GENERAL OBJECTIVES

• Characterize, standardize and establish the quality of the natural pozzolana deposits of the Holguin region, Cuba, for their value as pozzolanic raw materials to be used in the production of pozzolanic cements, to respond to the social demand for housing for those affected by hurricanes.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

• Determine the most favorable areas of pozzolan deposits, by assessing the extent, accessibility, quality, and quantity of reserves.
• Conduct sampling campaigns to obtain representative samples.
• Execute a laboratory campaign to characterize the samples, and establish their mineralogical, chemical, physical, and pozzolanic properties, in specialized Spanish laboratories. The tests will be carried out in the laboratories of the ‘Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Minas y Energía’ (ETSIME) at the ‘Universidad Politécnica de Madrid’ (UPM), located in the ‘Centro Tecnológico de Getafe’.
• Prepare detailed reports that show the results of the field work completed, preferably showing itinerary, sampling, geological (10,000 scale), stratigraphic columns, and quality maps.
• Prepare a specialized report containing the laboratory results, with their corresponding interpretation, and where the suitability of pozzolans in The Holguin region is shown to meet the general objective.
• Definitively standardize the certification standards and processes for Pozzolans and their products on location, and establish their true industrial value, to the entire Cuban territory.
• Develop an industrial processing plan for pozzolanic cements, and their use in the manufacture of experimental housing, in order to monitor the behavior of the physical and chemical parameters of the pozzolanic material in real life conditions.
• Promote future studies on new applications for Pozzolans from the Holguin region, in other areas of the Cuban economy.
• Leverage the framework of the work proposed in this project to offer courses and seminars in the ‘Instituto Superior Minero-Metalúrgico de Moa’, that build on the knowledge of Cuban researchers in this field. These meetings will set out an outreach program to promote knowledge and good practice in the use of Pozzolanic materials for greenhouse gas emission control.