Development of blended cement mortars with acoustic properties using petroleum coke

Noise is becoming one of most important pollutants, especially in towns. Indeed, the European Community recognizes the environmental noise as one of the most important environmental problems in Europe. Therefore, there are real demands, increasing in the near future, of acoustic absorbent materials. Taking into account the conditions that these materials must present (durability, costs, noise absorption power, etc.), a new material based on petroleum coke agglomerated with cement has been developed, targeted as base for designing and construction of noise screens. Our results showed that the petroleum coke–cement system had suitable acoustic properties. Therefore, the usage of petroleum coke as acoustic absorbent material opens a new alternative, with important advantages from social and environmental viewpoints. Due to high porosity of this composite the mechanical strengths decreased with increasing coke content.