Archived
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Location
Lexington, Kentucky
Start Date
5-5-2026 11:00 AM
End Date
5-5-2026 11:30 AM
Description
As utility production of fresh fly ash declines, the concrete industry is turning to reclaimed and beneficiated materials to maintain reliable SCM supply. This transition creates an opportunity not only to secure volumes but to engineer improved performance. The ReCinis™ beneficiation process enables this by providing controls that tune particle-size distribution (PSD), sphericity, packing behavior, surface area, and surface activation. Processing trials show that blends combining fine ground fractions with spherical, broad-graded hydrocyclone overflow (OF) materials can balance high reactivity with favorable rheology. Mechanochemical activation during grinding appears to increase reactivity beyond what surface-area metrics alone predict, likely through removal of surface films and partial disordering of aluminosilicate glass. Mortar testing of selected blends demonstrates promising trends in water demand, strength development, and consistency. Current research expands these findings using advanced tools—particle-packing modeling, shape analysis, reactivity indicators, surface-chemistry assessments, and rheology—to clarify how PSD breadth, shape factors, and surface activation interact to govern SCM performance. Predictive modeling is being applied to design blend structures that optimize the reactivity–rheology balance, including those produced from processed landfill ash. This work highlights a broader opportunity for the SCM sector: reclaimed ash, when beneficiated through systems capable of adjusting granulometry and surface condition, can evolve from variable recovered materials into engineered SCMs with reliable, high-performing characteristics. The ReCinis™ process demonstrates how controllable processing can support higher and more consistent fly ash utilization as fresh ash supplies continue to decline.
Document Type
Presentation
Archival?
Archival
Included in
Energy Systems Commons, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons, Mining Engineering Commons, Oil, Gas, and Energy Commons, Structural Materials Commons, Sustainability Commons
Engineering Granulometry to Optimize Performance of Reclaimed Ash
Lexington, Kentucky
As utility production of fresh fly ash declines, the concrete industry is turning to reclaimed and beneficiated materials to maintain reliable SCM supply. This transition creates an opportunity not only to secure volumes but to engineer improved performance. The ReCinis™ beneficiation process enables this by providing controls that tune particle-size distribution (PSD), sphericity, packing behavior, surface area, and surface activation. Processing trials show that blends combining fine ground fractions with spherical, broad-graded hydrocyclone overflow (OF) materials can balance high reactivity with favorable rheology. Mechanochemical activation during grinding appears to increase reactivity beyond what surface-area metrics alone predict, likely through removal of surface films and partial disordering of aluminosilicate glass. Mortar testing of selected blends demonstrates promising trends in water demand, strength development, and consistency. Current research expands these findings using advanced tools—particle-packing modeling, shape analysis, reactivity indicators, surface-chemistry assessments, and rheology—to clarify how PSD breadth, shape factors, and surface activation interact to govern SCM performance. Predictive modeling is being applied to design blend structures that optimize the reactivity–rheology balance, including those produced from processed landfill ash. This work highlights a broader opportunity for the SCM sector: reclaimed ash, when beneficiated through systems capable of adjusting granulometry and surface condition, can evolve from variable recovered materials into engineered SCMs with reliable, high-performing characteristics. The ReCinis™ process demonstrates how controllable processing can support higher and more consistent fly ash utilization as fresh ash supplies continue to decline.
