Recent progress of utilization of activated kaolinitic clay in cementitious construction materials

The development of a green alternative that can partially or completely substitute the Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) as a practical construction material with low CO2 footprint is an important subject to researchers for decades. The use of artificial pozzolanic materials, e.g. fly ash, slag, silica fume, etc. cannot meet the huge-scale demand for cement replacement. Kaolinitic clay, with its high pozzolanic reactivity after activation and abundant resources worldwide, is regarded as a promising supplementary cementitious material (SCM) for cement. Recent studies have addressed that the utilization of calcined kaolinitic clay as SCM can effectively improve the properties of cement products. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the research progress on activated kaolinitic clay as SCM in the last decade. It systematically introduces the essential properties, activation mechanism and pozzolanic reactivity assessment of kaolinitic clay. Application of calcined clay in two different cementitious systems (calcined clay blended cement and limestone calcined clay cement) is reviewed from the aspects of workability, mechanical properties, and long-term durability properties with the mechanism discussion. Finally, the environmental and economic impacts of the application of calcined clay in different cementitious systems are discussed.