Chemical, physical and radiological evaluation of raw materials and geopolymers for building applications.

The main goal of this study was the evaluation of physical–chemical, as well as radiological properties of residual materials used for geopolymer synthesis and those final products as a possible application as new materials in a civil engineering industry. Concentration of ⁴⁰K and radionuclides from the ²³⁸U and ²³²Th decay series in waste precursors, their metaphases and geopolymer samples synthetized by alkali activation were determined together with corresponding absorbed dose rate ( D ˙ ) and the annual effective dose rate. Natural activity concentrations in the alkali-activated material (geopolymer) were found to be lower than that of both residual materials and calcined ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]