Effects of potassium ferrocyanide used for desalination on lime composite performances in different curing regimes

Negative effects of salt weathering on porous building materials will increase because of the global climate breakdown. The addition of crystallization modifiers as desalination technique has attracted considerable scholarly attention. This study builds on this body of knowledge by investigating the effects of potassium ferrocyanide addition on air-lime mortar under different environmental conditions. Three experimental setups were selected with different curing regimes: i) molding, ii) between sandstones and iii) between salt-laden sandstones. TGA-DSC, ion chromatography, MIP and SEM were conducted to evaluate the effects of ferrocyanide on the whole salt content, lime carbonation and mortar microstructure. Its efficiency/durability under salt exposure and wet conditions were also tested. The decay after salt crystallization cycles was evaluated by comparing air permeability, open porosity, water vapor permeability, capillary porosity, ultrasonic pulse velocity, surface hardness and roughness of samples before and after these cycles. Results showed that adding ferrocyanide improved the mortar performance in all curing regimes and its efficiency continued after capillary water uptake and salt attack.