Josep Ma. Chimenos

Josep Ma. Chimenos
University of Barcelona | UB · Departmental Section of Materials Science and Engineering

PhD

About

168
Publications
39,484
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5,748
Citations
Additional affiliations
January 1990 - April 2019
University of Barcelona
Position
  • Professor (Associate)
January 1990 - April 2019
University of Barcelona
Position
  • Professor (Associate)

Publications

Publications (168)
Article
Full-text available
This research investigates the mechanical activation of kaolin as a supplementary cementitious material at the laboratory scale, aiming to optimize milling parameters using the response surface methodology. The study evaluated the effects of rotation speed and milling time on the amorphous phase content, the reduction in crystalline kaolinite, and...
Article
Full-text available
Calcined clays have emerged as a suitable alternative to partially replace conventional cement due to their high pozzolanic activity. This study explores a novel activation methodology for kaolinite, aiming to obtain metakaolin at lower temperatures than conventional thermal activation. This methodology involves a prior intercalation stage with pot...
Article
Full-text available
The ecotoxicological view is one of the least studied aspects of sustainability in the cement sector. Although some regulations starting to include it, since new products incorporating waste materials need to be environmentally safe throughout their circular life cycle. Chemically bonded phosphate cements are a more sustainable alternative to conve...
Article
Full-text available
Calcined clays have emerged as a suitable alternative to partially replace conventional cement due to their high pozzolanic activity. This study explores a novel activation methodology for kaolinite, aiming to obtain meta-kaolin at lower temperatures than conventional thermal activation. This methodology involves a prior interca-lation stage with p...
Article
Full-text available
This study examines the structural evaluation of differently activated kaolins for potential use as supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) or as precursor for alternative cementitious materials (ACM). Chemical activation involved amorphizing the kaolinite structure using varying phosphoric acid concentrations, reaction times, and temperatures....
Article
Full-text available
The global population growth has significantly impacted energy and raw material consumption, unmatched since the Industrial Revolution. Among metals, aluminium ranks second only to steel, with annual production exceeding 69 million tonnes. Due to its high demand, bauxite, the primary ore from which aluminium is extracted, is now classified as a cri...
Article
Full-text available
Limestone calcined clay cement (LC³) is a recently developed binder with huge potential to reduce the clinker factor in cement and the environmental impact. This study aimed to evaluate the evolution of the research on LC³ by conducting a bibliometric analysis, evaluating key metrics such as publications, authorships, sources, or countries, to prov...
Article
Full-text available
In this study, we investigated the phase transition of cobalt spinel (Co3O4) nanoparticles into Co3−xNixO4/CoO heterostructures by introducing varying amounts of nickel (x = 0.0-0.16) and subjecting the particles to high annealing temperatures of 1000 ℃. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the Co3−xNixO4CoO structure for all samples. Transmi...
Article
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The potential as alkali-activated precursors of ceramic-stone-porcelain (CSP) and PAVAL, two residues derived from the optical separation of glass cullet and salt slag from secondary aluminium recycling, has been assessed. Alkali-activated CSP and PAVAL binders' formulations were prepared using NaOH 4 M and 6 M as alkaline activator solutions. The...
Article
Full-text available
This study presents novel characterisation techniques to evaluate the effects of mechanical activation (MA) on the kaolinite structure. MA was achieved with a planetary ball mill at various times and rotation speeds to get different activation degrees. A thermal activation was performed for comparison purposes. The results of X-ray diffraction and...
Article
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New cement-based materials such as alkali-activated binders (AABs) or geopolymers allow the incorporation of waste or industrial by-products in their formulation, resulting an interesting valorization technique. Therefore, it is essential to inquire about the potential environmental and health impacts throughout their life cycle. In the European co...
Article
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Struvite precipitation is a well-known technology to recover and upcycle phosphorus from municipal wastewater as a slow-release fertiliser. However, the economic and environmental costs of struvite precipitation are constrained by using technical-grade reagents as a magnesium source. This research evaluates the feasibility of using a low-grade magn...
Article
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The novel formulation of alkali-activated binders (AABs) using incineration bottom ash (IBA) from fluidised bed (FB) combustion technology as a sole precursor was assessed. In addition, IBA-FB was compared with IBA from moving grate (IBA-MG) combustion technology. The AABs formulated with IBA-FB (AAB-FB) and IBA-MG (AAB-MG) were also evaluated from...
Article
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The utilisation of large quantities of raw materials for asphalt mixtures manufacturing, such as aggregates, is an environmental issue that must be addressed. This concern has led to valorising waste and by-products as more sustainable alternative raw materials. This research is aimed at evaluating the use of a low-grade magnesium carbonate (LG-MC)...
Article
Full-text available
This work aims to assess the potential reactivity of a mechanically activated kaolin for its use as an alternative cement precursor. The mechanical activation was successfully achieved by grinding at different rotation speeds (250, 300, and 350 rpm) and times (60, 90, and 120 min), obtaining a highly amorphous and reactive material. The amorphizati...
Article
Full-text available
Weathered bottom ash (WBA) from municipal solid waste incineration is a calcium alu-minosilicate-rich material mainly used in construction and civil engineering as a secondary aggregate. However, its use is also being considered as a precursor in the manufacture of alkali-activated binders (AA-WBA). This preliminary research aimed to deepen underst...
Article
Climate change and the depletion of natural resources are causing society to adopt more environmentally sustainable approaches. In areas such as construction and civil engineering, waste and by-product valorisation could help in the fight against climate change, reducing the consumption of raw materials. Thus, the use of residues or by-products in...
Article
Full-text available
Alkali-activated binders (AABs) stand out as promising candidates to replace ordinary Portland cement (OPC) since waste can be used as raw material for their manufacture. This study addresses the environmental feasibility of using weathered bottom ash (WBA) and metakaolin (MK) as alkali-activated binder precursors (AA-WBA/MK). Different proportions...
Article
Full-text available
Biogas technologies have reached a wide development, but the methodologies applied in pre-investment studies in local projects that use this energy alternative have not been effective. The objective of the present work is to establish a methodological procedure that facilitates the conduction of business, technical and investment decisions in local...
Article
Full-text available
The revalorization of solid wastes and by‐products to be applied as solid particles in Concentrated Solar Plants (CSP) will lead to cost savings and progress towards more sustainable technology. In this work, the physicochemical, morphological, thermal, and solar absorption properties are evaluated for electric arc furnace dust, black slag from the...
Conference Paper
Climate change has become one of the world’s leading threats. Currently, the construction industry has a high environmental footprint. For this reason, the scientific and technological sector is looking for new materials to reduce the environmental consequences of this division. It is well known that the valorisation of different by-products can co...
Article
Full-text available
Fermentation (not anaerobic digestion) is an emerging biotechnology to transform waste into easily assimilable organic compounds such as volatile fatty acids, lactic acid and alcohols. Co-fermentation, the simultaneous fermentation of two or more waste, is an opportunity for wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) to increase the yields of sludge mono-f...
Article
Full-text available
Incineration bottom ashes (IBA) are the main waste from municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration. In the Iberian countries (Portugal and Spain), MSW incineration with energy recovery (WtE) plays an important role in MSW management. IBA is highly produced and managed differently both between and within countries. This paper aims to provide a compreh...
Article
This work presents the experimental comparison of the effect of temperature and nickel addition on the synthesis of NixCo3-xO4 nanostructures x = 0.01, 0.04, 0.1, 0.16, using the sol-gel technique with final heat treatment at 600 °C and 800°C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicates the formation of pure Co3O4 at 600 °C and the appearance of an...
Article
Full-text available
Alkali-activated binders (AABs) stand out as a promising alternative to replace ordinary Portland cement (OPC) due to the possibility of using by-products and wastes in their manufacturing. This paper assessed the potential of weathered bottom ash (WBA) from waste-to-energy plants and PAVAL® (PV), a secondary aluminium recycling process by-product,...
Article
Full-text available
During the glass selection process by optical sorting equipment, a rejection material called CSP (ceramic, stone, and porcelain) is generated, which is lower than 2 wt % of the glass cullet collected in Catalonia (Spain). Although this process should only separate non-glass impurities from the glass cullet, around 84 wt % of glass is found in the C...
Article
Cement industry production and its materials demand are growing every year, leading to a CO2 and energy footprint increase. The drinking water production is increasing in water treatment plants due to the population growth, raising in turn the waste materials produced. Since these wastes are mainly managed in landfills, this preliminary research wo...
Article
Alkali-activated binders (AABs) stand out as a sustainable alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) as they can be formulated using by-products or waste as raw materials. However, the presence of hazardous compounds in residues can lead to an increase in AABs' toxicity due to the highly alkaline media. Therefore, it is extremely important to e...
Article
Full-text available
The potential of the least polluted fraction (from 8 to 30 mm) of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) weathered bottom ash (WBA) as an alkali-activated cement precursor was evaluated. Alkali-activated WBA binders (AA-WBA) formulations were prepared through alkali-activation of WBA as sole precursor. Sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) and sodium hydrox...
Article
Ammonia nitrogen management is a recurrent problem in intensive livestock areas. Struvite precipitation stands as a mature technology to recover ammonia nitrogen and prevent associated environmental problems. However, the feasibility of struvite technology to recover ammonia nitrogen from pig manure is limited by the reagents cost. This research ai...
Article
Magnesium phosphate cement (MPC) is a potential sustainable alternative to Portland cement. It is possible to lower the total CO2 emissions related to MPC manufacturing by using by-products and wastes as raw materials. When by-products are used to develop MPC, the resultant binder can be referred to as sustainable magnesium phosphate cement (sust-M...
Presentation
La búsqueda de materiales de construcción más sostenibles conlleva a la investigación de cementos basados en subproductos y residuos como materiales de partida. Los cementos de fosfato de magnesio (Magnesium Phosphate Cement; MPC) son una alternativa sostenible al cemento Portland. Es posible desarrollar MPC usando subproductos como el óxido de mag...
Article
Water treatment sludge is an industrial by-product which has recently been classified as a waste by the European Commission. The main goal of this work is to valorise this waste to produce lightweight aggregates. Formulations with sludge substituting expanded clay up to 50 wt% were produced. The physical properties of the lightweight aggregates suc...
Article
Full-text available
In this study, a granular material (GM) derived from wastes generated in waste-to-energy plants was developed. Weathered bottom ash (WBA) and air pollution control (APC) ashes obtained from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) were used as raw materials. A mortar (M) with 50 wt. % of APC and 50 wt. % of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) CEM-I was...
Article
Full-text available
Low-grade magnesium oxide (LG-MgO) was proposed as ordinary Portland cement (OPC) or lime substitute (CaO) for metal(loid)s remediation in contaminated soils. Some metal(loid)s precipitate at pH ≈ 9 in insoluble hydroxide form thus avoiding their leaching. LG-MgO avoids the re-dissolution of certain metal(loid)s at 9.0 < pH < 11.0 (pH-dependents),...
Article
Full-text available
In the context of life cycle assessment sustainability indicators, this article proposes a new indicator that is related to the embodied energy, in order to assess the lifespan of products based on their components. The indicator, called “potential embodied power” (PEP), considers that a non-replaceable component with a shorter lifespan will determ...
Article
Full-text available
The concern about the large amount of weathered bottom ash (WBA) produced in waste-to-energy plants (WtE) has caused an increased search for alternatives to reduce their environmental impact. The present study aims to provide an added value through the WBA valorization from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) for its use as a sole precursor f...
Article
Full-text available
Almost 500 municipal solid waste incineration plants in the EU, Norway and Switzerland generate about 17.6 Mt/a of incinerator bottom ash (IBA). IBA contains minerals and metals. Metals are mostly separated and sold to the scrap market and minerals are either disposed of in landfills or utilised in the construction sector. Since there is no uniform...
Article
Full-text available
Within the thermal energy storage field, one of the main challenges of this study is the development of new enhanced heat storage materials to be used in the building sector. The purpose of this study is the development of alkali-activated cements (AACs) with mechanical properties to store high amounts of heat. These AACs incorporate wastes from in...
Article
This study assessed the technical feasibility of formulating lightweight aggregates (LWA) from municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash (IBA) and residual biomass. Weathered IBA (WIBA) particles larger than 8mm contain a mixture of calcium-rich compounds and other silicates mainly composed of glass and synthetic and natural ceramics, with low c...
Presentation
It is well known that reusing by-products would reduce energy global consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. Magnesium phosphate cement (MPC) can be obtained by using a by-product (low grade magnesium oxide; LG-MgO) from the industrial process of the magnesite calcination. DIOPMA research group developed a sustainable MPC (sust-MPC) for several c...
Article
Abstract As the demand for critical and valuable metals increases due to industrial developments, especially in electronics and high-technology industries, the search for novel and sustainable sources grows in significance. Incinerated municipal solid waste (MSW) is a potential source of valuable metals, since a lot of waste from electrical and el...
Article
Magnesium Phosphate Cement (MPC) has become an essential reference for investigators seeking alternatives to the use of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) in building sector because of its high environmental impact. The research group developed a MPC formulated with low-grade MgO (LG-MgO) by-product, which could be considered as a sustainable MPC (sust...
Article
Full-text available
The high environmental impact generated by using of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) has lead to the search for alternative materials in the field of civil and building engineering. In addition, there is a tendency to develop cements from industrial by-products, thus reducing pollution and emissions generated by their production. One of the best posi...
Article
Full-text available
Although waste-to-energy plants allow reducing the mass and volume of municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerated, an average around 30 % of the total content remains as bottom ash (BA) and air pollution control (APC) ashes at the end of combustion process. While weathered bottom ash (WBA) is considered a non-hazardous residue that can be revalorized a...
Article
Full-text available
The proper management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) has become one of the main environmental commitments for developed countries due to the uncontrolled growth of waste caused by the consumption patterns of modern societies. Nowadays, municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) is one of the most feasible solutions and it is estimated to increase in...
Article
Full-text available
Due to the growing amount of residues in Europe, it is mandatory to provide a viable alternative for managing wastes contributing to the efficient use of resources. Besides, it is also essential to move towards a low carbon economy, priority EU by 2050. Among these, it is important to highlight the development of sustainable alternatives capable of...
Article
Full-text available
Microencapsulated Phase Change Materials (MPCM) are widely used in active and passive systems for thermal energy storage. To evaluate the strength of a proper shell/PCM system, comparisons were performed between laboratory-prepared MPCM samples produced by in situ polymerization with a phase change temperature of 50 °C and a particle size of around...
Article
Full-text available
The aim of this article is to present the research carried out over a 10 year period to develop an environmentally safe method for recycling air pollution control (APC) residues. The initial studies aimed to formulate a mixture of weathered bottom ash (WBA), APC residues and Portland cement (PC) to be used as a sub-base in road constructions. Mecha...
Article
Differences during the last 15 years in materials' composition in Municipal Solid Waste Incineration (MSWI) regarding bottom ash (BA) were assessed as a function of particle size (> 16, 8–16, 4–8, 2–4, 1–2 and 0–1 mm). After sieving, fractions > 2 mm were carefully washed in order to separate fine particles adhering to bigger particles. The charact...
Article
The management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a very important issue that must be dealt by the perspective of the 3 Rs (Reuse, reduce, recycle. MSW incineration bottom ash (BA) accounts for 85–95% of the total solids that remained after incineration. Finding suitable alternatives for its revalorization is very attractive, especially in terms of...
Article
The effect of epsomite as flame retardant for wood has been investigated and compared with a commercial boron salt. Both flame retardants have been introduced into wood samples by vacuum impregnation. Epsomite is a hydrated sulphate salt with a water solubility of 731 g L⁻¹ at room temperature. Thanks to this high solubility it was possible to obta...
Article
Anaerobic digestion stands as a key technology in the emerging green energy economy. Mg(2+) has been identified as an important element to improve digesters methane production; however the inhibition risk that high Mg(2+) concentrations can cause to the AD process must also be considered when dosing Mg reagents and wastes containing Mg(2+). Despite...
Article
Magnesium phosphate cement (MPC) formulated with low-grade magnesium oxide (LG-MgO) can be better considered as sustainable MPC (sust-MPC). Among other properties, sust-MPC could be used as building material for constructive elements because of its acoustic and thermal insulation properties. Porosity and thermal conductivity are two important param...
Article
Microcapsules containing Phase Change Materials (MPCM) are widely used for passive systems in energy storage. When MPCM are mixed with a carrier fluid, Phase Change Slurries (PCS) are used for heat transfer fluids in active systems or heat transport systems. The thermal behavior of PCS can be measured as dry or wet basis, resulting in important dif...
Article
Full-text available
Anaerobic digestion is a worldwide technology to treat organic waste streams, primarily due to its capacity to produce methane as renewable energy. However, there is an increasing interest on nutrient recovery (N and P), which from both environmental and economic reasons have been identified as key feature in anaerobic digestion plants. The manuscr...
Article
The reuse of MgO byproducts as SO2 absorbents in a sustainable closed-loop process follows the guidelines of legislation and economic optimization. The aim of the present study was to enhance the desulfurization performance of an MgO byproduct by sieving to different size fractions and relating them with their reactivity and physical characteristic...
Article
The use of bio-based materials in the construction field is of great interest to society and the scientific community because of its highly sustainable character. They are formed by plant fibres and a binder, usually cement, lime or pozzolanic additives. Among the new vegetable fibres used, hemp-based biomaterials have attracted great attention in...
Chapter
Most of the total quantity of sulfur oxides (SOx) emitted to the atmosphere come from the combustion of fossil fuels, whose preponderance in the energy mix is expected to prevail in the years to come. In order to avoid the damaging consequences that this supposes, the improvement of the removal methods has been the topic of many researches. In this...
Article
The transposition of a sustainable wet flue gas desulfurization (WFGD) process from a discontinuous batch reactor at laboratory scale to a pilot scale scrubber was performed by means of three transposition variables: time of saturation (tS), liquid-to-gas ratio (L/G) and pH. Thus, the results obtained by the authors in the past studies at laborator...
Article
Biogas upgrading using bottom ash from the incineration of municipal solid waste (MSW) is especially interesting for integrated treatment facilities as it would allow closing a complete loop in MSW management. The aim of this research was to assess the interaction between bottom ash (BA) and biogas from anaerobic digestion with the outlook of upgra...
Article
Chemically Bonded Phosphate Ceramics (CBPCs) and, in particular, Magnesium Phosphate Cements (MPCs), show properties very adequate for using as repair mortar for concrete constructions. The obtainment of MPC using MgO-containing by-products as raw materials was proposed by the authors in previous works. There, formulations including boric acid as a...