Setting and hardening of borogypsum-Portland cement clinker-fly ash blends. Studies on effects of molasses on properties of mortar containing borogypsum

The present work describes a study of setting and hardening of blends of borogypsum, fly ash, and Portland cement clinker (PC). The possibility of using borogypsum instead of natural gypsum in fly ash-cement matrix has been investigated through several tests. In addition, the effects of molasses on the setting times of cement and strength of the mortar were also studied. The setting times of the cement were retarded when the natural gypsum was replaced by borogypsum. Molasses exhibited a rather significant retarding effect when used in combination with borogypsum in cement. The inclusion of molasses to the system at a level of 0.1% resulted in a reduction in early strength of the mortar. However, it significantly enhanced the strength of the mortar after 7 days of curing age. In general, the cement prepared with borogypsum was found to have similar strength properties to those obtained with natural gypsum, and inclusion of molasses into the system significantly increased the strength of the sample after 7 days of curing age.