ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Analyzing the Relationship between Chemical
and Biological-Based Degradation of Concrete
with Sulfate-Resisting Cement
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1
Institute of Environmental Engineering, Department of Material Engineering, Technical University of Kosice,
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Kosice, Slovakia
2
Institute of Environmental Engineering, Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Kosice,
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Kosice, Slovakia
3
Institute of Geotechnics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Kosice, Slovakia
Submission date: 2018-03-19
Final revision date: 2018-05-09
Acceptance date: 2018-05-15
Online publication date: 2019-01-02
Publication date: 2019-03-01
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2019;28(4):2121-2129
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ABSTRACT
External sulfate attack is detected on concrete construction exposed to soils, groundwater, seawater,
or wastewater, and leads to serious damage to concrete elements. This paper describes an investigation
of acidic corrosion caused by artificial sulphuric acid and biogenic sulphuric acid. The concrete prisms
prepared from concrete-containing sulfate-resisting cement were exposed to an acid environment
of different origin over a period of 3 months. The concentration of basic chemical elements such as
calcium, silicon, iron, and aluminium were measured in liquid phases. Correlation analysis was used to
evaluate dependencies and trends of leached-out amounts in these concentrations. Based on correlation
coefficient, the intensity of dependency of the leaching trend was determined. A higher aggressiveness
of sulfuric acid produced by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria was confirmed in terms of main concrete
components’ leaching.