Processing of Dolomitic By-Products into Porous Restoration Binder

Abstract

The goal of this work concerns the synthesis of a binder for restoration purposes that is physically and chemically compatible with dolomitic Roman cement, a historical binder used for the construction of significant architectural heritage objects in the 19th and 20th centuries. Dolomitic marlstone, the traditional raw material of dolomitic Roman cement, is not being obtained anymore and it is also hard to achieve a constant chemical composition. To address these issues, the experimental synthesis of a low temperature hydraulic binder using locally sourced raw materials, namely dolomite flour and clay, was performed. The developed synthesis technology provides economic and ecological advantages compared to other similar materials, such as lime with pozzolan additive, lime and cement mixtures and magnesium oxychloride cements. The raw material, dolomite flour, is a by–product in the manufacturing process; furthermore, the low firing temperature (800 °C) reduces the power consumption required to obtain the binder.The aim of the work is determination of porosity-related physical characteristics of dolomitic binder that is synthesized by using manufacturing by-product – dolomite flour – as basic raw material to evaluate it’s suitability for restoration purposes.