Durability of Portland Cement Blended with RFCC Spent Catalyst Exposed to Sea Water Attack

This paper discusses the performance of Portland cement blended with spent catalyst from Resid Fluidized Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) unit of petroleum refining processes in sea water. The pozzolanic property of the spent RFCC catalyst and the increased pore volume of such blended cements result in contradictory consequences. The studied paste specimens show higher rates of deterioration due to faster penetration of chlorine and sulfate ions, in spite of their superior mechanical strength behavior caused by pozzolanic reaction. The results obtained by X-ray diffractometry confirm the presence of higher amounts of chlorine-containing Friedel’s salt in specimens containing RFCC spent catalyst compared to plain specimens.

Keywords:

Spent Catalyst , Catalytic cracking unit , Portland cement , Sea water