Reactive silica determination of SCMs

Measurement principle
The measurement of reactive silica is a commonly used method to estimate the reactivity of the
SCM. The reactive silica content is defined according the EN 197-1 as that fraction of the SiO2,
which is soluble after treatment with hydrochloric acid (HCl-solution) and with boiling potassium
hydroxide solution (KOH-solution). The quantity of reactive silica is determined by subtracting from
the total silica content that fraction contained in the insoluble residues. Both on a dry basis. The
measurement methods are based on the European standard for testing of cement EN 196-2 .

Protocol
An overview of the procedure is shown in Figure 1. Detailed accounts on equipment and reagents
can be found in the respective sections of EN 196-2 (copy of which can be found on the dropbox).
Please take note of the following:

For the calculation the amount of the insoluble residue (IR) needs to be considered
according to EN 196-2. The amount of silica is analysed on the extracted residue after
drying and ignition at 950 C and cooling down in a desiccator. Usually the determination
of SiO2 is carried out on a fused bead against accepted standards.

The reactive silica part is calculated as follows:

2 = 2 (2 (
))
100

Figure 1. Overview of the method to determine reactive silica of an SCM (in the example of fly ash
(FA)) based on EN 196 -2 and ECOBA test procedures.