Oil Shale Ash as a Substitutional Green Component in Cement Production

The energy crisis is one of the major challenges confronting the cement industry today. Although non-renewable energy sources are becoming scarce, the presence of significant quantities of oil shale indicates its continued use as an energy source in the cement industry. However, significant environmental impacts may occur as a result of the large amount of oil shale ash (OSA). As a result, the researchers are investigating alternative methods for recycling and reusing the OSA in a variety of applications. The purpose of this work was to use OSA as a green substitute component in cement production due to its high calcium oxide (CaO) content, which is the major component of cement clinkers. The chemical composition of OSA and Clinker samples were determined using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). OSA and clinker samples were combined in various ratios and then ground in a ball mill to obtain the desired grain size. The new blended products were prepared and tested at Lafarge factory's laboratories. The results indicated that by adding 10% of OSA to the clinker, the mixed product performed better than the reference sample. Additionally, using this percentage of OSA results in a 45% reduction in the power consumption of the grinding process compared to the reference sample.