The present research study analyses, for the first time, the viability of using thermally activated ichu grass as a supplementary cementitious material for the design of future eco-cements. To this end, the ichu ash resulting from the activation was characterised and its pozzolanic activity, the evolution of its mineralogical phases during the pozzolanic reaction and the physical-mechanical behaviour of the blended cementitious matrices were analysed. The results show that ichu ash exhibited high pozzolanic activity in a pure pozzolan/lime system as a consequence of its high reactive silica content. Conversely, its use in a pozzolan/cement system gave rise to negative effects due to the presence of important alkali contents in the ash (9.6% Na2O eq). The blended cements presented greater water demand, reduced capillary absorption, increased resistivity and lower mechanical properties (10...

This research work focuses on the performance of mortars containing ichu ash as a potential environmentally-sound alternative to traditional pozzolans (at 6% and 10% replacement levels) under CO2 and chloride ion rich environments, in order to evaluate the capacity of this material to produce more sustainable and durable blended cements. The results indicate that ichu ash increases the susceptibility to carbonation, although mortars with 6% ichu ash content behave similarly to OPC ones. However, both density and mechanical strength improve after 250 days of carbonation for both ichu-blended mortars. In terms of resistance to chloride penetration, the addition of ichu ash contributes to retaining the ions in the superficial layers of the mortars, inhibiting their advance. It was found that formulations with both 6% and 10% ichu ash content produced a reduction in the chloride d...