An ECI Conference
Geopolymers: The route to eliminate waste and emissions in ceramic and cement manufacturing
May 24-29, 2015
Schloss Hernstein Seminarhotel
Hernstein, Austria
General Announcement and Call for Abstracts
Deadline for abstracts for oral presentations: January 10, 2015
Deadline for abstracts for poster presentations: March 10, 2015
When produced, all the materials for this conference, including all application and registration forms, will appear on this web site. At this time these are not yet available. However you may request to be put on the conference mailing list: Request for Next Mailing.
About This Conference
Scope of the Conference: The main aim of this conference is to provide scientific and industrial contributions describing technical solutions for applications of geopolymers thus leading progressively towards eliminating waste and minimizing emissions in ceramic and cement manufacturing. Those who have undertaken a significant research effort in this field will be invited from all over the world to join the conference program. The success of the conference will represent a step forward for the global material needs of society with significantly reduced ecological impacts.
Goals of the conference: Synopsis: Geopolymers are a class of inorganic polymers formed by the reaction between an aqueous alkaline silicate solution and an aluminosilicate source. These materials have an amorphous 3-dimensional structure that gives geopolymers properties which make them an ideal substitute for Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) in a whole range of applications. There are also novel materials interfacing between ceramics and inorganic polymers.
Many by-products produced by industry can be used as feedstock for geopolymers, including fly ash, mine tailings and bauxite residues.
Variations in the ratio of aluminum to silicon, and alkali to silicon, produce geopolymers with different physical and mechanical properties. In general these materials have been shown to possess higher compressive and tensile strength when compared to OPC, in addition to impressive resistance to acid corrosion and superior heat and fire resistance, similar to ceramics.
Many scientists have worked to demonstrate the environmental benefits derived from the use of geopolymers to replace OPC cements in concrete structures and ready-mix applications. These environmental benefits are:
- significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions;
- utilization of large volumes of industrial by-products and urban derived ashes;
- increased resource efficiency by producing building products with longer service life.
Recently the cold route to prepare ceramics via alkali activation has been put alongside the sol-gel process with comparatively lower costs.
How to reach the goal: Previously at conferences, sessions on geopolymers have been organized and held separately, addressing different industrial sectors/applications. This conference is aimed at providing a holistic perspective across the whole field of inorganic polymers and developing practical solutions to assist the ceramic and cement industries with a technology that reduces both costs and environmental footprints. This will be achieved by starting from the most advanced basic science models for geopolymer formulations and preparation methods, to the latest approaches in manufacturing processes for geopolymer products. Additionally a number of industrialists will be invited to take part in the discussion in two Round Tables focused on the most critical problems concerning regulation and durability. Worldwide experts will also be invited as speakers of these Round Table events.
Session topics and program: The program of the conference will follow a format which includes sessions on:
- Fundamentals of geopolymers chemistry
- Properties and performance of geopolymers
- Geopolymers in the context of sustainable development
- Geopolymer-based composites
- CO2 breakthrough in materials vs geopolymer production
- Geopolymers on the market, regulations and standards
- Durability of geopolymers
- Top Achievement Round Tables will be organized on (a) education and training future prospects, and (b) research plans with strong industrial commitment.
- A”hot topics” Round Table open to industrialists will be organized on (a) Durability testing of alkali-activated materials and (b) Composites for sustainable strengthening of masonry.
Format: The conference will be held in the typical ECI format and will begin on Sunday evening, May 24th, and end on Friday, May 29th, after lunch. Morning and afternoon/evening sessions will be scheduled to provide a stimulating balance between formal presentations, small group interactions and informal discussions. Each session will have 1-2 invited keynote lectures, followed by several shorter presentations. The conference banquet will be scheduled for Wednesday evening. Conference attendance will be limited to 80-100 participants to encourage maximum interaction. All participants are encouraged to stay at the conference site.
Conference Organization
Conference Chair
Prof. Cristina Leonelli (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy) E-mail: cristina.leonelli@unimore.it
Conference Co-chairs
Prof. Waltraud M. Kriven (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA) Email: kriven@illinois.edu
Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany) Email: aldo.boccaccini@ww.uni-erlangen.de
Prof. Arie van Riessen (Curtin University, Australia) Email: A.vanRiessen@curtin.edu.au
International Organizing Committee – IOC
Joseph Davidovits, Geopolymer Institute, Saint-Quentin, France. Tel: +33 323 676 988 – info@geopolymers.org
Arnaud Poulesquen, Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission, DEN Marcoule, Waste Treatment and Conditioning Research Department, Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France Tel: +33 4 66 79 18 01 – arnaud.poulesquen@cea.fr
Sylvie Rossignol, GEMH, Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Céramique Industrielle, Limoges Cedex, France Tel: +33 5 55 45 22 24 – sylvie.rossignol@unilim.fr
Hubert Rahier, Department of Materials and Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussel, Belgium Tel: +32 2 629 3277 – rahier@vub.ac.be
Gianmarco de Felice, Department of Engineering, University Roma Tre, Rome, Italy Tel: +39 6 5733 6268 – defelice@uniroma3.it
Raffaele Cioffi, Department of Engineering, Parthenope University of Naples,, Naples, Italy Tel: + 39 8 1547 6732 – raffaele.cioffi@uniparthenope.it
Maria Chiara Bignozzi, Department of Civil, Chemical Environmental and Materials Engineering DICAM, School of Engineering and Architecture, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy Tel: +39 51 2090 342 – maria.bignozzi@unibo.it
Ángel Palomo Sànchez, Department of Cements and Materials Recycling, Institute of Construction Science Eduardo Torroja (IETcc), Centro del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain palomo@ietcc.csic.es
Francisca Puertas Maroto, Department of Cements and Materials Recycling, Institute of Construction Science Eduardo Torroja (IETcc), Centro del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain puertasf@ietcc.csic.es
Fernando Manuel A.S. Pacheco-Torgal, Centro de Território, Ambiente e Construção – C-TAC, Department of Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Campus of Azurém, Guimarães, Portugal Tel: +351 253 510 200 – torgal@civil.uminho.pt; f.pachecotorgal@gmail.com
Marcel Weil, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS), Karlsruhe, Germany Tel: +49-721-608- 26718 – marcel.weil@kit.edu
Yiannis Pontikes, Sustainable Metals Processing and Recycling, Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium Tel. +32 16 32 03 92 or +32 16 321300 Yiannis.Pontikes@mtm.kuleuven.be
Christopher Cheeseman, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College, London, UK Tel: +44 20 7594 5971 – c.cheeseman@imperial.ac.uk
Pavel V. Krivenko, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic pavlo.kryvenko@gmail.com
Vlastimil Bilek, ZPSV a.s., Uhersky Ostroh, Czech Republic bilek@zpsv.cz
Kostas A. Komnitsas, Department of Mineral Resources Engineering, Technical University of Crete (TUC), Chania, Greece Tel: +30-28210-37686 – komni@mred.tuc.gr
Jannie S. J. van Deventer, CEO, Zeobond Group, Melbourne, Australia jannie@unimelb.edu.au
John L. Provis, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, UK Tel: +44 114 222 5490 – j.provis@sheffield.ac.uk
Kenneth J. D. MacKenzie, MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand Tel: +64 4 463 5885 – kenneth.mackenzie@vuw.ac.nz
Prinya Chindaprasirt, Sustainable Infrastructure Research and Development Center (SIRDC), Faculty of Engineering, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand prinya@kku.ac.th
William Rickard, Geopolymer Research Group, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia Tel: +61 8 9266 7843 w.rickard@curtin.edu.au
Jay Sanjayan, Faculty of Engineering & Industrial Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia Tel: +61 3 92 14 80 34 – jsanjayan@swin.edu.au
Sujeong Lee, Mineral Resource Research Division, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Daejeon, Korea Tel: 82-42-868-3125 – crystal2@kigam.re.kr
Cyril Attwell, Group Concrete & Research Manager, Murray & Roberts Construction Group Services, Bedfordview, South Africa Tel: +27 590 5622, Cell: +27 078 456 3833 – cyril.attwell@murrob.com
Abstract Submission
One-page abstracts should be submitted as soon as possible and no later than the deadlines noted above. The abstract should include both the significance of the research as well as results that will be discussed in order to allow a scientific assessment of the work by the organizers. Please indicate the session for which you are submitting your abstract, or else select “poster presentation”.
All abstracts should be submitted electronically and submissions must follow the template provided at this link.
All submissions for oral sessions will be considered for both oral and poster presentation.
Deadline for abstracts for oral presentations: January 10, 2015
Deadline for abstracts for poster presentations: March 10, 2015
Conference Venue
The conference will be held at Schloss Hernstein Seminar Hotel. The hotel is situated in the wonderful Triestingtal valley, surrounded by pine forests and a carp lake. Guests can enjoy sauna, steam and fitness rooms, as well as a large indoor swimming pool. There are also several signposted routes for jogging on forest tracks starting at the hotel.
Hernstein Castle is situated at the fringe of the Viennese Basin, in the stepped footland of the Styrian and Lower Austrian limestone alps. Its history goes back to medieval times: once the castle safeguarded the street to Berndorf Village and the valley before it. In former times the building comprised a housing unit and a chapel. It would have been very difficult to expand the building; therefore a new castle – the core of today´s castle – was built in the valley at the foot of the mountain where the old castle had been built.
After the Turkish wars this new building was expanded and in the 18th century it got a uniform facade. For a long time the castle was owned by the Habsburgs and was used as domicile by Archduke Leopold Ludwig. The renowned architect Theophil Hansen designed the castle.
Hernstein Castle is one of the largest seminar hotels in Austria and is only available to seminar participants. Therefore it ensures a tranquil atmosphere of learning and working. Hernstein Castle has 74 modern bedrooms. Room amenities include sky and satellite TV, a minibar, work desk, and wireless internet.
Travel Information
If you are driving to the conference, map and directions are provided. Your browser can translate the page into English.
If you are not renting a car, the easiest way to get to Schloss Hernstein is to take a taxi from the airport. You can also take a train from Vienna to Leobersdorf and then a taxi to Hernstein. Be certain to print out the map and directions in case the taxi driver in Vienna is not familiar with the rural area where Schloss Hernstein is location.
Address: Seminarhotel Schloss Hernstein, Berndorfer Strasse 32, 2560 Hernstein. Telephone: +43-2633 472510
Fees and Registration
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Preliminary Program
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General Information
Engineering Conferences International (ECI) is a global engineering conferences program, originally established in 1962, that provides opportunities for the exploration of problems and issues of concern to engineers and scientists from many disciplines.
The format of the weeklong research conference provides morning and late afternoon or evening sessions in which major presentations are made. Available time is included during the afternoons for ad hoc meetings, informal discussions, and/or recreation. This format is designed to enhance rapport among participants and promote dialogue on the development of the meeting. We believe that the conferences have been instrumental in generating ideas and disseminating information to a greater extent than is possible through more conventional forums.
All participants are expected both to attend the entire conference and to contribute actively to the discussions. The recording of lectures and presentations is forbidden. As ECI conferences take place in an informal atmosphere, casual clothing is the usual attire.