Correlation between Si-29 polymerization and cementitious activity of coal gangue

A new method for estimating the degree of [SiO4](4-)polymerization of coal gangue is presented. The method uses the relative bridging oxygen number (RBO) based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Si-29 NMR techniques have been used to study phase transitions and silicate polymerization of coal gangue calcined at different temperatures or co-calcined. It has been found that phase transition of clay minerals causes silicate polymerization to change with temperature. In this study, cementing activity and RBO were determined to be inversely related. Generally, activated coal gangue with lower RBO had better cementitious activity.