El azufre como material de construcción: Revisión del problema

Abstract

As the extraction of heavy crudes from Orinoco's Bituminous Belt advances, the national production of sulphur will continue to increase. The sulphur surplus will not be absorbed by the chemical industry nor will have place in the international markets. It is imperative to seek for new applications. Eventhoug pure sulphur's binding power is unstable, research studies have been undertaken in order to evaluate its potential as a construction material. The mechanical properties of sulphur are closely related to its allotropic forms and can be improved by using additives which stabilize monoclinic sulphur, unstable at ordinary temperatures, This paper discusses the properties of pure sulphur, the influence of additives, the properties of mortars made of sulphur-additives-filling materials, corrosion resistance, potential uses of these materials. It is of common interest not only to produce materials which can cope with the traditional ones, but also to develop materials highly resistant to acid salt corrosion to replace portland cement concrete.