Stilbite is used as the main aluminosilicate oxide source to determine the
effect of various factors on the extent of geopolymerization of stilbite/ka
olinite mixtures. Increasing the M2O/H2O ratio (where M = Na and/or K) resu
lts in an increase in the dissolution of aluminum and silicate species from
stilbite and kaolinite, which therefore leads to an improvement in the com
pressive strength of the geopolymer. The SiO2/M2O ratio affects significant
ly the degree to which polymerization between Al(OH)(4)(-) and Si complexes
can occur. The results also show that Na+ compared with K+ enhances the di
ssolution of aluminum and silicate species. However, K+ improves the compre
ssive strength of the geopolymer compared with Na+. It has been established
for the first time that kaolinite and stilbite react differently with diff
erent alkali metals. The successful geopolymerization of stilbite/kaolinite
mixtures can occur only by homogeneously dispersing condensed Na2SiO3 in a
MOH solution prior to adding solids.