Pore solution chemistry

The solution contained in the pore of the cement paste is called pore solution. It can
be squeezed using a high pressure device and then can be analyzed by atomic
absorption spectroscopy , ion chromatography and other sensitive methods.

Expression of pore solution of cement paste and concrete is relatively often used in
research laboratories, e.g., for studying equilibria of substances between the solids
and the liquid phase and has been described first by Barneyback and Diamond .

A basic understanding of the hydration of Portland cement is necessary for the development of substances that have
The formation of the hydration products of cement
a regulating effect on the cement chemistry
occurs in the liquid phase. As there a chemical equilibrium exists between the pore
solution and the solids, everychange in the composition of the pore solution,
caused, e.g., by the addition of substances and/or environmental influences, can
result in a change of the chemical/physical behavior of the hydration products. As
many properties of concrete such as strength, permeability, durability, etc. depend
mainly on the microstructure of the cement paste, there is a certain link between
the pore solution chemistry and the macroscopic properties of the cement paste.

The analytical data obtained from the squeezed solution must be consideredwith
care for two main reasons

1 Squeezing removes 10-20 percent of the total free water ,that is, the only water
contained in the larger pores

2 the uni axial external pressure applied to the sample is not equally transferred to
the every point of the cemet paste.

Inspite of the above limitation determining the free water contained in the paste or
mortar is at present the only method available for separating and analyzing the
pore solution.

Ion exchange chromatography.

The most popular method for the purification of proteins and other charged molecules is ion exchange
chromatography. In cation exchange chromatography positively charged molecules are attracted to a
negatively charged solid support. Conversely, in anion exchange chromatography, negatively charged
molecules are attracted to a positively charged solid support.

Mechanism
To optimize binding of all charged molecules, the mobile phase is generally a low to medium conductivity
(i.e., low to medium salt concentration) solution. The adsorption of the molecules to the solid support is
driven by the ionic interaction between the oppositely charged ionic groups in the sample molecule and in
the functional ligand on the support. The strength of the interaction is determined by the number and
location of the charges on the molecule and on the functional group. By increasing the salt concentration
(generally by using a linear salt gradient) the molecules with the weakest ionic interactions start to elute
from the column first. Molecules that have a stronger ionic interaction require a higher salt concentration
and elute later in the gradient. The binding capacities of ion exchange resins are generally quite high.
This is of major importance in process scale chromatography, but is not critical for analytical scale
separations.