting workshop — Study by multianalytical spectroscopic techniques

This study presents results on a developed methodology to characterize ground layers in Portuguese workshops. In this work a set of altarpieces of the 15th and 16th centuries, assigned to Coimbra painting workshop was studied, overall the masters Vicente Gil (doc. Coimbra 1498–1525), Manuel Vicente (doc. Coimbra 1521–1530) and Bernardo Manuel (act. c. 1559–94), father, son and grandson, encompassing from late gothic to mannerist periods. The aim of the study is to compare ground layers, fillers and binders of Coimbra workshop, and to correlate their characteristics to understand the technical evolution of this family of painters, using complementary microscopic techniques. The cross-sections from the groups of paintings were examined by optical microscopy and the results were integrated through the analysis obtained by μ-X–ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X–ray Spectrometry, μ-confocal Raman and occasionally with μ-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy imaging. Ground layers are of calcium sulfate, present as gesso grosso (mainly anhydrite with small amounts of gypsum) in the first and last phases of the workshop and gesso mate (mainly gypsum with small amounts of anhydrite) in an intermediate period. Binders have protein and oleic characteristics.

Atrazine movement in a dark red latosol of the tropics.

Atrazine dissplacement was studied in a soll profile as function of water movement and time after herbicide application, taldng into account possible influences of preferential flow on keaching. The experiment consisted of two 7 x 7 m plots of a dark red latosol (Kanduidalfic Eutrudox), located at Pirecicaba, SP, Brazil (22o43'S and 47o25'W), 250 km inside continent, at an altitude of 580 m. One plot was previously treated with 1,000 kg/ha of lime, in order to increase saturation to 88%, and 500 kg/ha of gypsum. Each plot was instrumented with tensiometers, neutron probe acess tubes and soil solution extractors, in order to monitor water and atrazine flows. Atrazine was applied at the high rate of 6 kg/ha of active principllle. Results showed intensiive leaching of atrazine in the whole soil profile, up to the instrumented depth of 150 cm, alredy at the first sampling, seven days after herbicide application. The limed plot showed much higher atrazine leachinng losses than the other plot. The atrazine adsorption capacity of the soll is very low, its maximum value being of the order of 10%, for the 0-15 cm surface layer.