The Use of Geopolymers for the Disposal of Asbestos-containing Materials

Asbestos is widely known as a hazardous material and can contribute to many diseases. Its removal and neutralization are complicated, it requires proper preparation and the use of appropriate technology. Immobilization of asbestos materials in geopolymers seems to be one of the alternatives to its storage in landfills. However, this requires several studies confirming the possibility of asbestos immobilization in geopolymers. Also, asbestos dust contains silicon and aluminum, which may prove useful in the production of geopolymers. The paper presents research results regarding the possibility of using geopolymers based on fly ashes for neutralizing asbestos. An up-to-date literature review on the technology of managing asbestos-containing products is presented. As a result of the research, partial usefulness of geopolymerization technology for binding and neutralizing waste with asbestos was found. The research was carried out using waste asbestos-cement composites. Mixtures based on geopolymers were made in which ground asbestos material was introduced in an amount of 30, 50 and 70% by weight. Compressive strength tests have shown that geopolymers with the addition of asbestos have compressive strength: over 34 MPa for a composition containing 30% of asbestos material and about 14 MPa for a composition containing 70% of asbestos material. SEM observations have shown that asbestos fibers do not dissolve in the geopolymer production process and they can still be a threat if the geopolymer matrix is damaged.