Carbonation treatment can effectively improve the performance of recycled concrete aggregate and fines due to the reactions of CO₂ with CH and C–S–H gel of cement paste. To better understand the mechanisms involved in the performance improvement, the surface properties of carbonated recycled cement paste powder (CRP) and its effect on the rheology, hydration and strength development of cement paste was studied. The results showed that during the carbonation, the surface of CRP was covered by a layer of amorphous silica gel. The generated CaCO₃ was wrapt by the silica gel and seldom exposed. The silica layer led to the poor flowability of CRP-cement paste due to that the silica gel on the surface of CRP has a strong affinity for H₂O. During the very early hydration, the silica gel dissolved and then CaCO₃ was exposed. CaCO₃ is capable of chemically absorbing Ca²⁺, which facilitated the nucleation of C–S–H nuclei and stabilized the C–S–H phase. As a result, the C–S–H grew densely, uniformly and perpendicularly on the surface of CRP. In addition, the chemically absorbing Ca²⁺ enabled the chemical bond to be formed between CaCO₃ and C–S–H. Due to increased C–S–H resulted from reactions of silica gel with CH at the interface and the stronger bond formed between CaCO₃ and C–S–H, the interface between CRP and hydration products was much stronger than that between recycled cement paste powder (RP) and hydration products.

The production of cement leads to a large amount of CO₂ emission. Using industrial waste slag, such as ceramic polishing powder (PP), to replace part of Portland cement can reduce the pollution caused by the cement industry and solid waste disposal. In order to use PP as a replacement for cement, its effects on the properties of cement paste need to be clarified. In this study, the effect of PP on the nucleation and growth of hydrates in cement paste at very early ages was investigated. Quartz was used as a reference. The interactions of their surface with various ions in cement paste solution, which has an important effect on the nucleation and growth of hydrates, were studied by using the zeta potential test. The morphology of the nucleus and crystal of hydrates was investigated by using SEM. The zeta potential measurements showed that the affinity of the surface of PP and quartz to ions in the pore solution of cement paste is similar. The image of SEM indicated that there is also not much difference in the crystallization of hydrates on the surfaces of PP and quartz. These evidences suggested that PP has similar surface charge properties as quartz, and its effects on the properties of cement paste are the same as that of quartz. From the viewpoint of the effect on very early hydration, PP can be used in cement paste, similar to quartz power.